What Does A Jockey 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 money does the Kentucky Derby jockey get paid?
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.
How much do the best jockeys win?
On average, the best jockeys only take the winner’s circle twenty percent of the time. This indicates that the vast majority of the time, their earnings are far lower than the winner’s share. When a jockey wins a race, the amount of money they get is significantly increased. In horse races, the jockey who rides the winning horse is entitled to ten percent of the owner’s share of the reward.
How many female jockeys have won the Kentucky Derby?
Although most jockeys are men because of the nature of the sport, there have been female jockeys that competed in the Derby in the past. On the day of the Derby, a total of six ladies had mounted male horses. They are known by the names Diane Crump, Patti Cooksey, Andrea Seefeldt, Julie Krone, and Rosemary Homeister Napravnik. The Kentucky Derby has never been won by a rider who was a girl.