2023 Pegasus World Cup Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

The Pegasus World Cup (G1) is the first major race of the year for the handicap division, and it is coming up at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, January 28! The race covers 1 1/8 miles on the dirt, and it offers a rich $3 million purse. It drew an overflow field and promises to be a can’t-miss betting race.

Cyberknife will be the favorite in the Pegasus World Cup off of his strong second-place finish behind Cody’s Wish in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1). However, the road to Pegasus glory in his career finale will not be easy. Read on to learn about the field, and find out how to watch and wager on the Pegasus World Cup online!

Pegasus World Cup 2023 Information

Race Date: Saturday, January 28, 2023
Track: Gulfstream Park
Post Time: 5:40 p.m. Eastern
Distance: 1 1/2 miles on the dirt
Age/Sex: Three-year-olds and up
Where to Watch: FanDuel TV, NBC, Peacock
Where to Bet: TVG.com and FanDuel Racing

Pegasus World Cup Odds

Here are the horses in the 2023 Pegasus World Cup in post-position order, including their trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds. The race drew a full field of twelve, plus originally two also-eligible entrants. Note that Hoist the Gold has already been declared scratched from the Pegasus World Cup, so if a horse scratches from the main field then Endorsed will draw in.

Keep your eyes on Fanduel TV up until post-time. We will keep you up to date on the odds for the race, as well as any news that may affect either the odds or the chances for each of these horses to win. Horse racing is a game of information, after all, so the more you know, the smarter your bet will be!

Pegasus World Cup Prep Results

Most of the horses in the Pegasus World Cup are coming out of graded stakes, though fewer than usual are coming out of the Breeders’ Cup. Though all but one of the Pegasus winners so far has come out of either the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) or the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) as their most recent start, only one horse in this year’s field comes straight from the Breeders’ Cup. Cyberknife most recently ran second behind Cody’s Wish in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Three others come out of Grade 1 races. Proxy won the Clark at Churchill Downs in his most recent race, going the same distance as the Pegasus. Get Her Number and White Abarrio were last seen finishing 2-3 behind the now-retired Mind Control in the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct.

The Harlan’s Holiday (G3), the local prep race for the Pegasus, feeds three more horses into the field. Skippylongstocking, back at his home track, looked better than ever when taking command in the lane and winning the race. Simplification and O’Connor crossed the wire third and fourth, respectively, in the Harlan’s Holiday.

The only other last-out graded stakes winner in the Pegasus this year is Defunded, who won the Native Diver (G3) at Del Mar last out. Others who come out of graded races include Stilleto Boy, most recently second in the San Antonio (G2), and Art Collector, fifth in the Lukas Classic (G2).

Three Pegasus entrants come out of ungraded races. Ridin with Biden most recently won the Kris Kringle at his home track, Parx. Last Samurai finished second in the Tinsel Stakes at Oaklawn. Finally, also-eligible Endorsed is the only one other than Skippylongstocking who comes into the Pegasus out of a victory at Gulfstream, though that came in an allowance/optional claiming race.

Pegasus World Cup Contenders

Proxy: He broke a long streak of underneath finishes in stakes races with a victory in the Clark last out. However, this is a significantly deeper Grade 1 than that race was. He has never missed the board in six starts going a mile and an eight and has some tactical speed, so he is a strong choice for the exotics, but a win may be just too much to ask.

Simplification: The 2022 Fountain of Youth winner was well backed in the Harlan’s Holiday last month, but hung late to finish third, 2 ¼ lengths behind Skippylongstocking. He ran a good fourth in the Kentucky Derby after closing into a wicked pace, though that was an anomalous race. He does not have to be that far from the speed, a positive, but also his better efforts have more often come over shorter distances than this.

Ridin With Biden: He is a graded stakes winner by virtue of a three-back win in the Greenwood Cup (G3) at 1 ½ miles over his home track of Parx. He also won his only start at 1 ⅛ miles, wiring the ungraded Deputed Testamony at Laurel last year. His tactical speed is an asset, but he has never faced horses of this quality, and he ran off the board in both of his Gulfstream starts so far.

White Abarrio: He ran a good third in the Cigar Mile last out, especially given that the one-turn mile may be on the short side for him as an older horse. The Pegasus covers the same course and distance where he won the Florida Derby (G1) last year. With several speed horses in the field, he should get a good trip sitting just a couple lengths behind it, and it would be no surprise if he finishes well.

Defunded: He is trained by Bob Baffert, the only two-time winner of the Pegasus World Cup. His recent races have shown progression through the latter half of his four-year-old year, but the company he will see in the Pegasus is on the whole tougher than what he has been seeing in California. Furthermore, he won’t have such an easy time making or disputing the lead with the likes of Art Collector in the Pegasus.

Art Collector: He hasn’t raced since a fifth-place run in the Lukas Classic; he was supposed to have a start before the Pegasus but was not ready yet. Though he is a stone-cold 1 ⅛-mile horse, the missed prep is concerning, and he may have his hands full up front battling with Defunded, especially with good horses drafting just behind.

Skippylongstocking: He has never looked better than he did in the Harlan’s Holiday, stalking the pace and taking command in the lane to win by two lengths. He loves Gulfstream Park, and the extra sixteenth of a mile poses no problem as he has already won twice over the Pegasus distance. Skippylongstocking is an in-form horse with a good chance to continue his ascent in the Pegasus.

Get Her Number: He ran a gutsy second in the Cigar Mile, proving he is more than just a two-year-old Grade 1 winner that flamed out as his class matured. However, he has yet to prove he wants to go this far: though his big win as a two-year-old came at 1 1/16 miles, his strong form at age four came over one turn. Against a field of such accomplished route horses, there is a good chance for him to regress.

Last Samurai: He has not won in six starts since moving to the D. Wayne Lukas barn, but came as close as ever when missing by only a neck in the Tinsel on Dec. 17 at Oaklawn. However, he was a well-beaten fourth behind Proxy in the Clark two back, and was well-beaten by Art Collector in the Charles Town Classic as well. He would have to take a surprising step forward to be a factor in the Pegasus.

Cyberknife: He will be the Pegasus favorite with very good reason. He comes out of a traditionally live prep for the race, and the extra furlong puts him right back at the distance at which he is already a two-time Grade 1 winner. His tactical speed should play well at Gulfstream, and he is the kind of horse who can take his form to many different tracks.

Stilleto Boy: Last year’s third-place finisher is the same kind of horse he has always been: a hard-trying runner who keeps getting underneath shares as a long shot in major races. He is tactically versatile enough to work out a trip, and though a victory would be a surprise, another credible effort and another underneath share would not be.

O’Connor: A buzz horse coming out of Chile, he won an allowance in his US debut and went off the favorite in the Harlan’s Holiday. However, he was no match for the top three horses, including both Skippylongstocking and Simplification, both of whom he faces again in the Pegasus. Perhaps the step up to a mile and an eighth will play to his strengths, though he may need a lot of early pace and a more closer-friendly than usual day at Gulfstream.

Hoist the Gold: Hoist the Gold has been scratched from the Pegasus World Cup.

Endorsed: The oldest Pegasus entrant at seven years old, this son of Medaglia d’Oro has been very sharp in his last two starts, coming close in a six-and-a-half-furlong allowance at Keeneland and winning a seven-furlong allowance at Gulfstream. He does have two money finishes at a mile and an eighth, though those came in ungraded stakes at Saratoga in 2019 and 2020. His one try in the Pegasus last year resulted in a fourth-place finish, and his real renaissance has come at one turn, not two.

Pegasus World Cup Past Winners Past Performances

In the six previous runnings of the Pegasus World Cup, the Breeders’ Cup has been key. Five of the six winners of the Pegasus have come straight out of the Breeders’ Cup. Arrogate (2017) and Gun Runner (2018) came out of victories in the Classic. City of Light (2019), Knicks Go (2021), and Life Is Good (2022) came out of victories in the Dirt Mile.

The only Pegasus winner not to come out of the Breeders’ Cup is also the only one not to be a last-out winner. Mucho Gusto (2020) won the Pegasus in his first start since finishing fourth in the Oklahoma Derby (G3) the previous September.

Pegasus World Cup Undercard

The Pegasus World Cup closes Saturday’s massive 13-race card at Gulfstream Park. It is one of seven graded stakes races on the card. The $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) and the $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G3) are the deepest of the other graded races on the card, though there will be classy action all day. Other graded races include the La Prevoyante (G3), Inside Information (G2), William L. McKnight (G3), and the Fred W. Hooper (G3). With large fields and quality horses running all day long, make sure to watch all day and place your bets with FanDuel and TVG!

Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park is the historic racetrack that hosts the Florida Derby each year. It is the only American racetrack that offers all three racing surfaces: conventional dirt, turf, and a synthetic Tapeta surface. The outer track is a dirt course measuring 1 1/8 miles around, complete with a chute that allows for classic one-turn dirt mile races. The next track inward is a one-mile and seventy-yard Tapeta track that opened in 2021. The inner course is a seven-furlong turf track.

Gulfstream Park has hosted many major races over the years, including the Breeders’ Cup in 1989, 1992, and 1999. In 2017, the race ran the rich Pegasus World Cup for the first time, which was at one time the world’s richest horse race. But the Florida Derby, run along the road to the Kentucky Derby, remains Gulfstream Park’s most established and famous race.

Pegasus World Cup FAQ

Q: When is the Pegasus World Cup?
A: Saturday, January 28, 2023, at 5:40 p.m. EST.

Q: Where is the Pegasus World Cup?
A: It takes place at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Pegasus World Cup?
A: Bob Baffert has won the Pegasus World Cup the most times, having won two of the six editions of the race with Arrogate (2017) and Mucho Gusto (2020). He entered Defunded in this year’s edition. Among the trainers entered in this year’s edition, Brad Cox is the only other one to have won the race before. He won in 2021 with Knicks Go.

Q: Who is the best Pegasus World Cup jockey?
A: Irad Ortiz is the only jockey who has won the Pegasus World Cup twice; he won with Mucho Gusto (2020) and Life Is Good (2022). Ortiz returns this year with Defunded. All four other riders to have won the Pegasus World Cup have mounts in this year’s edition as well: Mike Smith rides Stilleto Boy, Florent Geroux rides Cyberknife, Javier Castellano rides O’Connor, and Joel Rosario rides Proxy.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Pegasus World Cup?
A: Cyberknife, coming off of a close second-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, is the putative favorite for the Pegasus World Cup. He is trained by Brad Cox and ridden by jockey Florent Geroux, both of whom have won the Pegasus before.

Q: Who won the Pegasus World Cup in 2022?
A: Life Is Good won the 2022 Pegasus World Cup for trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. Life Is Good has since retired to stud. Pletcher does not have a horse in the 2022 Pegasus World Cup, though Ortiz takes the call on Defunded.