Belmont Stakes Payouts: Full Prize Purse for Winners & Participants

The 2025 Belmont Stakes is set to take place on June 7 and will be the 157th running of the race.

The Belmont is the last of the three Triple Crown races and many consider it the most difficult, due to its length. The race is typically set at a grueling 12 furlongs, or 1 1/2 miles. It will look a little different this year, however.

For the second year in a row, the Belmont Stakes is being run at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. That is because the usual venue, Belmont Park, is undergoing a $455 million renovation. The event is expected to shift back to Belmont Park in 2026.

Saratoga's track is only 10 furlongs or 1 1/4 miles, the same length as the Kentucky Derby, so the race won't be as long as usual.

There are eight horses entered in the 2025 Belmont Stakes, including Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty and Preakness winner Journalism. The two horses dueled down the stretch at Churchill Downs in a close battle that Sovereignty won. Sovereignty then skipped the Preakness.

What follows is a look at the total purse for the 2025 Belmont Stakes, what the winning owner, trainer and jockey will bring home and a brief history of the race's purse over the years.

Belmont Purse

The 157th Belmont Stakes will have a total purse of $2 million, with $1.2 million going to the winner. In 2024, the purse has increased from the previous total of $1.5 million. What follows is a look at the payout for each place.

How much money do jockeys earn for a Belmont win?

Typically, 80% of the winning purse goes to the owner or owners of the horse. The trainer and jockey usually receive around 10% of the winning purse. That would mean the winning jockey from this year's Belmont Stakes should expect to earn around $120,000.

What about the horse's owner and trainer?

As mentioned above, a horse's owner or owners typically take home about 80% of the prize money. In 2025, that will mean the owner(s) will take home roughly $960,000.

Like the winning jockey, the winning trainer should expect to take home around $120,000.

How has the Belmont purse evolved over the years?

At the first Belmont Stakes in 1867, Ruthless won the race and took home $1,850 as the winner's share. The total purse was $2,500.

The purse steadily increased over the years and saw a significant jump in the 1920s, reaching $63,430 in 1928, but dropping during the great depression. It steadily increased from the 1940s onward and finally reached $1 million in 1998. It jumped to $1.5 million in 2014, before reaching $2 million in 2024.

How does the Belmont payout compare to the Kentucky Derby, Preakness?

The Kentucky Derby still features the largest purse of the Triple Crown races at $5 million. The Belmont and Preakness are now both set at $2 million. The Derby has recently increased that number from $3 million, while the Preakness and Belmont both hit $2 million in 2024.