Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf new addition to Gulfstream's $14 million championship meet stakes schedule

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Gulfstream Park released its stakes schedule for the 2021-22 Championship meeting on Friday, with several notable enhancements, including the inaugural running of the $500,000 Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf.

The Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf, formerly run as the Marshua’s River, will debut on Jan. 29 as part of the undercard for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational and $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational.

The Championship session will open on Dec. 3 and run through April 3.

The 2021-22 stakes schedule will be worth $14.26 million, up more than $1 million from the previous winter, with a good portion of those increases being added to the 3-year-old stakes that make up Gulfstream Park’s road to the Triple Crown, which concludes with the Grade 1 Florida Derby on April 2. The purse for the Florida Derby has been returned to its former level of $1 million after having been reduced to $750,000 due to covid-related issues last winter. The purses for the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and Grade 3 Holy Bull have been upped $50,000 apiece from last season to $400,000 each. The one mile Mucho Macho Man, which traditionally launches the 3-year-old prep season in South Florida, also had its purse raised $50,000 and will now be worth $150,000 when decided on New Year’s Day.

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Florida Derby Day, which offers 10 stakes races, is the last of the many multiple-graded-stakes days at the meet. The Pegasus card features seven graded stakes. The first of the multi-stakes cards will be the Claiming Crown, which will be presented at Gulfstream Park for a 10th consecutive year on Dec. 4.

There are no stakes specifically written for the newly installed Tapeta course. It will, however, serve as a backup when grass stakes are taken off the turf due to inclement weather.