The purse might be lower than back in 2016 and 2017, but Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes still holds a lot of prestige (to seasoned racing fans, it did so even when named the Donn Handicap). This year’s renewal at Gulfstream Park offers $3 million to the top finishers, and the Pegasus drew a full and fascinating field highlighted by a defending winner and a group of 4-year-olds that missed last spring’s Triple Crown but still have unlocked potential. The race will be televised nationwide on NBC and streamed on Peacock, with a scheduled post time of 5:39 p.m. ET.
Read on for Pegasus World Cup trifecta betting strategies from the team at America’s Best Racing, and use ABR’s handy Gambling Calculator to structure your bets.
Mike Curry
Betting the trifecta in 2026 Pegasus World Cup, in my opinion, revolves almost entirely around what you think of undefeated #1 Disco Time. The morning-line favorite is 5-for-5 lifetime and enters off a pair of flashy, fast wins. He’s considered by many to be a potential star. He might be … but he’s never raced at this 1 1/8-mile distance, his three starts in 2025 were all restricted to 3-year-olds, and I question the quality of opposition from his September and November stakes wins. You either key Disco Time on top or try to beat him – I’ll try the latter.
Defending winner #11 White Abarrio loves Gulfstream and is fast enough to win this race. I’ll use him on top, but because he has not raced since Aug. 31 and drew a terrible post position, I’ll hedge and also use #7 Tappan Street in the top slot. His win over Sovereignty in the Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa speaks to his quality.
For the second spot, I’ll add in the consistent #4 Banishing and probable pacesetter #10 Mika, and I’ll fill out the trifecta with huge longshot #12 Brotha Keny in the third spot.
Mike’s trifecta strategy on a $36 budget:
Gulfstream Park, Race 13: $2 trifecta, #7 Tappan Street and #11 White Abarrio over #4 Banishing, #7 Tappan Street, #10 Mika, and #11 White Abarrio, over #4 Banishing, #7 Tappan Street, #10 Mika, #11 White Abarrio, and #12 Brotha Keny ($36)
Noel Michaels
Horses breaking from outside posts in big fields in Gulfstream Park two-turn dirt races do statistically very poorly, so I am narrowing down my Pegasus contenders to the first eight post positions (I was not high on the chances of #10 Mika and #11 White Abarrio, anyway). The other thing that jumps off the page when handicapping this year’s Pegasus is the overabundance of speed entered in the field. If you want the lead in this race, you probably are going to get cooked on a very fast pace. That will play against the chances of even a highly talented horse like #3 Full Serrano going this 1 1/8-mile distance. Conversely, a horse that should benefit from the pace profile in this race is #7 Tappan Street, who owns tactical speed but will be laying comfortably behind the leaders and therefore will be the horse to beat. Tappan Street looked as good as any of last year’s Kentucky Derby-bound horses at Gulfstream last winter, and he owns a win over eventual Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty in the 2025 Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa to prove it. Tappan Street was sidelined for eight months following that race, but he returned to action with a win at Gulfstream in December and now should be prepped and ready to roll back to Grade 1 glory for trainer Brad Cox.
Cox is also the trainer of the Pegasus favorite, #1 Disco Time, who is a severe underlay at morning line odds of 8-5. Nevertheless, Disco Time does come into this race with a perfect 5-for-5 record, has top-rung connections with Flavien Prat aboard, draws a cozy inside post, and most importantly doesn’t need the lead to win as he demonstrated in last year’s Lecomte Stakes which he won from far off the pace. I’d bet against Disco Time to win but certainly use him in the trifectas. The other two top contenders in the field, at least for spots in the trifecta, are #4 Banishing and #5 Skippylongstocking. At his best in 2025, Banishing was good enough to dead-heat for second with Nysos when beaten just a neck by Mindframe in the high-quality Churchill Downs Stakes Presented by Ford. Skippylongstocking, meanwhile, is a veteran with a long list of graded stakes accomplishments who went off-form in August of last year but signaled a return to form last time out when he won Gulfstream’s own Pegasus prep race in the Harlan’s Holiday Stakes in late December.
Noel’s trifecta strategy on a $60 budget:
Gulfstream Park, Race 13: $10 trifecta, #7 Tappan Street over #1 Disco Time, #4 Banishing, and #5 Skippylongstocking over #1 Disco Time, #4 Banishing, and #5 Skippylongstocking ($60)
Dan Tordjman
This is one of the more interesting runnings of the Pegasus World Cup. There appears to be a clear-cut standout in the undefeated #1 Disco Time. He’s 5-for-5 and won his most recent race by nearly 10 lengths. However, this is just his first time going a distance of a mile and an eighth, and this is the toughest field he’s faced to date. That said, I can’t imagine a scenario in which he doesn’t at least finish in the top three — so, we’re using him on our trifecta ticket.
As for the other two spots, I think those might be filled out by one of several contenders: #4 Banishing, #7 Tappan Street, #9 Captain Cook and #11 White Abarrio. With Tappan Street and White Abarrio, you’ve got two horses proven over the dirt at Gulfstream. Tappan Street has a bit more upside given his running style (he’s well drawn and will ll be sitting off of what projects to be a fast pace), as opposed to White Abarrio whose form dropped off noticeably in the back half of 2025. Banishing should be picking up the pieces late and could improve in stretching out to this longer distance. Captain Cook is extremely talented but he might tire late at this distance, especially if he gets caught up with the early pace.
Dan’s trifecta strategy on a $36 budget:
Gulfstream Park, Race 13: $1 trifecta, #1 Disco Time, #4 Banishing, and #7 Tappan Street over #1 Disco Time, # 4 Banishing, #7 Tappan Street, #9 Captain Cook, and #11 White Abarrio over #1 Disco Time, #4 Banishing, #7 Tappan Street, #9 Captain Cook, and #11 White Abarrio ($36)
Patrick Reed
Even though defending Pegasus winner #11 White Abarrio underwhelmed in his final three starts of 2025, his career 8-for-10 record at Gulfstream Park is tough to overlook. He drew an unfavorable post position as well, but getting Irad Ortiz Jr. back aboard – who has ridden White Abarrio to three out of his four career-best races including last year’s Pegasus – should compensate.
Therefore, I’ll use him as my key horse in a pair of trifecta bets, one for $1 (betting him to win) and the other for 50 cents (betting him to run second). I’ll use six other horses on the ticket: #1 Disco Time, #3 Full Serrano, #5 Skippylongstocking, #7 Tappan Street, #8 Poster, and #10 Mika. Full Serrano is a bit of a question mark given his poor effort in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (a race White Abarrio was withdrawn from right before it started). Still, at his best he’s good enough to hang around for a top-three finish. Disco Time and Tappan Street are two of the three favorites in this race along with White Abarrio and still have untapped potential. Skippylongstocking is another Gulfstream Park regular who based on his career résumé is not talented enough to win against this field but surely can hit the board. And then I’ll use two longshots – one coming from off the pace in Poster, and another who should be batting for the lead from the outset in Mika.
Patrick’s trifecta strategy on a $45 budget:
Gulfstream Park, Race 13: $1 trifecta, #11 White Abarrio over #1 Disco Time, #3 Full Serrano, #5 Skippylongstocking, #7 Tappan Street, #8 Poster, and #10 Mika over #1 Disco Time, #3 Full Serrano, #5 Skippylongstocking, #7 Tappan Street, #8 Poster, and #10 Mika ($30)
Gulfstream Park, Race 13: 50-cent trifecta, #1 Disco Time, #3 Full Serrano, #5 Skippylongstocking, #7 Tappan Street, #8 Poster, and #10 Mika over #11 White Abarrio, over #1 Disco Time, #3 Full Serrano, #5 Skippylongstocking, #7 Tappan Street, #8 Poster, and #10 Mika ($15)
