KENTUCKY DERBY
Kentucky Derby 2024: how much do race horses cost? How much does it cost to maintain them?
Ahead of this weekend’s 2024 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, Louisville, we take a look at the price of owning and entering a horse in the race.
While the financial rewards of winning the Kentucky Derby are potentially very high for owners, so too are the costs of entering a horse in the historic race, whose 150th edition is to be held this weekend at Churchill Downs.
How much does it cost to buy a Kentucky Derby race horse?
The first step towards Kentucky Derby success is, clearly, buying a horse. And this horse must be of a specific age and breed: only Thoroughbreds that are three years old at the time of the race are eligible to enter. This is a purchase whose cost tends to reach the six-figure mark - but can climb higher than that.
The bookmakers’ joint favourite in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, Sierra Leone, was bought by its owners, the Ireland-based stable Coolmore Stud, for $2.3 million in 2022. Another major contender this weekend, the Japanese horse Forever Young, cost owner Susumu Fujita nearly $800,000 two years go.
However, it doesn’t appear to be essential to spend close to, or above, a million dollars if you want to own a Derby winner. Mage, which triumphed in 2023, had been bought for a comparatively affordable $290,000.
Among the 2024 participants whose sale price is listed by the Kentucky Derby’s race organisers, the average purchase cost was just under $450,000. Per the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Ben Roberts, the average auction price of a horse entering the 2023 Derby was around the same amount.
The cheapest entrant in this year’s field is West Saratoga, whose owner Harry L. Veruchi paid just $11,000 for the horse in 2022. It is, though, a +6600 outsider for victory in Louisville, according to odds collected by Oddschecker.
How high are the running costs of having a race horse?
According to an estimate by NBC’s Mary Omatiga, the cost of maintaining a race horse - food, training, medical expenses, etc - is around $50,000 a year. Omatiga also calculates the price of entering a horse in qualifying races for the Kentucky Derby, and paying for its transportation to and from these events, at about $175,000.
Finally, if the horse qualifies for the Kentucky Derby - just 20 spots are up for grabs - Churchill Down charges a widely reported $50,000 for participation in the race: an initial entry fee of $25,000, plus a starting fee of $25,000.
How much is the Kentucky Derby prize money?
Owners do, however, have the opportunity to earn a sizeable prize cheque if their horse is victorious in the Derby, a race popularly dubbed “the greatest two minutes in sports”. This year, there will be a $5 million purse at the event. Per The Athletic’s Andrew DeWitt and Drew Jordan, only the Breeders’ Cup Classic, held at alternating venues in November each year, has a larger purse among American races, at $7 million.
Of the $5 million purse at the 2024 Derby, $3.1 million will go the victor. According to a prize-money breakdown by racing expert Keeler Johnson, the owner typically takes home 80% of the payout, with 10% each going to the horse’s jockey and its trainer.
Victory in the Kentucky Derby, it seems, can also offer owners the opportunity to cash in on their horse at auction. A month after winning the Derby in 2000, Fusaichi Pegasus was sold for a world-record $70 million, nearly 20 times its original purchase price.
How much did the 2024 Kentucky Derby horses cost?
1. Dornoch (+5000 odds to win): $325,000
2. Sierra Leone (+300): $2.3 million
3. Mystik Dan (+2800): purchase price not listed
4. Catching Freedom (+1000): $575,000
5. Catalytic (+5000): $125,000
6. Just Steel (+2800): $500,000
7. Honor Marie (+2000): $40,000
8. Just a Touch (+1200): $300,000
9. T O Password (+4000): purchase price not listed
10. Forever Young (+850): $780,000
11. Track Phantom (+4000): $500,000
12. West Saratoga (+6600): $11,000
13. Endlessly (+5000): purchase price not listed
14. Domestic Product (+2800): purchase price not listed
15. Grand Mo the First (+10000): $135,000
16. Fierceness (+300): purchase price not listed
17. Stronghold (+4000): purchase price not listed
18. Resilience (+3300): purchase price not listed
19. Society Man (+3300): $85,000
20. Epic Ride (+5000): $160,000
2024 Kentucky Derby: when, where, how to watch
The 2024 Kentucky Derby is to be held on Saturday 4 May 2024, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. According to the official race day schedule, the Derby is slated to take place at 6:57pm ET/3:57pm PT. Viewers in the US will be able to watch the event on NBC and Peacock.