Belmont Purse & Prize Money for 2017 Race

Irish War Cry entered the 2017 Belmont as the favorite. (Getty)

Several of the favorites may have been scratched from the 2017 Belmont, but there is still quite a bit of money to be made. According to The Triple Crown, the race has a $1.5 million purse.

The Triple Crown breaks down the numbers based on the 2016 race, but the Belmont has not changed the amount for 2017. The top eight finishers will walk away with prize money, as the Belmont pays out money to more horses than most of the other major races.

The winning horse’s team will get $800,000. Second place earns $280,000. Third place will receive $150,000. Fourth place walks away with $100,000. Fifth place receives $60,000. Sixth place earns $45,000 while seventh place receives $35,000. Finally, eighth place walks away with $30,000.

This year, there was almost an interesting twist attached to the purse. According to Daily Racing Form, the New York Racing Association offered a $1 million bonus to any Japanese entry who won the race. This attracted Epicharis who would have taken home $1.8 million had he won the race.

Epicharis battled lameness earlier this week and was scratched the morning of the race. This meant no one would be eligible for the NYRA bonus.

Daily Racing Form reported the bonus will be offered again in next year’s race. The bonus ultimately has business reasons behind it. Japan ended up offering the Belmont for wagering because Epicharis was expected to compete.

It will be interesting to see if the race can attract other Japanese horses in 2018. The horse is required to have started in three races prior to the Belmont to be eligible for the bonus.

Irish War Cry entered the race as the slight favorite. Classic Empire was expected to enter the race as the favorite but was scratched from the race after battling a foot abscess.

The absence of Classic Empire and Epicharis left 11 horses to compete for the $1.5 million purse.

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