Pegasus World Cup Day at Gulfstream Park is the winter season’s first truly monumental day of racing and wagering. The headline race, the $3 million, Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Baccarat, will bring together many of the best older horses in training and takes place during the otherwise mostly quiet month of January on the Grade 1 stakes calendar.
What: Pegasus World Cup Day is one of the year’s premier days of Thoroughbred racing featuring a total seven graded stakes races with purses of more than $5 million. The headline race is the Pegasus World Cup for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles on the main track in a showdown with national implications.
Where: Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., located between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.
When: Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. The featured races will be broadcast live on NBC/Peacock from 4:30-6:30 p.m. ET. Full-day coverage will be available on FanDuel TV.
Pegasus World Cup History: The Pegasus World Cup has had a stellar eight-year history, including some recent runnings of the race run under current conditions with a $3 million purse. Underscoring the continuing importance of the Pegasus on the annual Grade 1 calendar, the winner of last year’s Pegasus, National Treasure, is expected to be named the winner of the Eclipse Award for top older male of 2024. He joins an all-star line-up of prior Pegasus winners, including horses like Knicks Go who won the 2021 Pegasus and went on to win the 2021 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar and was named Horse of the Year.
The inaugural running of the Pegasus in 2017 won by Arrogate featured a $12 million purse. The purse of the race topped out at $16.3 million when Gun Runner won it in 2018, which was the final race of his career and came just days after he was honored as Horse of the Year for 2017. Before 2017, the race was known as the Donn Handicap and was won by such luminaries as Foolish Pleasure, Cigar (twice), Skip Away, Medaglia d’Oro, and Quality Road, just to name a few.
Pegasus World Cup Undercard: The Pegasus World Cup is not a stand-alone event. A loaded supporting undercard will add to the appeal of Pegasus World Cup Day for handicappers. The Pegasus is the centerpiece of a program that will also include other important races led by the $1 million, Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes held at 1 1/8 miles and the $500,000, Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Stakes held at 1 1/16 miles. Other graded stakes on the card will include the $200,000, Grade 2 Inside Information Stakes for fillies and mares going seven furlongs on the main track, the $200,000, Grade 3 William L. McKnight Stakes held at 1 ½ miles on the turf, the $150,000, Grade 3 Prevoyante Stakes at 1 ½ miles on turf for fillies and mares, and the $150,000, Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper Stakes at a mile on the main track.
Pegasus – the Event: To attract high-rollers, Gulfstream Park and 1/ST Bet will again host the popular Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship. The handicapping tournament costs $6,000 to enter ($5,000 bankroll and $1,000 entry fee) and promises a $225,000 purse based on 200 entries, with 100% of entry fees plus $25,000 in added money being paid out to the winners.
The Pegasus races are not only a draw for big bettors, they are also the centerpiece of a see-and-be-seen south Florida social event. Pegasus Day tickets start at $125 but several VIP hospitality options will be available including exclusive dining and entertainment options. A number of celebrities will be expected on the Pegasus red carpet. Performances are scheduled by DJs Black Coffee and Diplo and country/pop recording artist Dasha.
Who’s Who: Gulfstream Park has extended Pegasus invitations to the best dirt horses in training and many of them are targeting the 2025 Pegasus World Cup and expected to contest the race, guaranteeing an all-star cast.
Perhaps the biggest name expected at the 2025 Pegasus World Cup is Mystik Dan, the winner of the 2024 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. Mystik Dan will be making his 4-year-old debut coming off a dull effort in his only recent race where he finished last of six in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park.
Mystik Dan will get the headlines, but he may or may not even be the horse to beat. The role of favorite in the Pegasus likely will be filled by either Locked or White Abarrio. Locked has returned from a long layoff for trainer Todd Pletcher and has been exceptional in two recent outings – both wins – including a victory last time in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap Presented by Twinspires.com at Aqueduct. White Abarrio was the winner of the 2023 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic who is now back with Gulfstream leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. after Joseph trained him earlier in his career. He is coming off a disappointing season in 2024 but has shown recent signs of life including a very troubled second-place finish last time in Gulfstream’s Grade 3 Mr. Prospector Stakes.
Contention in the 2025 Pegasus will go far beyond just the top three biggest names. More horses on the list of contenders include Crupi, another Pletcher trainee who finished third in the Pegasus last year, and Joseph’s other entrant, Skippylongstocking, who counts the 2024 Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap among his top career wins. Senor Buscador is expected to take another crack this year after finishing second in 2024. He exited last year’s Pegasus to win the $20 million Saudi Cup in his next race.
Many of the top trainers in the game will also be represented in the field. Horses include Mixto, the 2024 Pacific Classic winner trained by Doug O’Neill, Saudi Crown, a former Grade 1 winner who exits a win in last month’s Tenacious Stakes at Fair Grounds for trainer Brad Cox, and Stronghold and Imagination, the second- and third-place finishers in last month’s Malibu Stakes trained by Phil D’Amato and Bob Baffert, respectively.
A showdown of all these talented and accomplished horses, plus many more, will ensure the Pegasus World Cup Invitational will be a great betting race and a sensational event at Gulfstream Park.
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