Bullet point summary by AI
- The 158th Belmont Stakes will feature a $2 million purse split among the top eight finishers this Saturday.
- Renegade enters as the 2-to-1 favorite ahead of Chief Wallabee and Derby winner Golden Tempo.
- Owners receive 80 percent of the purse while trainers and jockeys each get 10 percent of the total.
The final leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown is here, as the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes is set for Saturday evening. We’ve already gotten a ton of drama this summer, with an all-time underdog story in Golden Tempo at the Kentucky Derby followed by another surprise win from Napoleon Solo in the Preakness last month. We won’t be getting a Triple Crown winner this year — Golden Tempo opted out of running at Pimlico — but we should expect the unexpected nonetheless.
As he was at Churchill Downs, Renegade is the odds-on favorite entering the Belmont at 2-to-1. Behind the 3-year-old stallion are Chief Wallabee at 3-to-1 and Derby winner Golden Tempo at 9-to-2. Only two other horses, Commandment and Emerging Markets, have odds in the single digits. But no matter if the winning horse is a favorite or longshot, there’s plenty of money to be made, especially as the Belmont purse continues to increase year over year.
158th Belmont Stakes purse: Total purse, winner’s share
The Belmont doesn’t come with quite the payday that we see at the Derby, but it’s even with Preakness with a total purse of $2 million. That’s the same as it was back in 2025, and $3 million shy of the Kentucky Derby’s $5 million purse.
Of that $2 million, 68 percent goes to the winner, a little bit higher but still roughly on par with the other two legs of the Triple Crown.
158th Belmont Stakes purse: Payout, prize money for finishing position
The breakdown of the rest of the $2 million is where Belmont really differs from a race like the Preakness. While the other two legs of the Triple Crown only split their purse among the top five finishers, the Belmont splits its purse among the top eight. Sure, No. 7 and 8 might not be making all that much, but one percent of $2 million still ain’t too shabby.
|
Place |
Prize money |
Purse percentage |
|---|---|---|
|
1st |
$1.2 million |
68% |
|
2nd |
$360,000 |
18% |
|
3rd |
$200,000 |
10% |
|
4th |
$100,000 |
5% |
|
5th |
$60,000 |
3% |
|
6th |
$40,000 |
2% |
|
7th |
$20,000 |
1% |
|
8th |
$20,000 |
1% |
Belmont Stakes prize money: How much do trainers and jockeys make?
- Owners: 80% of total purse
- Trainer: 10% of total purse
- Jockey: 10% of total purse
The vast majority of the prize money will go to the owner, but they’re forced to spread the wealth. Owners have salaries to pay, and incentivized payouts to make — after all, they are not the ones who keep up with daily maintenance, trained the horse to run around the track at record speeds or rode it to a spot in horse racing lore.
Thus, owners typically pay at least 10 percent of the purse to the winning jockey, plus another 10 percent to the trainer. These rates can depend on the status of the jockey or trainer — for example, horse racing legends like Bob Baffert, who has trained two Kentucky Derby winners, may demand more up front. The same can be said of elite jockeys.
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