The winning jockey typically receives around 5% of the Melbourne Cup prize money, which for 2025 works out to about A$225,000, plus a share of the ride fee incentive that race day organizers may provide in some markets. The rest of the purse goes to owners and the trainer (usually 85% to owners, 10% to the trainer), with the jockey’s cut fixed by the race prize structure. In total, the primary monetary prize for the winning connections is about A$4.5 million to the owners, while the jockey’s statutory portion is about A$225,000.
