Preakness Stakes purse will increase to $2 million in 2024

BALTIMORE — The purse for the Preakness Stakes will increase to $2 million, up from $1.5 million in 2023, and it will become part of a new three-leg series with a potential bonus payout of $5 million, 1/ST Racing said Friday in a move designed to increase the appeal of Maryland’s signature race.

Despite its status as the second jewel in the Triple Crown, the Preakness has struggled to draw top contenders from the Kentucky Derby in recent years because owners and trainers are increasingly reluctant to run their horses on just two weeks’ rest. Derby winner Mage was the only horse to compete in both races last year, and he finished third at Pimlico Race Course, with Bob Baffert-trained National Treasure taking the Preakness.

With little apparent support for a revamped Triple Crown calendar that would add time between the Derby and Preakness, 1/ST, which owns and operates the Preakness, is trying a different approach. The company will dangle a $5 million bonus for any horse that wins the Preakness, the Sept. 28 California Crown Stakes at Santa Anita Park and the Jan. 28, 2025, Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in Florida.

1/ST owns and operates all three tracks, though it would cede control of Pimlico to the state of Maryland under a renovation plan currently being considered by the General Assembly.

The company said in a statement that the increased purse and new bonus series reflect its “ongoing commitment to maintaining and growing the Thoroughbred horse racing industry to usher in a new era for racing in Maryland.”

1/ST CEO Belinda Stronach described the new race series at her company’s tracks as an attempt at “modernization” for the tradition-bound sport.

“To back this up, 1/ST is adding to the legacy of the Preakness by increasing the purse, creating a new marquee race event for the majestic Santa Anita Park — The California Crown — and continuing to build on the phenomenal success of the Pegasus World Cup,” Stronach said in a statement.

In addition to boosting the Preakness purse, 1/ST Racing plans to increase the purse for the Dinner Party Stakes, the top turf race on the Preakness undercard, from $200,000 to $500,000. That race will also be linked to turf races on the California Crown and Pegasus World Cup undercards, with a possible $2.5 million bonus on the line.

The Preakness announcement came a little more than a month after Churchill Downs Inc. said the purse for the Kentucky Derby would increase to $5 million, up from $3 million last year.