Kentucky Derby Payouts: How Much Do Winners Really Make?

The Kentucky Derby happens at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May: in 2025, that means Saturday, May 3. The race is a 1 ¼-mile feature open to up to 20 three-year-olds, who have earned their spots in both qualifying races in both the United States and overseas. The race offers a cool $5 million purse, meaning it pays to win the Kentucky Derby!

As a bettor, Kentucky Derby payouts can be almost as lucrative. After all, with so many horses in the field, a lot of the runners end up being long shots. So, if you bet the right horse to win, or you put together the right exotic wager, you can take home a life-changing score!

Get ready to bet on the Kentucky Derby winner with FanDuel Racing. Explore the exciting 2025 Derby promos available on FDR. Stay updated on the Kentucky Derby Odds and Contenders as we approach the Run for the Roses!

New FanDuel Racing users are included in the excitement with a chance to get your first win wager on a single horse in any race at any track up to $500 back if you lose. Bet the Derby!

Introduction to Horse Racing

Horse racing dates back to the days of people bragging that their horse was faster than their neighbor’s, friend’s, or rival’s horse. In that sense, horse racing is simple: the horses line up in the starting gate, they run a certain distance, and the fastest horse to the finish line wins.

It’s a little more complicated at the racetrack nowadays. There are eligibility requirements—in horse racing terms, “conditions”—for each race. In the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes, every horse who enters has to be three years old. Their connections have to pay to nominate them to the Triple Crown races. And, in the case of the Kentucky Derby, the horse has to earn Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

But, once the field is set and the gates open? That 1 ¼ miles of the Kentucky Derby is a lot like the dash down Main Street was back in the day, except there’s a lot more money involved. The first horse to the finish line wins. And, there are a lot more opportunities to bet on whose horse is fastest!

Prize Money Structure

Different horse races have different prize money structures. A lot of races pay out to most or all of the runners, and might have purse enhancements for horses bred or trained in the state where the race is run. However, for all the money at stake in the Kentucky Derby, the payout structure for the Kentucky Derby is a lot simpler than it is for most overnight events.

What Are the Kentucky Derby Payouts?

As is usual in horse racing, the winner gets the majority of the purse in the Kentucky Derby. Thanks to record purse increases in recent years, the Kentucky Derby purse is $5 million, making it not only one of the most prestigious horse races in the world but also one of the richest.

The Kentucky Derby winner is awarded $3.1 million. The money goes to the owner, though of course shares of that go to the trainer, jockey, and other people associated with the horse, based on agreements they have with the owner. The payout is $1 million for second, $500,000 for third, $250,000 for fourth, and $150,000 for fifth.

If a horse finishes out of the top five in the Derby, the share of the purse is zero. Simple as that.

Kentucky Derby Betting Payouts

As interesting as it is to know how the owners and connections of horses are paid for a Kentucky Derby victory, it’s also good to know how bettors can make money in the Kentucky Derby. After all, only 20 horses and their owners get into the field at Churchill Downs, but anyone can be a big winner on Derby day by handicapping the race, playing their opinions, and getting a little bit lucky.

For all Kentucky Derby betting payouts, keep in mind that they are pari-mutuel. That means odds are not final until the race starts, and they are based on the actual money people bet on the horses. So, the horse with the most money bet on them is the favorite and will pay the lowest for a win wager. The horse with the least money bet on them by the public will be the longest shot, and the payoff will be much bigger.

What Were the Kentucky Derby Payouts in 2024?

The 2024 Kentucky Derby ended up in one of the tightest photo finishes in history. Mystik Dan got up by a nose over second-place Sierra Leone to win the 2024 Kentucky Derby, with Forever Young another nose behind in third. At 18-1, Mystik Dan was the longest shot among the three horses in the photo, and paid $39.22 to win.

Place bets and show bets usually offer a lower payout than win bets, because they are easier to hit and pay off to more horses. The place bet pays if a horse finishes second or better, and a show bet requires a finish of third place or better. To place, Mystik Dan paid $16.32 and Forever Young paid $6.54. To show, Mystik Dan paid $10.00, Sierra Leone $4.64, and Forever Young $5.58.

To cash an exacta, you have to pick the winner and runner-up in order. The $2 exacta of Mystik Dan over Sierra Leone paid $258.56. A trifecta requires picking the top three in order, and that paid $556.92 in the Kentucky Derby, for a $0.50 bet.

Superfectas require picking the top four finishers in order, and a super high five requires the top five in order. Those are exceedingly difficult to hit, but can produce life-changing scores to anyone who is right.

The $1.00 superfecta, with Catching Freedom in fourth, paid $8,254.07. If you rounded out the $1.00 Super High Five with 48-1 longshot T O Password in fifth, the Super High Five paid a cool $316,920.10. That’s more money than the fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby was awarded!

What Are the Record Kentucky Derby Payouts?

The highest Kentucky Derby payout ever for a win wager happened in 1913, when Donerail paid $184.90 to win 1913. That was a long time ago … but great news for modern-day players is that all four other triple-digit Kentucky Derby winners all happened in the 21st century! Those include Rich Strike, who paid $163.60 in 2022; Country House, who paid $132.40 in 2019; Mine That Bird, who paid $103.20 in 2009; and Giacomo, who paid $102.60 in 2005.

Looking at exotics, the key to historically large payouts is a whole group of longshot racehorses filling out the top few spots. And, a perfect storm of that happened in 2005. Not only did 50-1 outsider Giacomo take the blanket of roses, but second-place Closing Argument was the longest shot on the board at 71-1. The next two across the wire were 9-2 Afleet Alex and 29-1 Don’t Get Mad.

This means that the record exacta, trifecta, and superfecta tickets all happened in 2005. The $2 exacta paid $9,814.90, and the $2.00 trifecta paid $133,134.80. Anyone who had the $1 superfecta could celebrate a $864,253.00 payoff!

How can I watch and bet on the Kentucky Derby?

Fortunately, it is easy to watch and bet on the Kentucky Derby. Seeing the Kentucky Derby live and betting it on track is fun, but even if you can’t make it out to Louisville for the race, you can get your piece of the action by wagering at FanDuel, and get up-to-the-minute news and information about the Run for the Roses at FanDuel TV in the weeks, days, and hours leading into the race!

New to FanDuel Racing? Place your first bet up to $500 and get it back in Racing Bonus if it doesn’t win! Valid in participating states. See here for full terms and conditions. Head over to FanDuel Racing to see all of today’s horse racing odds.

Looking for more horse racing betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Racing to see all of today’s horse racing odds.

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