Kentucky Derby payout breakdown: How much prize money will the winner get in 2026?
The 2026 Kentucky Derby offers a total purse of $5 million, with the winner receiving $3.1 million, unchanged from the previous two years. The prize money is distributed among the top five finishers, with decreasing amounts awarded to second through fifth place. The Kentucky Derby's purse remains the largest among the Triple Crown races in 2026.
- ▪The total purse for the 2026 Kentucky Derby is $5 million.
- ▪The winner of the 2026 Kentucky Derby will receive $3.1 million, which is 62% of the total purse.
- ▪Prize money is distributed to the top five finishers, with second place earning $1 million and fifth place receiving $150,000.
- ▪The 2026 Kentucky Derby purse is larger than the purses for both the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, which are each $2 million.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kentucky-derby-payout-breakdown-much-080001643.html","headline":"Kentucky Derby payout breakdown: How much prize money will the winner get in 2026?","datePublished":"2026-05-01T08:00:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-01T08:00:01.000Z","keywords":["The Kentucky Derby"],"description":"Here's the cash payout at stake for the Kentucky Derby competitors in 2026.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Yahoo Sports","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://s.yimg.com/cv/apiv2/default/icons/favicon_y112_112.png","width":112,"height":112},"url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Gabe…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Yahoo Sports.