Saturday’s running of the $9 million Pegasus World Cup will be only the third, but there is something that immediately distinguishes this edition from the first two: This will be the first Pegasus without a ton of filler in the starting gate. The inaugural Pegasus in 2017, which was worth $12 million and won by Arrogate at 4-5, had a full field of 12. However, that field included horses who went off at odds of 188-1, 160-1, 138-1, 82-1, 74-1, and 49-1. The second Pegasus last year, which was worth $16 million and won by Gun Runner at even-money, also had a full field of 12. But that field included horses who went off at odds of 135-1, 74-1, 63-1, 41-1, and 40-1. (As an aside, right here is a good time to address the myth that full fields are automatically better betting races. A 12-horse field where you can safely throw out eight hopelessly overmatched horses becomes, in essence, a four-horse race of legitimate contenders. How is that so much better than a seven-horse race in which five horses have a legitimate license to win?) This Saturday’s Pegasus got up to a field of 12 this weekend with the announcement that the vacancy created by the defection of multiple Grade 1 stakes winner McKinzie, who would have been a strong third choice in the betting, had been filled by Imperative. We know a few things about how this Pegasus field ranks, at least in terms of betting. We know Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Accelerate will be the strong favorite. And we know City of Light, who was so impressive in winning the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and the only horse to have beaten Accelerate last year, doing so on the square in the Oaklawn Handicap, will be the strong and clear-cut second choice. That was pretty much cemented with Audible’s loss without excuse at 1-10 in last month’s Harlan’s Holiday Stakes. But more to the point, we also know that only one of the known Pegasus starters can accurately be termed a rank outsider. And that is Imperative, whose late addition, bringing the Pegasus field up to the nice round number of 12, must be a relief to those who worry about such things. Imperative finished ninth in an allowance race last month at Gulfstream, beaten more than 20 lengths, and beat a total of one horse of the 36 he faced in his four stakes starts last year. He is a 100-1 shot if there ever was one. However, not one of the remaining 11 Pegasus starters deserves to be 100-1. In fact, not one of those 11 deserves to be as high as 80-1, 70-1, 60-1, or maybe even 50-1. In looking at the confirmed Pegasus starters beyond those already mentioned – that list is made up of Bravazo, Gunnevera, Kukulkan, Patternrecognition, Seeking the Soul, Something Awesome, Tom’s d’Etat, and True Timber – one could argue that Kukulkan probably should be 50-1 because the Beyer Speed Figure he earned in his U.S. debut last month of 70 puts him, oh, about the length of the stretch behind Accelerate and City of Light. That said, I don’t think Kukulkan will be as big a price as he probably should be because he has a record that will appeal to a segment of the betting public. After all, Kukulkan is 14 for 14 in his career, all of his wins have been clear-cut, he won the Triple Crown in his native Mexico, and though the restricted Caribbean Classic he won last month was very slow, he did it over the Gulfstream main track, and he scored by more than 10 lengths. People who pay no mind to speed figures (and they are out there) might actually be dazzled. True Timber is a candidate to be among the longest shots on the board in this Pegasus, but he isn’t anything like what we saw for longshots in the first two Pegasuses (or is it Pegasi?). Yes, True Timber was 31-1 last time out in the Cigar Mile, but he finished a strong second, beaten less than a length, and is clearly in the best form of his career. Something Awesome is also likely to be among the biggest prices, and yet he is a good horse. He won the rich Charles Town Classic last spring and had a useful prep in his comeback in November. Meanwhile, there are certain horses in this Pegasus who you just know will take money. Audible will despite his iffy recent form because last year, he won the Florida Derby over the track and finished third in the Kentucky Derby. Gunnevera, the runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, has a big fan club in South Florida. Patternrecognition won the Cigar Mile in a career-best performance, but even if he didn’t, he would attract action merely because he’s trained by Chad Brown. And Tom’s d’Etat might be moving way up in class, but he aired in his last four, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he winds up the biggest underlay in the Pegasus betting. Look, no one is confusing this Pegasus with the 1973 Marlboro Cup (look it up – Secretariat aficionados like myself consider his win in that event to be almost on a par with his unreal Belmont Stakes because of how he manhandled a truly superstar field). Still, it’s progress for the Pegasus that this time, only one horse makes you wonder about his presence in the gate. Less filler is a good thing. It’s just a bit ironic that this is happening in this Pegasus, the one with the $7 million purse cut. Of course, that $7 million was diverted to the new Pegasus Turf. And while the 10 confirmed starters at this writing make for a solid field, I envision the connections of every one of those horses being over the moon for their good fortune. I suspect they would have been perfectly happy running for one-tenth of that purse. I say that because only four of the 10 confirmed starters are Grade 1 stakes winners, and that might be true only in a technical sense, as it’s an open question whether they are true Grade 1 horses or just opportunists. Those Grade 1 winners are Aerolithe, who won a Group 1 in her native Japan in May 2017 and looks like a Group 2 horse now; Channel Maker, who set a slow pace on a tricky, soft course others didn’t handle when he won the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic last fall; Next Shares, who won the Shadwell Turf Mile last fall at Keeneland at 23-1, also on an off course; and Yoshida, who won the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs last May on yielding turf but who, in fairness, won the Grade 1 Woodward on dirt last summer. At least there are three others in this Pegasus Turf right now who are Grade 1 stakes-placed. They are Catapult, a sharp second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile last fall; Delta Prince, a close second in the Fourstardave last summer; and Magic Wand, second in two straight Group 1s in France before finishing a respectable fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Frankly, Delta Prince had no business losing the Fourstardave. But Catapult has become a vastly improved performer since relocating to Southern California, and one could argue that he and Magic Wand are currently more legitimate Grade 1 horses than most, if not all, of the actual Grade 1 winners in this inaugural Pegasus Turf. :: WIN A TRIP TO THE QUEEN'S PLATE: Click here to cast your vote for the 2018 Horse of the Year contest, and be entered to win a trip for two to the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine!