Q: How much money does the Kentucky Derby winner receive?

In January , Churchill Downs announced that it was raising the Kentucky Derby purse by 67 percent to $5 million. The winner will receive a Triple Crown-record $3.1 million, up from $1.86 million last year. The runner-up will receive $1 million, with $500,000 going to third place, $250,000 to fourth and $150,000 to fifth. Typically, the horse’s owner receives 80 percent of the prize money, with the remaining 20 percent split between the trainer and jockey.

Question 1

When is the Kentucky Derby?

Accepted Answer

Post time for the Kentucky Derby is 6:57 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.

Question 2

Where is the Kentucky Derby held?

Accepted Answer

Churchill Downs in Louisville has hosted the Kentucky Derby since its first running in 1875, and the race annually draws more than 150,000 fans who pack the grandstands and the track’s infield. The race is the 12th of 14 on Saturday’s Churchill Downs card.

Question 3

How can I watch the Kentucky Derby?

Accepted Answer

The day of racing at Churchill Downs will be televised by USA Network and NBC and streamed on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock. Television coverage begins at noon Eastern on USA Network. At 2:30 p.m., broadcast coverage shifts to NBC.

Question 4

Who is eligible to race in the Kentucky Derby?

Accepted Answer

The Kentucky Derby is open to 3-year-old thoroughbreds who compile enough points in Road to the Kentucky Derby prep races. The 20 horses with the most points gain entry to the Derby, though trainers sometimes hold their horses out of the race if they feel it isn’t a good fit or if their horses are injured. In such instances, the four horses on the also-eligible list can move into the field.

Question 5

What is the Kentucky Derby field?

Accepted Answer

Encino was scratched from the race Tuesday. When a horse drops out, the horses to the outside of them in the gate slide over one position closer to the rail but retain their program numbers. (T O Password now will start in Gate 9 but keep his No. 10 program number, for example.) Epic Ride moved into the race in the No. 20 gate.

Question 6

Who is the Kentucky Derby favorite?

Accepted Answer

Fierceness is the Kentucky Derby favorite at 5-2 morning line odds. Fierceness is looking to become only the second favorite since 1993 to win the Kentucky Derby after losing in their 3-year-old season. (Fierceness finished third in the Holy Bull Stakes despite being a 1-5 favorite.) He lucked out a bit when Encino was scratched Tuesday. Fierceness originally drew the No. 17 gate, from which no horse has ever won the Kentucky Derby, but moved over to No. 16 with Encino’s departure. There have been four winners from the No. 16 starting position in Kentucky Derby history, most recently Animal Kingdom in 2011. Fierceness jockey John Velazquez was aboard Animal Kingdom in that race.

Question 7

How long is the Kentucky Derby?

Accepted Answer

The Kentucky Derby is run at a length of 10 furlongs, or 1¼ miles. That’s one-sixteenth of a mile longer than the Preakness Stakes, the second race in the Triple Crown. This year, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes will be run at the same length because the latter race is temporarily moving to Saratoga Race Course. Usually, the Belmont Stakes is the longest of the Triple Crown races, at 1½ miles.

Question 8

How much money does the Kentucky Derby winner receive?

Accepted Answer

In January, Churchill Downs announced that it was raising the Kentucky Derby purse by 67 percent to $5 million. The winner will receive a Triple Crown-record $3.1 million, up from $1.86 million last year. The runner-up will receive $1 million, with $500,000 going to third place, $250,000 to fourth and $150,000 to fifth. Typically, the horse’s owner receives 80 percent of the prize money, with the remaining 20 percent split between the trainer and jockey.

Question 9

Why is the Kentucky Derby called ‘The Run for the Roses’?

Accepted Answer

The Kentucky Derby winner is draped with a garland of more than 400 red roses after the race. According to the Kentucky Derby website, the tradition began in 1896 when the winner, Ben Brush, received a floral blanket of white and pink roses. The red rose became the Kentucky Derby’s official flower in 1904, and New York sports columnist Bill Corum coined the “Run for the Roses” nickname in 1925.

Question 10

How can I bet on the Kentucky Derby?

Accepted Answer

Horse betting is legal in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Question 11

What is the Triple Crown?

Accepted Answer

The Triple Crown is the name given to the year’s three biggest horse races in terms of public attention. The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown, and the winner is immediately thrust into the spotlight as a Triple Crown hopeful. The other two Triple Crown races are the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore (May 18) and the Belmont Stakes, which this year will be held June 8 at Saratoga Race Course in New York because of track reconstruction at Belmont Park.

Question 12

How many horses have won the Triple Crown?

Accepted Answer

Thirteen horses have won the Triple Crown: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018).

Question 13

What happened at last year’s Kentucky Derby?

Accepted Answer

The 2023 Kentucky Derby was marred by seven horse deaths in the 10 days leading up to the race and five scratches in the three days preceding the race, including that of prerace favorite Forte on the morning of the race. Mage, at 15-1 odds, caught Two Phil’s in the stretch and won by a length in a bunched finish. Mage would go on to finish third in a seven-horse Preakness Stakes field and did not run in the Belmont Stakes. As a result of the horse deaths and injuries, Churchill Downs suspended racing in the spring and summer of 2023 and implemented safety changes. An investigation by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, a watchdog group created by a federal act in 2020, could not “identify any singular explanation” for the incidents leading up to last year’s Kentucky Derby, nor did it uncover any rules violations by Churchill Downs officials, trainers or workers.

How to watch the Kentucky Derby: Everything you should know