South Pacific Purses or lack thereof

[Kaine Saracen]

Decided against hijacking the scavenger thread...
But I think Australian (South Pacific) racing needs a little more purse respect.

The Melbourne Cup, as one of the highest paying turf route races in the world could probably get a little more respect in regards to it's current purse to.

Churchill Downs announced Thursday that the purse for the Kentucky Derby will increase from $2 million to $3 million, starting with this year’s 145th running on May 4.
Updated 1:52 p.m. ET Jan. 10, 2019

The Melbourne Cup is Australia’s second richest race each year with the introduction of The Everest now holding the title as the richest race with prize money for the race totalling $7.3 million dollars.

A few comparisons:

Melbourne Cup $7.3 million AUD (2018). Game purse: $1,000,000
W.S. Cox Plate $5 million AUD (2018). Game purse: $1,000,000
Caulfield Cup $5 million USD (2018). Game purse: $500,000
Victoria Derby $2 million AUD (2018). Game purse: $400,000
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe €5 million (2018). Game Purse: $6,000,000
Kentucky Derby $2 million USD (2018). Game purse: $2,000,000
Breeders' Cup Turf $4 million USD. Game Purse: $4,000,000
Breeders' Cup Classic $6 million USD (2016). Game Purse: $6,000,000

[Cleo Patra]

I definitely wouldn’t complain if these purses went up. There is a reason Winx stays in Australia in real life. We really do have some nice prize money!

[Danny Derby]

I think it’s less a function of keeping those purses similar to real life as it is recognizing that lots of giant money opportunities already exist for turf routers, and a handful more $4-$5M races in Australia would top it even more out of whack while cannibalizing the Arc and SC. Plus if you did Australia you couldn’t forget about Japan and Hong Kong which would then make it even worse!

[Mr. Lord Rich]

I mean, I always hear this talk about finding ways to take money out if the game, but the purse money just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

[Kaine Saracen]

Year-48 Week-9 Day-1 (10pm) Hipodromo Argentino (ARG) Condition: Firm. Race 1 - 1 3/8 miles. Turf. Thoroughbred. "Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini." 3 year olds and up. Stakes. Purse $500,000 - Grade 1 Entry Fee $5,000 (100 points)

Year-49 Week-9 Day-1 (10pm) Hipodromo Argentino (ARG) Condition: Firm. Race 1 - 1 3/8 miles. Turf. Thoroughbred. "Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini." 3 year olds and up. Stakes. Purse $2,000,000 - Grade 1 Entry Fee $20,000 (100 points)

At least there haven't been any precedents set recently.