Pegasus World Cup berths now open to all comers

A deadline giving slot-holders in the Pegasus World Cup first dibs on buying slots for the January race next year at Gulfstream Park has expired, opening up the market to all comers.

The deadline was Thursday, according to officials for The Stronach Group, the company that owns Gulfstream and markets the slots to the Pegasus, scheduled for Jan. 26. It was unclear how many slots, if any, were sold prior to the deadline, as officials for The Stronach Group did not respond to repeated requests for comment Friday.

The slots will now be marketed to horsemen around the world in an attempt to fill the starting gate with 12 horses for the race by the time the World Cup is run early next year. Tickets for the event, which have been capped, went on sale earlier this week.

Slots for the Pegasus World Cup cost $500,000, half of what a slot cost for the previous running of the race. All horses that start in the race are guaranteed a payout of $200,000 each, with the winner receiving $4 million of the listed purse of $9 million. The Stronach Group is kicking in $3 million to the purse above and beyond the $6 million of what is expected to be raised from slot owners.

The purse for the previous running, when slots cost $1 million each, was $16 million, and each horse in the race was guaranteed $650,000 regardless of finish position. The Stronach Group cut the purse and slot price this year in order to add the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational, which will have a listed purse of $7 million, with the winner receiving $3 million and all runners guaranteed at least $200,000 back. A slot for the turf Pegasus also costs $500,000.

For the first year of the race, in 2016, The Stronach Group sold all 12 slots months before the race was run, but last year, there were three slots still unsold leading up to the race. The Stronach Group then purchased the slots on its own and reached deals with horse owners in which their horses started for free, but they were only eligible to receive direct payments from the purse by finishing in the top three.

Ron Paolucci, the owner who wheeled and dealed two spots for the most recent Pegasus, said Friday that he had told Stronach Group officials that he is committed to buying a slot for both the dirt Pegasus and the turf Pegasus. But he also said he has not yet sent any money to The Stronach Group.

“I haven’t paid yet, I just know that they have spots for me in both races,” Paolucci said. “I honestly didn’t know the deadline was yesterday.”

Paolucci said he does not have specific horses pointing to either race.

“I’ve got a bunch of horses who maybe could make the race if everything goes the right way, but my strength is my ability to negotiate,” he said. “If we don’t have one by the time of the race, I’ll find one, believe me. It’s a long ways away, and a lot can happen between now and then.”