Pegasus World Cup day at Gulfstream Park is one of the winter horse racing season’s best days of racing and wagering. The headline race, the $3 million, Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Presented by Baccarat, is the first major race of the year for older horses and takes place during the otherwise mostly quiet month of January on the Grade 1 stakes calendar.

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The Pegasus World Cup has had a stellar seven-year history, including some recent editions of the race run under current conditions with a $3 million purse. The 2021 Pegasus winner, Knicks Go went on to win the 2021 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar and was named Horse of the Year. The 2022 winner, Life Is Good, went on to a successful campaign that year which included Grade 1 wins in the Whitney Stakes and the Woodward Stakes.

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 million when Gun Runner won it in 2018. Before 2017, the race was known as the Donn Handicap and was won by such luminaries as Foolish Pleasure, Cigar, Skip Away, Medaglia d’Oro, and Quality Road, just to name a few.

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 include six more graded stakes races worth an additional $2.2 million in purse money. The undercard will be led by the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Presented by TAA. Here’s a preview of the “Big 3” races on what should be a fantastic day of racing and betting Jan. 27 at Gulfstream.

$3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Presented by Baccarat

First Mission (Eclipse Sportswire)

The 2024 Pegasus field will feature many horses that can expected to be the leaders of the handicap division throughout 2024. In some years, the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus has been headlined by a standout star attraction and clear horse to beat. This year, the field for the Pegasus will feature a full field deep with contenders where as many as 12 horses may have a legit chance to win or at least hit the board.

Favoritism is very likely to come down to a couple of newly turned 4-year-olds. The Bob Baffert-trained National Treasure and the Brad Cox-trained First Mission are the biggest names in the field. National Treasure won the 2023 Preakness Stakes and fought gallantly in defeat last time out when beaten a nose by Horse of the Year candidate Cody’s Wish in the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. First Mission has never finished worse than second in five career starts, including a win in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland and a near miss by a nose in the Grade 2 Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare at Churchill Downs in November in his last start. National Treasure and First Mission should be a formidable headlining pair in the 2024 Pegasus.

The Pegasus field will also be filled with a talented group of older horses that will have strong chances to win. They include contenders like Trademark, who nipped First Mission last time out in the Clark Stakes; Hoist the Gold, who exits a big wire-to-wire win in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct; and West Coast invaders Senor Buscador, a deep closer who won last year’s Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar, and Newgrange, who won the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes on opening day at Santa Anita Park in his most recent start.

The top two finishers from Gulfstream’s own Pegasus prep race, the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday Stakes, O’Connor and Grand Aspen, are both expected to be back for the Pegasus. Finally, even the longshots can’t be counted out for a slice based on their best days. This group includes Il Miracolo, who won last year’s Grade 3 Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing; Skippylongstocking, who won the 2023 Grade 2 Charles Town Classic; and Dynamic One, a horse that has raced just twice in the 18 months since winning the 2022 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park.

$1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational

Integration (Walter Wlodarczyk/NYRA)

The headline race atop the Pegasus undercard is the $1 million, Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational going 1 1/8 miles. The race was held for the first time in 2019, and the first winner of the race, Bricks and Mortar, went on to be named that season’s Horse of the Year. Previously, this race dates back to 1986 when it was called the Gulfstream Park Turf Stakes.

The winner of the 2023 Pegasus Turf was Atone, who is expected to be back despite going winless in his last six starts of 2023. Atone will seek a repeat victory against a competitive field and a full starting gate of 12 horses is expected. Atone will attempt to become the second back-to-back winner of the Pegasus Turf in a row after Colonial Liam won the race the two prior consecutive years in 2021 and 2022.

Perhaps the most interesting entrant in the projected field is the lightly raced Integration, trained by Shug McGaughey. Integration was undefeated in three starts as a 3-year-old and appears to have a very high upside based on victories in the Grade 3 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs and the Grade 2 Hill Prince Stakes at Aqueduct in 2023.

Coolmore is on the invitation list with the Aidan O’Brien-trained filly Warm Heart, a world traveler who finished second by a neck in the 2023 Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. She will be tough to overlook, even versus this field of top males.

Other horses very likely to garner significant support in the Pegasus will be Shirl’s Speight and Webslinger. Shirl’s Speight, trained by Roger Attfield, is best known for his runner-up finish in the 2022 FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF, and he more recently finished second to Master of the Seas in the Grade 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile. Webslinger built an impressive turf résumé in 2023 and hopes for an elusive Grade 1 win in this spot after near-miss Grade 1 runner-up finishes in the Saratoga Derby Invitational and the Hollywood Derby at Santa Anita. The field will also include the 1-2 finishers in the local prep race, the Ft. Lauderdale Stakes on Dec. 30, who are Main Event and Kingmax.

$500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Presented by TAA

Queen Goddess (Nicole Thomas/Coglianese Photo)

This year will mark the third running of the Grade 2 Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf, which carries a purse of $500,000 and will be run at 1 1/16 miles. The inaugural running in 2022 was won by the Chad Brown-trained heavy favorite Regal Glory. Last year, the race was won by Queen Goddess, trained by Michael McCarthy.

Queen Goddess is expected to seek a repeat win in 2024 versus a full field of 12. Brown will be represented by multiple graded stakes winner Consumer Spending and Fluffy Socks, who won the 2023 Grade 2 Longines Distaff Turf Mile Stakes and placed second by a head recently in the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar.

The competition will be strong in the 2024 Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf. Some other notables expected in the field include multiple graded turf stakes winners Closing Remarks, Didia, and Mission of Joy, as well as Grade 3 winners Ruby Nell and Surprisingly and the 1-2 finishers in Gulfstream’s recent local prep race, the Grade 3 Suwannee River Stakes, Full Count Felicia and Accomplished Girl. Finally, the wild card in the field will be Star Fortress, who came from overseas last time out to crush the field by 10 lengths in her first U.S start in the Grade 3 Cardinal Stakes at Churchill Downs.