2024 Belmont Stakes purse: How much prize money the winning jockey will earn
Blue Rose Farm's Arcangelo won the blue roses for the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's Belmont (Photo by Taylor Ejdys/Coglianese Photos)
June 3rd, 2024
The historic Belmont Stakes (G1) is the third leg of the Triple Crown. As one of the most prestigious events in U.S. horse racing, the Belmont boasts one of the richest purses in the nation: $2 million as of 2024.
Due to renovations at its traditional home of Belmont Park, the 2024 Belmont is taking place at Saratoga over a shortened 1 1/4-mile distance. The race will take approximately two minutes to compete, and the winning jockey will earn a hefty payday for their skill in negotiating the rapid-fire action around the Saratoga oval.
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How much of the $2 million purse will the winning Belmont jockey receive? Let’s find out.
How the Belmont Stakes purse is broken down
The Belmont’s $2 million purse is a big prize, but not all of it goes to the winner. The 2024 Belmont Stakes will pay a portion of the purse to each of the top eight finishers, divided up as follows:
1st: $1.2 million
2nd: $360,000
3rd: $200,000
4th: $100,000
5th: $60,000
6th: $40,000
7th: $20,000
8th: $20,000
How much does the winning Belmont jockey earn?
In a typical arrangement, 80% of the winning purse is paid to the owner(s) of the Belmont-winning horse, with the winning trainer and jockey receiving 10% apiece. In 2024, the winning Belmont jockey will earn $120,000 before taxes.
However, a portion of that 10% gets split among other racing participants. For example, a jockey might give 25% (in 2024, $30,000) to his or her agent and 5% ($6,000) to the valet who helped the jockey prepare his or her riding gear. That reduces the winning rider’s payday to $84,000 before taxes.
In addition to purse money, the winning jockey receives a trophy.
The history of the Belmont Stakes purse
When the first Belmont took place in 1867, the purse was minuscule by today’s standards. The filly Ruthless prevailed by a head in a three-horse drive to the finish line and earned $1,850. Had winning jockey Gilbert Watson Patrick received 10% of the purse, his share would have been $185.
The Belmont purse has fluctuated a lot throughout its history, but it’s generally climbed since the mid-1930s. The purse reached $1 million (with $600,000 awarded to the winner) in 1998, jumped again to $1.5 million in 2014, reverted to $1 million for a single year in 2020 due to COVID-19, and reached the $2 million plateau for 2024.
