In 2013, the Maryland Jockey Club announced it would increase the purse for the Preakness Stakes from $1 million, which had been the figure since 1998, to $1.5 million where it remained until 2018 and returned to in 2022 and 2023. In 2019 the pot was worth $1.65 million and last year it was boosted to $2 million where it remains for this year’s edition.
The Preakness purse has regularly been among the highest in American racing, which is expected as it’s one of the three classic races run each year and the middle jewel of the prestigious Triple Crown.
At its inauguration in 1873, the Preakness carried a value of $2,050, then went down to $1,000 the next year, and the first major increase occurred in 1919 when the race was boosted to $25,000. The purse then grew to $100,000 in 1946 and then $150,000 in 1959 where it was briefly the richest Triple Crown race. From 1979 to 1989, the Preakness purse rose four times from $200,000 to $500,000, before attaining its million-dollar status.
Shackleford in 2011 held the distinction of taking home the most Preakness money as he earned $1.1 million until Sieze the Grey picked up a $1.2 million winner’s check in 2024. War of Will in 2019, Early Voting in 2022, National Treasure in 2023 both earned $990,000. California Chrome (2014), Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (2015), Exaggerator (2016), Cloud Computing (2017) and Triple Crown winner Justify (2018) earned $900,000 for their connections. The filly Rachel Alexandra’s owners cashed a $660,000 check in 2009 and Big Brown’s owners received $650,000 for his win in 2008, as did Swiss Skydiver in 2020.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
