When the Preakness Stakes was introduced to the horse racing circuit (as it were) way back in 1873, the purse carried a total value of $1,000. The first notable prize money increase didn’t happen for quite sometime, when in 1919 the tally jumped up to $25,000. It climbed up to $100,000 by 1946 as the event grew in popularity, and reached $150,000 in 1959. Fast forward to 2014, when after a succession of smaller increases, the Preakness purse would hit $1,500,000, where the total still stands today. Below is the breakdown of the total purse for the 143rd running of this leg of the 2018 Triple Crown. Register here to make your Preakness pick and get your own prize money.
Prize Money Breakdown for the 2018 Preakness Stakes on May 19 at the Pimlico Race Course
PLACE
PRIZE MONEY
1st
$900,000
2nd
$300,000
3rd
$165,000
4th
$90,000
5th
$45,000
TOTAL
$1,500,000
By all means, the Kentucky Derby is the more lucrative race than the Preakness Stakes but the amount of money that can be won at the Pimlico Race Course isn’t too shabby either. A total purse worth $1.5 million is up for grabs for the top five finishers of the race, meaning these horses get to give their owners more money in a race than the amount spent to manufacture all of the gold medals won by Usain Bolt.
After wining the Derby, Justify is setting its sights on topping the field in the Preakness Stakes, where it will also look to keep its Triple Derby dreams alive. If it does, then a handsome sum of $900,000 will be injected into its owner’s bank account. Meanwhile, the runner-up gets $300,000, the third-placer, $165,000, the fourth-placer $90,000, and the fifth-placer, $45,000.
Justify is currently the favorite to win the 2018 Preakness Stakes with odds of +150, while Audible (+450), Good Magic, (+650) Magnum Moon (+1,400), and Bolt Doro/Runaway (+1600) are also among the top contenders.
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