The 2018 Pegasus World Cup gets a raise
Among recent stories that have been overshadowed by the Kentucky Derby prep season was news that the purse for next year’s Pegasus
World Cup would be raised from $12 million to $16 million.
As was the case with the inaugural running in
January, the purchasers of the 12 “slots” available for the race will pony up $1 million apiece. The additional $4 million will be provided by The Stronach Group, the organization founded by billionaire racing and breeding magnate Frank Stronach.
Sixteen million dollars, of course, is a lot of money. Just how much is it in racing terms? Well, it would be enough to fund the purses of the 11 other non-Breeders’ Cup Grade 1s in older-male races of a mile or longer on dirt.
It would also be enough to fund all 13 divisional Grade 2s, as well as 16 of the richest Grade 3s. Thus, the purse for the 2018 Pegasus World Cup will be approximately equal to the purses for the other 40 most important divisional stakes outside of the Breeders’ Cup.
The best thing about multimillion dollar races such as the Pegasus (and the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Dubai World Cup) is that they bring top horses together in combinations that might not occur otherwise.
For example, the rematch between Arrogate and California Chrome would not have happened if not for the Pegasus. California Chrome certainly wouldn’t have delayed retirement to run in the $500,000 Donn Handicap, the 58-yearold race the Pegasus replaced. Nor would the Donn have been the race Arrogate’s connections would have chosen to kick off his 2017 campaign.
However, these multi-million dollar races have a downside. Having the purse of one race equal to the combined purses of 40 others minimizes the importance of these older, traditional races where much of the history of the sport was written.
We are reaching the point where the best horses will be able to focus on the three super races, bypassing such races as the Santa Anita Handicap and the Jockey Club Gold Cup while resting up for bigger prizes.
The Pegasus was fortunate to attract two future Hall of Famers to its initial running, something that probably won’t
happen again. In order for a $16 million race to have much meaning, it’s going to have to continue to draw superb horses — and often there just aren’t many of those around.
The Other 40
Following are the graded stakes whose combined purses are approximately equal to that of the 2018 Pegasus World Cup.
Grade 1: Santa Anita Handicap, Metropolitan Handicap, Stephen Fos-
ter Handicap, Gold Cup at Santa Anita, Whitney Stakes, Pacific Classic, Woodward Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Awesome Again Stakes, Cigar Mile, Clark Handicap.
Grade 2: San Pasqual Stakes, San Antonio Stakes, Gulfstream Park Handicap, New Orleans Handicap, Oaklawn Handicap, Alysheba Stakes, Charles Town Classic, Californian Stakes, Brooklyn Stakes, Suburban Handicap, San Diego Handicap, Fayette Stakes, Kelso Handicap.
Grade 3: Razorback Handicap, Pimlico Special, Cornhusker Handicap, Pat Day Mile, Excelsior Stakes, Ben Ali Stakes, Texas Mile, Lone Star Park Handicap, Longacres Mile, Monmouth Cup, Westchester Stakes, Hal’s Hope Stakes, Skip Away Stakes, Mineshaft Handicap, Iselin Handicap, Native Diver Stakes.