Illinois Derby prize money
The Illinois Derby is worth $250,000 for the 2017 running . That makes it the 344th richest of the 997 races on this site and the 126th richest in the United States.
Every figure here is the money the race announces, in the currency it announces it in. The currency control at the top swaps the whole page.
What the Illinois Derby is
Grade III · miles (9 furlongs) · Dirt · Hawthorne Race Course
- Racecourse
- Hawthorne Race Course
- Country
- United States
- Grade
- Grade III
- Distance
- miles (9 furlongs)
- Surface
- Dirt
- Race type
- Thoroughbred - Flat racing
- Open to
- Three-year-olds
- Direction
- Left-handed
- First run
- 1923
We hold the total fund for the Illinois Derby and no separate winner's cheque. What the winner takes is a rule the racecourse sets rather than a national one, and it varies race by race.
Run in 1:50.43 in 2024, the Illinois Derby pays $2,264 for every second of the race, which is 257th of the 611 races in horse racing prize money per second and 133rd in the United States.
Every Illinois Derby winner
48 runnings, 1968 to 2024, newest first
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Patriot Spirit1:50.43 | Julio E. Felix | Michael B. Campbell | Mellon Patch, Inc. | $200,000 |
| 2017 | Multiplier1:47.98 | James Graham | Brendan P. Walsh | American Equistock | $250,000 |
| 2015 | Whiskey Ticket1:50.82 | Martin A. Pedroza | Bob Baffert | Karl Watson, Michael E. Pegram, Paul Weitman | $400,000 |
| 2014 | Dynamic Impact1:49.07 | Miguel Mena | Mark E. Casse | John C. Oxley | $750,000 |
| 2013 | Departing1:50.78 | Brian Hernandez Jr. | Albert Stall Jr. | Claiborne Farm | $750,000 |
| 2012 | Done Talking1:53.88 | Sheldon Russell | Hamilton Smith | Skeedattle Stable | $500,000 |
| 2011 | Joe Vann1:51.91 | Florent Geroux | Todd Pletcher | Zayat Stable | $300,000 |
| 2010 | American Lion1:51.31 | David Flores | Eoin G. Harty | WinStar Farm | $500,000 |
| 2009 | Musket Man1:49.91 | Eibar Coa | Derek S. Ryan | Eric Fein & Vic Carlson | $500,000 |
| 2008 | Recapturetheglory1:49.01 | E. T. Baird | Louie J. Roussel III | Louis J. Roussel III & Ronald Lamarque | $500,000 |
| 2007 | Cowtown Cat1:51.21 | Fernando Jara | Todd A. Pletcher | WinStar Farm | $500,000 |
| 2006 | Sweetnorthernsaint1:49.82 | Kent Desormeaux | Michael Trombetta | Joseph J. Balsamo & Ted Theos | $500,000 |
| 2005 | Greeley's Galaxy1:49.62 | Kent Desormeaux | Glen Stute | B. Wayne Hughes | $500,000 |
| 2004 | Pollard's Vision1:50.80 | Eibar Coa | Todd A. Pletcher | Edgewood Farm | $500,000 |
| 2003 | Ten Most Wanted1:51.47 | Pat Day | Wallace Dollase | James Chisholm, J. Paul Reddam, Michael Jarvis | $500,000 |
| 2002 | War Emblem1:49.42 | Larry Sterling Jr. | Frank R. Springer | Russell Reineman Stable | $500,000 |
| 2001 | Distilled1:51.37 | Mike E. Smith | Todd A. Pletcher | Dogwood Stable | $500,000 |
| 2000 | Performing Magic1:50.86 | Shane Sellers | Alex L. Hassinger Jr. | The Thoroughbred Corp. | $500,000 |
| 1999 | Vision and Verse1:48.47 | Herbert Castillo | William I. Mott | W. Bruce Lunsford | $500,000 |
| 1998 | Yarrow Brae1:51.21 | Willie Martinez | D. Wayne Lukas | Michael Tabor & Susan Magnier | $500,000 |
| 1997 | Wild Rush1:47.51 | Kent Desormeaux | Richard Mandella | Frank Stronach | $500,000 |
| 1996 | Natural Selection1:48.60 | Randy Romero | Mohamed Moubarak | Buckram Oak Farm (Mahmoud Fustuq) | $500,000 |
| 1995 | Peaks and Valleys1:48.99 | Julie Krone | James E. Day | Pin Oak Stable | $500,000 |
| 1994 | Rustic Light1:51.89 | Earlie Fires | Robert Hale | Phillip Brooks & Robert Hale | $500,000 |
| 1993 | Antrim Rd.1:48.68 | Aaron Gryder | Glenn Wismer | Alyce & Joseph Novogratz | $500,000 |
| 1992 | Dignitas1:49.09 | Jerry D. Bailey | George R. Arnold II | John Peace | $533,500 |
| 1991 | Richman1:49.36 | Jerry D. Bailey | William I. Mott | William F. Lucas | $530,000 |
| 1990 | Dotsero1:50.60 | Aaron Gryder | Tim Muckler | J. Malkin, B. Glazov, et al. | $315,000 |
| 1989 | Music Merci1:50.20 | Gary Stevens | |Craig C. Lewis | Harvey & Thea Cohen | $515,000 |
| 1988 | Proper Reality1:50.20 | Jerry D. Bailey | Robert E. Holthus | Mrs. James A. Winn | $535,000 |
| 1987 | Lost Code1:49.60 | Gene St. Leon | L. William Donovan | Wendover Stable | $313,550 |
| 1986 | Bolshoi Boy1:52.20 | Richard Migliore | Howard M. Tesher | Art Belford & John Greathouse | $315,000 |
| 1985 | Important Business1:51.60 | Juvenal L. Diaz | LeRoy Jolley | Ilene & Skip Taylor | $320,000 |
| 1984 | Delta Trace1:51.80 | Keith K. Allen | Robert J. Frankel | Ann & Jerry Moss | $210,000 |
| 1983 | Gen'l Practitioner1:50.40 | Jose A. Santiago | Leo Sierra | William Blair | $210,000 |
| 1982 | Star Gallant1:52.60 | Ray Sibille | Lenny Imperio | Mahmoud Fustuq | $210,000 |
| 1981 | Paristo1:49.60 | David Ashcroft | George R. Handy | Robert & Ruth Feinberg | $155,000 |
| 1980 | Ray's Word1:52.00 | Richard DePass | Smiley Adams | Not found | $155,000 |
| 1979 | Smarten1:49.40 | Sam Maple | Woody Stephens | Ryehill Farm (Jim & Eleanor Ryan) | $150,000 |
| 1978 | Batonnier1:51.60 | Ronald Hirdes Jr. | Harry Trotsek | Edward Seltzer | $105,000 |
| 1977 | Flag Officer1:52.20 | Leslie Ahrens | George J. Getz | Chuck Schmidt & Philip Teinowitz | $105,000 |
| 1976 | Life's Hope1:51.40 | Sandy Hawley | Laz Barrera | Harbor View Farm | $125,000 |
| 1975 | Colonel Power1:50.20 | Phil Rubbicco | John O. Meaux | Harvey Peltier Sr. | $105,000 |
| 1974 | Sharp Gary1:50.00 | Gerland Gallitano | Joseph DiAngelo | Edward R. Scharps | $105,000 |
| 1973 | Big Whippendeal1:50.20 | Larry Adams | John Fulton | Kinship Stables | $75,000 |
| 1972 | Fame And Power1:50.00 | Tony Rini | John O. Meaux | Harvey Peltier Sr. | $70,000 |
| 1969 | King of the Castle1:51.40 | Braulio Baeza | Edward A. Neloy | Ogden Phipps | $80,000 |
| 1968 | Bold Favorite1:50.20 | Robert Nono | Del W. Carroll | Michael G. Phipps | $75,000 |
48 of the 48 runnings name the rider, 48 name the trainer and 48 name the owner, who is the one of the three the prize money actually belongs to. 48 carry the total prize money for that year, converted here the same way the purse above is.
What the Illinois Derby has paid, season by season
Total prize money, 1968 to 2024
The total prize money went from $75,000 in 1968 to $200,000 in 2024, 2.7 times more. Every year is converted at today's rate, so the line is the money the race puts up rather than the money the exchange rate did.
Who wins the Illinois Derby more than once
The fact the table above holds and cannot show
Most wins by a jockey
Races worth about the same
Either side of the Illinois Derby in the world money order
| # | Race | Country | Prize money | As published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 334 | Broadway Novices' ChaseCheltenham Racecourse | Great Britain | $266,000 | £200,000 |
| 335 | Gordon StakesGoodwood Racecourse | Great Britain | $266,000 | £200,000 |
| 336 | New Zealand CupRiccarton Park Racecourse | New Zealand | $263,879 | NZ$450,000 |
| 337 | Bahrain TrophyJuly Course | Great Britain | $261,664 | £196,740 |
| 338 | Dante StakesYork Racecourse | Great Britain | $255,626 | £192,200 |
| 339 | Prix Ferdinand DufaureAuteuil Racecourse | France | $250,085 | €220,000 |
| 340 | Albany StakesSaratoga Race Course | United States | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 341 | Calder DerbyCalder Race Course | United States | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 342 | Del Mar DerbyDel Mar Racetrack | United States | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 343 | Dubai City of GoldNad Al Sheba Racecourse | United Arab Emirates | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 345 | Iowa DerbyPrairie Meadows Racetrack | United States | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 346 | Kent StakesDelaware Park Racetrack | United States | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 347 | Lecomte StakesFair Grounds Race Course | United States | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 349 | Sam F. Davis StakesTampa Bay Downs | United States | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 350 | Smarty Jones Stakes (Oaklawn Park)Oaklawn Park Race Track | United States | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 351 | Super DerbyLouisiana Downs | United States | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 352 | Withers StakesAqueduct Racetrack | United States | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 353 | Adelaide CupMorphettville Racecourse, South Australia | Australia | $246,296 | AU$350,000 |
| 354 | Australia StakesMoonee Valley Racecourse | Australia | $246,296 | AU$350,000 |
| 355 | Blue Diamond Prelude C&GCaulfield Racecourse, Sandown Racecourse | Australia | $246,296 | AU$350,000 |
The 20 races closest to the Illinois Derby in what they pay, above and below it. Follow the ranking all the way up on the richest races in the world.
The rest of the money in the United States
196 races, 126th of them is this one
| Race | Racecourse | Grade | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Bull Stakes | Gulfstream Park | Grade III | $275,000 |
| Albany Stakes | Saratoga Race Course | Restricted | $250,000 |
| Calder Derby | Calder Race Course | Grade III | $250,000 |
| Del Mar Derby | Del Mar Racetrack | Grade II | $250,000 |
| Iowa Derby | Prairie Meadows Racetrack | Listed | $250,000 |
| Kent Stakes | Delaware Park Racetrack | Listed | $250,000 |
| Lecomte Stakes | Fair Grounds Race Course | Grade III | $250,000 |
| Sam F. Davis Stakes | Tampa Bay Downs | Listed | $250,000 |
Every race in the United States we hold a purse for is on the United States prize money list.
Frequently asked questions
What is the total Illinois Derby prize money?
$250,000, for the 2017 running.
Where does the Illinois Derby rank among the richest races in the world?
344th of 997. 343 races pay more, the nearest of them Broadway Novices' Chase. In the United States it is 126th of 196.
Which jockey has won the Illinois Derby most often?
Kent Desormeaux, with 3 wins between 1997 and 2006.
When was the Illinois Derby first run?
1923. This page holds 48 runnings, from 1968 to 2024.
How far is the Illinois Derby?
miles (9 furlongs), on dirt, at Hawthorne Race Course.
Where to next
The rest of the racing money