Money in Horse Races
Here are some examples of how much money betting makes for certain races and countries:
The Grand National
The Grand National is one of the biggest horse races in the world. It is in the UK. The prize for the winner of the Grand National is $1,300,000. You would think this is a lot of money, but the amount of money earned from betting in 2012 exceeded $200,000,000! Betting is basically paying to kill horses-Since the Grand National was founded in 1839, 70 horses have died while competing in the excruciating Grand National.
The Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes)
The Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes on their own are huge races-but to win both of these and the Preakness Stakes in one year is a huge achievement (the last horse to do it was Affirmed in 1978). The prize for winning this, on top of the huge prizes already given for winning the three races, is $5,000,000. The betting for the Triple Crown exceeds $100,000,000! In these races, many horses have been brutally killed while competing. Eight Belles, the famous filly, broke both front ankles after crossing the finish line of the Kentucky Derby in 2008 and was euthanized right away.
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is the biggest horse racing competition in Australia. The prize has been increasing over the past few years, and in 2012 it was $6,000,000. It attracted 2.6 million viewers and collected $22,100,000 in betting money. Same as in the other races, many horses have died horrific deaths in this competition.
In the USA, 1.42 billion dollars are spend every year for prize money. While this seems like a lot of money, the USA earns 115 billion dollars from betting and other games at racetracks or racinos. Japan spends 1.36 billion a year on prize money (it is home of the richest turf race, the Japan Cup that has the prize money of $5.6 million), yet also earns billions of dollars more because of betting. Australia is 3rd for the amount of money spend on prize money, with $422,000,000 but earns about 12 times as much from betting ($6.2 billion).
The Grand National
The Grand National is one of the biggest horse races in the world. It is in the UK. The prize for the winner of the Grand National is $1,300,000. You would think this is a lot of money, but the amount of money earned from betting in 2012 exceeded $200,000,000! Betting is basically paying to kill horses-Since the Grand National was founded in 1839, 70 horses have died while competing in the excruciating Grand National.
The Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes)
The Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes on their own are huge races-but to win both of these and the Preakness Stakes in one year is a huge achievement (the last horse to do it was Affirmed in 1978). The prize for winning this, on top of the huge prizes already given for winning the three races, is $5,000,000. The betting for the Triple Crown exceeds $100,000,000! In these races, many horses have been brutally killed while competing. Eight Belles, the famous filly, broke both front ankles after crossing the finish line of the Kentucky Derby in 2008 and was euthanized right away.
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is the biggest horse racing competition in Australia. The prize has been increasing over the past few years, and in 2012 it was $6,000,000. It attracted 2.6 million viewers and collected $22,100,000 in betting money. Same as in the other races, many horses have died horrific deaths in this competition.
In the USA, 1.42 billion dollars are spend every year for prize money. While this seems like a lot of money, the USA earns 115 billion dollars from betting and other games at racetracks or racinos. Japan spends 1.36 billion a year on prize money (it is home of the richest turf race, the Japan Cup that has the prize money of $5.6 million), yet also earns billions of dollars more because of betting. Australia is 3rd for the amount of money spend on prize money, with $422,000,000 but earns about 12 times as much from betting ($6.2 billion).