Futurities were all the rage in the late 1800's. The (Belmont) Futurity had a huge purse supported by foal nominations and continuing eligibility payments. Even more than the BCJ today, the purse for that one race was massive compared the other races in the division. I think it was in the Futurity that Domino made so much of his 2yo earnings. My guess is that Colin and Sysonby both probably won the Futurity as well.
When you consider what the average paycheck was then and even how much a very good 3yo could make, it is amazing how much the Futurity was worth.
To get an idea of purses, check out the NYRA sites stakes histories pages. It shows the purses annually for it continuing features. It's also a good way (as is reading Champions) to get a good idea of what races were the really important ones. In pre-slots days, the money and the quality were more on par than they are today.
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RIP Monroe.
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