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.
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.