Betting on Horse Racing: Updates on the Pegasus World Cup

Horse racing is a game enjoyed by millions of spectators and bettors around the world. It has been around for centuries with varying rules over time but is nonetheless a thrilling sport. The Pegasus Cup is one of the many anticipated horse racing events in North America. The South Florida-based event will be coming back in January 2021 for its fifth annual race.

Whether you’re new to this particular franchise or a fan of horse racing in general, or you just want to know more about the upcoming race, here’s a few information on the Pegasus World Cup 2021.

About the race

The Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes is an annual American Thoroughbred horse race event in Florida’s Gulfstream Park. It is a Grade 1 race, which means it is in the highest tier in thoroughbred horse racing standards, such as the Triple Crown Series and the Breeder’s Cup. 

Competing in the race are horses ages four and above, but such horses to join the race are invitation-only. There are currently two signature races for the event: the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf, which tracks spans 1 3/16 miles, and the $3 million Pegasus World Cup, which tracks spans 1 ⅛ mile.

History of the Pegasus World Cup

Compared to its fellow grade 1 thoroughbred horse racing events, this is not an old racing franchise as the first Pegasus World Cup event was held last January 2017. 

The idea for the event was brought up in January of 2016 by businessman Frank Stronach, who proposed a race that would not interfere with the schedules of other big races like the Breeder’s Cup and the Triple Crown races. It would also be a fitting final race for competing horses before they finally retire.

The Pegasus World Cup races would then continue to the present, with the races held in late January. Since 2017 there have been four champions, namely: Arrogate, Gun Runner, City of Light, and Mucho Gusto, in chronological order.

Pegasus World Cup 2020

The Pegasus World Cup 2020 was the most recent race, which happened on January 25 just this year, at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, State of Florida. Ten competitors were there that day to compete for the $3 million titles, as witnessed by millions of viewers. The 2020 title race’s purse was $3 million, which was significantly lower than all of the previous races, but there are no longer entry fees, as people can witness the race for free.

Participants

There have initially been twelve competitors for the race.

The competitors were;

• True Timber, with jockey Joe Bravo and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, 
• Tax, with jockey Jose Ortiz and trainer Danny Gargan, 
• Diamond Oops, with jockey Julien Leparoux and trainer Patrick Biancone, 
• Seeking the Soul, with jockey John Velazquez and trainer Dallas Stewart, 
• Omaha Beach, with jockey Mike Smith and trainer Richard Mandella, 
• Higher Power, with jockey Flavien Prat and trainer John Sadler, 
• War Story, with jockey Joel Rosario and trainer Elizabeth Dobles, 
• Mr. Freeze, with jockey Luis Saez and trainer Dale Romans, 
• Spun to Run, with jockey Javier Castellano and trainer Juan Carlos Guerrero, 
• Mucho Gusto, with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and trainer Bob Baffert, 
• Tenfold, with jockey Tyler Gaffalione and trainer Steve Asmussen, 
• Bodexpress, with jockey Emisael Jaramillo and trainer Gustavo Delgado.

A few days before the event, Omaha Beach and Spun to Run were scratched from the race due to an injury and a skin rash, respectively.

Odds

The ten final competitors of the Pegasus World Cup are now assigned odds. Odds in horse racing mean that the first number will represent the profit you will get in return for investing the amount of the second number. 

For example, if the odds read 8-3, it means that there will be an 8 dollar profit in return for every three dollars invested. If you win the bet, you will get 11 dollars back, which will increase depending on the number of times you placed your bet on your horse. There are always odds that are released once there is an official lineup, but the initial odds can change.

The following were the odds for the Pegasus World Cup: True Timber with 30-1, Tax with 8-1, Diamond Oops with 10-1, Seeking the Soul with 20-1, Higher Power with 5-2, War Story with 30-1, Mr. Freeze with 15-1, Mucho Gusto with 2-1, Tenfold with 30-1, and Bodexpress with 15-1. The favorite among the lineup is then five-year-old Higher Power.

Results

Among the ten contenders that participated in the race, it was Mucho Gusto who emerged victoriously. He gave out an $8.80 win, $5.00 place, and $3.80 show. The competitor second to the said horse is Mr. Freeze, and the third is War Story. The rest of the results, in order, are Diamond Oops, Bodexpress, Seeking the Soul, True Timber, Tax, and Higher Power.

Takeaway

The Pegasus World Cup, despite being younger than most grade 1 thoroughbred races, has proven its audience a thrilling race for four years now. As it approaches its fifth year in a few weeks, several speculations are now being made on who competes for the 2021 cup. Who do you think will be the competitors, and who among them will get the Pegasus World Cup 2021? Always remember to bet wisely.