The Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational is a
Grade I
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
American
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...
, by invitation for four-year-olds and older over a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the
turf
Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls.
In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...
track, held annually in late January or early February at
Gulfstream Park
Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...
,
Hallandale Beach, Florida
Hallandale Beach (formerly known simply as Hallandale) is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, the son of a Swedish worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. As of the 20 ...
. The event currently carries a purse of $1,000,000.
History
The inaugural running of the event was on 2 March 1986, on the last day of a 71-day annual winter meeting as the Gulfstream Park Breeders Cup Handicap, the tenth race on the under-card of
Florida Derby
The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturd ...
day. The event had additional sponsorship from the
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...
which gave the event immediate recognition and value. The event was won by Craig B. Singer's Irish-bred five-year-old Sondrio who started at odds of 7/1 and ran the miles distance in 1:40.60 winning by lengths.
[
The following year the event was held on the dirt track due to the condition of the turf track. The event had additional sponsorship from ]Budweiser
Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States.
''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrelat ...
and this reflected in the name of the race. Budweiser sponsorship continued for nine years ceasing after the 1995 running of the event.
The event was upgraded in 1990 by the American Graded Stakes Committee {{short description, Organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders
The American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders. ...
to a Grade III race. In 1991 the distance of the event was lengthened considerably to miles and the following year the event was upgraded to Grade II classification. In 1994 the event was transferred to the dirt track and held over a distance of miles.
After the 2007 running of the event the Breeders' Cup ceased to sponsor the event and the event was known as the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap. In 2009 the distance of the event was decreased by two furlongs to miles.[
In 2019 Gulfstream Park Administration created a racing series called the ]Pegasus World Cup
The Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race whose first running was on January 28, 2017 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. It is run over the dirt at the distance of miles (9 furlongs) and is o ...
and this event was rebranded as the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. In the first edition, each entrant's connections had to pay a $500,000 entry fee with the organizer adding an extra $1,000,000 for a total purse of $7,000,000. In the 2020 edition, the race adopted the Invitational format and entry fees were suppressed, so the purse was limited to the organizer contribution.
Records
Time record:
* miles: 1:51.60 – Zulu Alpha
Zulu Alpha (foaled February 8, 2013 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2020 Pegasus World Cup Turf.
Career
Zulu Alpha's first race was on October 20, 2015, at Gowran Park Racecourse in County Kilkenny, Ire ...
(2020)
* miles: 1:39.60 – Youmadeyourpoint (1990)
* miles: 1:45.63 – Almanaar ( GB) (2017)
* miles: 2:10.73 – Yagli (1999)
Margins:
* lengths – Man from Wicklow (2003)
Most wins:
* 2 – Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
(2006, 2008)
* 2 – Colonel Liam (2021, 2022)
Most wins by an owner:
* 2 – Allen E. Paulson
Allen Eugene Paulson (April 22, 1922 – July 19, 2000) was an American businessman.
Business career in aviation
Born in Clinton, Iowa, Clinton, Iowa, Allen E. Paulson was on his own at age 13, supporting himself selling newspapers and doing ...
(1998, 1999)
* 2 – The Thoroughbred Corporation
The Thoroughbred Corporation is a Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding operation established in 1994 by principal partner Prince Ahmed bin Salman of the Saudi Arabian royal family. It was based at an facility at Bradbury Estates, in Bradbury, ...
(2000, 2001)
* 2 – Midnight Cry Stables (2006, 2008)
* 2 – IEAH Stables IEAH Stables (International Equine Acquisitions Holding) operated a thoroughbred horse racing stable in the United States that included Big Brown, the winner of the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness
. The company was based in Garden City, New York. ...
(2009, 2010)
* 2 – Robert E. & Lawana L. Low (2021, 2022)
Most wins by a jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
:
* 7 – Jerry Bailey
Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957 in Dallas, Texas) is an Thoroughbred Racing on NBC, NBC Sports thoroughbred racing analyst and a retired American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame jockey.
Early years
Bailey was born ...
(1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003)
Most wins by a trainer:
* 5 – William I. Mott
William I. "Bill" Mott (born July 29, 1953, in Mobridge, South Dakota) is an American horse trainer, most notable for his work with Cigar. Mott earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 1995 and 1996. He was inducted into the National ...
(1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001)
Winners
''Legend:''
''Notes:''
§ Ran as an entry
Entry may refer to:
*Entry, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States
*Entry (cards), a term used in trick-taking card-games
*Entry (economics), a term in connection with markets
* ''Entry'' (film), a 2013 Indian Malayalam fil ...
† In the 2010 running of the event Take The Points was first past but was disqualified for interference in the straight and placed fifth and Court Vision was declared the winner.
See also
* List of American and Canadian Graded races
The List of American and Canadian Graded races is a list of Thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada that meet the graded stakes standards maintained by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders A ...
* Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap top three finishers
* Pegasus World Cup
The Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race whose first running was on January 28, 2017 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. It is run over the dirt at the distance of miles (9 furlongs) and is o ...
References
{{Reflist, 2
Grade 1 turf stakes races in the United States
Grade 1 stakes races in the United States
Graded stakes races in the United States
Horse races in Florida
Open middle distance horse races
Gulfstream Park
Recurring sporting events established in 1986
1986 establishments in Florida