Kentucky Derby 2024 Purse: Prize Money Payout for Each Owner, Horse and Jockey
An exciting Kentucky Derby ended with a photo finish that ultimately saw Mystik Dan take home the win at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
Mystik Dan won by a hair of Sierre Leone, with Forever Young also in the mix but slightly behind. Mystik Dan held a big lead heading down the final stretch, but Sierre Leone used a late kick to make things extremely close at the end and finish in second place.
Fans couldn't have asked for a better finish at the 150th Kentucky Derby as the underdog took home the win. Mystik Dan, who had 16-1 odds coming into the race (via KentuckyDerby.com), won by a nose for the first time in 28 Kentucky Derbies.
Payouts
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2024 Kentucky Derby Payouts (Horse, Owner, Jockey)
WIN: Mystik Dan (Lance Gasaway, Brian Hernandez, Jr.) $39.22, $16.32, $10
PLACE: Sierra Leone (Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Brook Smith, Peter Brant; Tyler Gaffalione) $6.54, $4.64
SHOW: Forever Young (Susumu Fujita, Ryusei Sakai) $5.58
While Mystik Dan was an underdog, his odds weren't quite as crazy as the 2022 winner Rich Strike, who had 80-1 odds.
Still, Mystik Dan's win is extremely impressive, especially considering he bested Sierra Leone, who was among the horses with the best odds to win at 5-1. Forever Young also had good odds over Mystik Dan at 6-1.
Results and Purse Payouts
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Here are the results and purse payouts for this year's race:
- Mystik Dan ($3.1 million)
- Sierra Leone ($1 million)
- Forever Young ($500,000)
- Catching Freedom ($250,000)
- T O Password ($150,000)
- Resilience
- Stronghold
- Honor Marie
- Endlessly
- Dornoch
- Track Phantom
- West Saratoga
- Domestic Product
- Epic Ride
- Fierceness
- Society Man
- Just Steel
- Grand Mo The First
- Catalytic
- Just A Touch
Reaction
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This year's Kentucky Derby was one for the ages for several reasons already, but the historic photo finish made things all the more exciting. For those who missed the race, here's a full replay from NBC Sports:
This year's Kentucky Derby saw a historic purse at $5 million, so Mystik Dan's owners are thankful the three-year-old colt could get the narrow victory. That record purse payout is a significant $2 million increase from last year.
The historic payout at stake made the photo finish made things even more exciting.
Brian Hernandez Jr., a Louisiana native who has been racing professionally in 2003, hadn't won the Kentucky Derby before Saturday, but persevered down the stretch to keep the lead and edge out Sierra Leone.
It's been a big year for Hernandez, who also won the Kentucky Oaks earlier in 2024, and taking home the win on Saturday is a "lifetime achievement."
"This is a lifetime achievement," Hernandez said after the race. "This goes to our whole family. We've all worked our lives off for this. It's hard to describe what kind of feeling this is."
Mystik Dan was not a heavy favorite heading into Saturday's race, and the two horses he narrowly beat out had some of the best odds coming into the race. Still, Mystik Dan put forth a tremendous effort to win an exciting Kentucky Derby.
Sierra Leone deserved credit as well. The three-year-old colt seemed out of the race all the way until the final turn but used an amazing kick to pass the group and become square with Mystik Dan. Ultimately, Mystik Dan had slightly more in the tank and was able to hold onto the lead.
The 2024 Kentucky Derby had it all: a high-stakes purse, a photo finish and all of the horses making it out of the race healthy. If next year's Derby is half as exciting, it will still be quite the show.
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