We are little more than halfway through the year, so we thought this would be a good time to see where the top horses stand in terms of earnings this year.
Arrogate, who makes his return in Del Mar's San Diego Handicap on Saturday, is the top-earning runner this year by a wide margin. He followed up his 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic win with wins in the world’s two richest races: The Pegasus World Cup and the Dubai World Cup. You can either include or exclude the results of the Dubai World Cup (we chose to exclude them) and Arrogate is the clear leader in earnings regardless. (Arrogate's earnings skyrocket to $13 million when you include the Dubai World Cup).
Arrogate makes his return to the track on Saturday in the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. He's expected to run in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on August 19.
Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming is the top-earning three-year-old on the list followed by Irap who didn't win a Triple Crown race but has won Ohio Derby and Indiana Derby in recent weeks. Abel Tasman is the top-earning filly after winning the Kentucky Oaks and Acorn Stakes.
Here are the Top Ten horses by North American earnings:
Rank, Name, Earnings, Notes
1. Arrogate - $13,000,000 (winner of Pegasus World Cup)
2. Shaman Ghost - $2,520,000 (2nd in Pegasus, 1st in Santa Anita Handicap)
3. Always Dreaming - $2,260,600 (winner of Kentucky Derby)
4. Irap - $1,285,000 (winner of Bluegrass, Ohio Derby, and Indiana Derby)
5. Tapwrit - $1,080,000 (winner of Belmont Stakes)
6. Cloud Computing - $1,071,000 (winner of Preakness Stakes)
7. Abel Tasman - $1,039,200 (top-earning filly, 1st in Kentucky Oaks & Acorn Stakes)
8. Classic Empire - $1,034,300 (1st in Arkansas Derby, 2nd in Preakness)
9. Neolithic - $1,000,000 (3rd in Pegasus)
10. Mor Spirit - $982,000 (winner of Met Mile)
Source: Equibase - http://www.equibase.com/stats/#sthash.QQlIMZpZ.v4VGLmkN.dpbs