It’s that time of year again. The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and Cheltenham Festival is back!
Ahead of one of the highlights of the Jump racing season, we’ve put together the top five richest horse races from across the globe.
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5. Breeders’ Cup Classic – £4.65m
Taking place at the Breeder’s World Championships in November every year, the standout Breeders’ Cup Classic offers a cool $6m prize pot.
The 1¼ mile dirt race for thoroughbreds takes place across North America’s best tracks, with the 2023 meet at Santa Anita Park in California.
It is the fourth and final race in the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred Racing, following the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.
4. Golden Eagle – £5.4m
Australia’s second richest race, the Golden Eagle, has been run for just a few years, with the first race in 2019 at Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney.
A 1,500-metre circuit for Thoroughbreds, it comes in at number four in this list with a whopping A$10m prize fund.
You’d like to think with all this cash comes an opportunity to give back, and that’s exactly what the Golden Eagle has decided to do.
Each jockey selects a charity, with 10% of the purse donated to the winning jockey’s charity.
3. Dubai World Cup – £9.3m
The main event at Meydan Racecourse, this 10-furlong dirt race comes in at third place on the list of richest horse races.
The final race on Dubai World Cup night, it dates back to 1996, with plenty of famous horses etching their name in the history books since.
And it’s not just the most famous horses and jockeys that flock to Dubai for this huge race; the celebrities do too!
The day of entertainment is often supplemented by some vocals, with Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, and Jennifer Lopez all making special guest appearances on stage.
2. The Everest – £10.5m
Australia’s most lucrative horse race and the second richest in the world, The Everest is the crown jewel of racing Down Under, taking place annually at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.
It is another relatively young horse race, first run in 2017, but has quickly accumulated a mass following and now offers a purse of up to A$20m!
1. Saudi Cup – £15.5m
The other races on this list offer chump change compared to the Saudi Cup.
Saudi Arabia is quickly becoming a hot spot for elite-level sport, and horse racing is among the latest trends to find a home there.
There have been five editions thus far at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack, with a staggering $20m prize purse up for grabs.
Luis Saez, David Egan, Wigberto Ramos, Yutaka Yoshida, and Junior Alvarado are the five jockeys who have snagged the top prize to date, with this Thoroughbred dirt race undoubtedly set to skyrocket in popularity in the coming years.
The winner of the Saudi Cup pockets a very average $10m… not bad for 2 minutes work!
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