After all that’s happened at Churchill Downs during yet another successful staging of the Kentucky Derby, it’s now time again to look forward to the second leg of the Triple Crown: the 2023 Preakness Stakes. While it’s not viewed to be as prestigious as the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes is still, well, prestigious. With all that said, let’s take a look at the prizes the winning horse and the others are expected to win at Pimlico Race Course this coming Saturday during the 2023 running of the Preakness Stakes.
When it all started way back in 1873, the Preakness Stakes only had a purse said to be at just $1,000. Several decades later, the race’s purse got a major boost when in 1919, the total payout was increased to $25,00 before going up yet again after the way. In 1946, the purse reached $100,000. The first time the purse at the Preakness Stakes went up to a million was in 1997. Starting in 2014, the total purse has been at $1.5 million.
The winner of the upcoming 2023 Preakness Stakes will pocket at total of $900,000, while the runner-up will receive $300,000. The third placer goes to the bank with a check worth $165,000. The top two horses who fail to show will receive $90,000 and $45,000, respectively. Not too shabby, still.
