Pre-race favorite Justify won the Kentucky Derby by 2 1/2 lengths on Saturday, becoming the first horse in 136 years to win at Churchill Downs after not racing as a two-year-old.
The colt earns a sizable paycheck for his large ownership team: 62 percent of the $2 million purse, or $1.24 million.
The 52-year-old jockey, Mike Smith, also brings home a nice paycheck: The winning horse rider gets 10 percent of what the owners collect, meaning that Smith, who is the second-oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby, got a check for $124,000. That number will get shaved down to about $100,000 after paying his agent and valet, the person who gets the jockey's gear in place.
And that's before taxes. Still, it's a nice payday for two minutes of work.
The second and third place jockeys get 5 percent of their owner's take ($400,000 and $200,000), meaning Jose Ortiz, who rode second place finisher Good Magic, earned $20,000 and Javier Castellano, who rode third place finisher Audible, earned $10,000.
After fees, they'll take home closer to $14,000 and $7,000.
As for the 17 other jockeys, they won't make out nearly as favorably. Their ride is only worth "a couple hundred dollars apiece," jockey agent Ron Anderson told CNBC in 2010.
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