The Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes takes place on Saturday at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. And the card is absolutely loaded.
If you’re in Illinois, you can bet on the races online at TVG. You can watch the action on NBC, and television coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. CST.
NBC will broadcast the Pegasus World Cup and Pegasus World Cup Turf. That includes the NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com and Peacock.
You can watch all other races on TVG.
Inspired by the Greek mythical horse ‘Pegasus,’ the races began in 2017. There is a 110-foot Pegasus statue at Gulfstream Park.
The purse for this year’s Pegasus World Cup is $3 million. In total, there will be seven races on Saturday — the World Cup and the World Cup Turf are the headliners.
Pegasus World Cup odds
The latest Pegasus lines as of Jan. 26:
- Kicks Go: 6-5
- Chess Chiefs: 10-1
- Stilleto Boy: 20-1
- Life Is Good: 7-5
- Empty Tomb: 20-1
- Sir Winston: 12-1
- Title Ready: 20-1
- Endorsed: 20-1
- Commandeer: 30-1
Knicks Go, who won last year’s race, is expected to be a favorite this time around as well. Life Is Good, Americanrevolution and Following Sea also figure to be in the mix.
Here is what else you need to know about the Pegasus World Cup.
Storylines heading into the Pegasus World Cup
The race is open to horses who are four years or older. Knicks Go has a chance to become the first back-to-back Pegasus Cup winner ever. With a win, he would also clear the $10 million threshold in career earnings.
With that said, top competitor Life Is Good recently shined at the Breeders’ Cup. Life is Good won the Dirt Mile by 5 3/4 lengths there.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said of Life Is Good:
“His works, he couldn’t work any better but he’s always been such an exceptional work horse that I guess anything other than exceptional would be concerning. He seems to be every bit as good or better than he was going into the Breeders’ Cup.”
Colonel Liam won the World Cup Turf last year, and he is a top contender to defend his title.
Originally, the Pegasus World Cup was supposed to be the world’s richest horse race. It had a $17 million purse when it launched.
That wasn’t sustainable from a business perspective, and the purse total is $3 million now. Still, that is the same number as the Kentucky Derby.
Horse racing in Illinois
There are only two horse racing tracks in Illinois: Hawthorne Race Course (Stickney) and FanDuel Sportsbook & Horse Racing (Collinsville).
Arlington International Racecourse closed in September. Churchill Downs has a purchasing agreement with the Chicago Bears to sell the property.
While the number of tracks is dwindling, Hawthorne is doing its best to keep horse racing interest alive in Illinois. It just reopened Crazy Pour, an OTB in Villa Park. Hawthorne also took over the following former Arlington OTBs.
- The Piazza, Aurora
- Salerno’s Pizzeria and R Bar, McHenry
- Trackside at the Saddle Room, Hoffman Estates
- The Turf Room, North Aurora
You can watch and bet on the Pegasus World Cup at these locations on Saturday and dozens of other OTBs in Illinois, as well.
