Pegasus World Cup 2024

The Pegasus World Cup Invitational is a $3 million race for older Thoroughbreds, making it one of the richest races of the year. Run in January at Gulfstream Park in Florida, the Pegasus World Cup was first contested in 2017.

Originally established as the world's richest race with a purse of $12 million, the Pegasus was a race where owners could buy in to the starting gate for $1 million per runner. Arrogate won the first edition, defeating the popular California Chrome. In 2018, the purse was worth a staggering $16 million and was won by Gun Runner, marking the second year in a row that the Breeders' Cup Classic winner came back to succeed in the Pegasus.

After a purse reduction to $9 million in 2019, the Pegasus World Cup has settled at a $3 million purse and the runners are now invited by track officials. As horses are confirmed or their invitations are declined, the track puts out another list of invitations. This ensures that Gulfstream Park is getting the very best field it can assemble.

A sister race, the Pegasus World Cup Turf, was introduced in 2019 with a purse of $6 million. The race has since had an established purse of $1 million. In 2022, the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf will be run for the first time – it has a purse of $500,000. In addition, the card includes several other graded stakes races, which means the entire day is a showcase of some of the top Thoroughbred talent in the world.

With its $3 million purse, the Pegasus World Cup is tied with the Kentucky Derby for monetary value and is above all other races in North America save for some of the Breeders' Cup contests. The list of winners also includes City of Light and Knicks Go, both Breeders' Cup winners themselves.