tʊ ɐtɹˈækt bˈoʊθ kəmpˈɛɾɪɾɚz ænd fˈænz, ɹˈeɪs pɹəmˈoʊɾɚz ˈɔfɚd wʌt wɜː ðˈɛn kənsˈɪdɚd sɛnsˈeɪʃənəl ɐmˈaʊnts ʌv pɹˈaɪz mˈʌni ɐ tˈoʊɾəl pˈɜːs ʌv dˈɑːlɚ twˈɛnti fˈaɪv,zˈiəɹoʊzˈiəɹoʊ zˈiəɹoʊ wʌz nˌɑːt ʌnjˈuːʒuːəl ɚɹˈaʊnd ðə tˈaɪm ʌv wˈɜːld wˈɔːɹ ˈaɪ.
To attract both competitors and fans, race promoters offered what were then considered sensational amounts of prize money - a total purse of $25,000 was not unusual around the time of World War I.