How Much Money Do Jockeys Make In The Kentucky Derby?
Image courtesy of Don Blais / Shutterstock.com. The three legs of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes, all take place in the months of May and June in the United States. These are the most prominent months for horse racing in the country.
Rich payouts are a hallmark of the world’s most prestigious horse races, such as the Kentucky Derby (2022), which offered a total pot of $3 million and awarded the winner $1.86 million of that total. The rider, or jockey, is the person who stays atop the horse during the whole race and receives far less attention than the horse itself.
At the Kentucky Derby, the winning jockey receives 10% of the total payout won by their horse. This year’s winning rider, Sonny Leon, received $186,000 of the total purse. It is possible that Leon sent a commission of 25 percent to his agent and a gratuity of 5 percent to the valet who assisted him in preparing his gear for the race from those gains. 
How much do jockeys make for racing in Kentucky Derby?
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MAY 01: During the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby, which took place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on May 1, 2021, Medina Spirit #8, which was ridden by jockey John Velazquez, led the field through the first turn.
(Photograph by Sarah Stier, courtesy of Getty Images) The winner of the Kentucky Derby receives more than just a glistening gold trophy and a bouquet of roses for their efforts. It’s also a good little paycheck for the jockey of the winning horse, although it might not be precisely what some supporters have in mind when they think about how much they’ll get.
The winner of the Kentucky Derby this year will take home $1.86 million of the total prize pool of $3 million. This year’s event was conducted at Churchill Downs. resulting in the rider receiving somewhere about ten percent of the total prizes. Not bad for a day’s work: you get $186,000 in return.
- Those revenues, however, are reduced to around $50,000 in take-home income after agency fees, valet, and taxes are deducted.
- Which, although not insignificant in the grand scheme of things, is not nearly as much as one might imagine it to be considering the amount of money other sports personalities make.
The race known as “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports” also has the jockey purses being distributed the quickest. Especially when one considers that even finishing in the top five might result in a rider receiving less than $10,000 in prize money. And this is before the Kentucky Derby increased the amount of money winners get from the 2019 value of $2 million to $3 million.
How is a horse jockey paid?
Horse jockeys in the United States may make anything from $10,049 to $271,427 per year, with $48,880 serving as the typical wage for the profession. Horse jockeys may make anything from $48,882 to $123,036 per year, with the top 86% of the profession earning $271,427 annually.