You don't have to be a horse racing fanatic to get swept up in the Kentucky Derby. The 151st Run for the Roses will take place at historic Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 3 and there's a reason that it's called the most exciting two minutes in sports. When you start to look at the Kentucky Derby payouts and prize money, though, it could also be called the most profitable two minutes in sports as well.
Given all of the flamboyant hats, mint juleps and even horse racing betting going on at Churchill Downs, the large amount of money involved in the Kentucky Derby is far from a secret. However, even if we know how much money is in the crowd and in the stables, the question that viewers and fans always want to know is just how much money the owners and horses are racing for on the track.
So let's break it down. There's a reason that this is the most spectacular of the Triple Crown races and the Kentucky Derby purse size and payouts to the winner and more is certainly part of that.
151st Kentucky Derby purse: Total purse, winner's share
After setting a record Kentucky Derby purse last year at Churchill Downs, the 151st Kentucky Derby isn't changing a thing as the purse will be $5 million for the second straight year. That means that the winner of the Run for the Roses will take home a whopping $3.1 million, more than 60% of the total purse. While some horse racing fans are a bit disappointed to see the purse not increase in size, it's still an incredibly rich payout for the best-finishing horses and their teams.
This is also by far the biggest prize among the three Triple Crown races as both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes have total purses of just $2 million — less than the winner of the Kentucky Derby receives alone.
151st Kentucky Derby purse: Payout, prize money for finishing position
Let's break down how the full payouts and prize money are allotted for the 2025 Kentucky Derby out of the record-tying $5 million purse.
Finishing Position | Kentucky Derby Prize Money |
|---|---|
Winner | $3.1 million |
2nd | $1 million |
3rd | $500,000 |
4th | $250,000 |
5th | $150,000 |
Even for a runner-up finish, the horse will win his owner and team a whopping $1 million at Churchill Downs. That and the rest of the payouts for the 2025 Kentucky Derby are all impressive. However, they do start to get whittled down somewhat quickly when you consider that the owner isn't taking all of the prize money home for themselves.
Kentucky Derby prize money: How much do jockeys and trainers take home?
The horses who earn prize money will have their owners take home the majority of the prize money, but jockeys and trainers also get their share. While the percentages can vary from agreement to agreement, jockeys will typically get about 10% of the prize money. The trainers will take home about the same amount as well. While that still leaves 80%, generally, for the owners, the jockey and trainers for the winner of the Kentucky Derby each will receive about $310,000.