A “happy, fresh, and full of himself” Knicks Go will defend his Pegasus World Cup Invitational title Saturday on the rail as the 6/5 morning-line favorite. That’s the result of Tuesday’s post-position draw for the $3 million Grade 1 event. The presumptive favorite to be named Horse of the Year […]
Tag: Pegasus World Cup
Can This Pegasus Trip Be What Belmont Champ Sir Winston Needs?
One trip abroad nearly cost Sir Winston his career. Another trip abroad saved it. And now, the 2019 Belmont Stakes winner comes into Saturday’s $3 million Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational as a mature, fresh 6-year-old. His trainer, Mark Casse, thinks the son of Awesome Again could be awesome […]
Pletcher Points Life Is Good Toward Pegasus World Cup Invitational
Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner and Eclipse Award candidate Life Is Good will open his 4-year-old season in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, a race trainer Todd Pletcher lacks on his Hall of Fame resume. Pletcher won the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational last year with Colonel Liam, […]
Cox Calls a New Play for Knicks Go — The Met Mile
Even Brad Cox understands how the avoid Bob Baffert game is played, which explains why he moved his star older horse, Knicks Go, to the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap. That June 5 race is the first-among-equals Grade 1 on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Cox originally targeted Knicks Go for the […]
Knicks Go Returns Off the Main Track — at Texas’ Lone Star Park
Standout 5-year-old horse Knicks Go, last seen finishing fourth in the Saudi Cup on Feb. 20, will return in an unlikely spot on May 31 – the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park. Trainer Brad Cox announced Knicks Go’s next go-moment during a National Thoroughbred Racing Association […]
Knicks Go, Brad Cox Tell the Story of a Horse’s Renaissance
Every time Brad Cox looks at his first Eclipse Award as 2020’s Champion Trainer, he should give thanks to Knicks Go. For if there was ever an example of how important a trainer’s impact is on an individual horse, the story of Knicks Go is Exhibit A. And if there […]
Racing Economic Indicators Show Jump in January Handle
Total horseracing handle jumped for the second consecutive month, providing one key takeaway from Equibase’s first Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing report of 2021. Betting in January climbed 9.57% from January 2020’s numbers to $959,602,269. That followed a 6.24% boost in December wagering, signifying that horseracing may be rebounding out […]
Knicks Go Dunks on His Rivals Again, Wins Pegasus Gate-to-Wire
Enjoy Knicks Go while you can. Savor every start of his 5-year-old campaign, while you understand you’re watching horseracing’s star attraction of 2021. Knicks Go brought this lesson home in gate-to-wire fashion, winning the $3 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Saturday afternoon. It’s certainly understandable if Knicks […]
Without Baffert, Knicks Go’s Fast Break Makes Him Pegasus Favorite
If horses run in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and Bob Baffert doesn’t train any of them, does it really happen? We’re about to find out what the richest dirt race for older horses in North America – non-Breeders’ Cup division – looks like without the preeminent dirt trainer of […]
Knicks Go Draws Prime Pegasus Post, Tabbed as 5/2 Favorite
With three straight victories in as many 2020 starts, Knicks Go is exactly the type of horse who wins the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Now, add a prime starting spot from Post 4 to the mix, and it’s easy to understand how Knicks Go became the 5/2 favorite when Pegasus […]
The Pegasus Isn’t the Only Stakes Race This Weekend
Saturday brings us the first two Grade 1 stakes races of 2021: the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the Pegasus World Cup Turf, coming to you from Gulfstream Park. The Florida track captures this weekend’s stakes spotlight with those two high-profile races, along with five other graded stakes on its […]
Baffert’s Charlatan Will Follow the Money to the Saudi Cup
In a clear case of following the money, Charlatan will pass on the Pegasus and likely set down at the Saudi Cup. That’s what trainer Bob Baffert told Santa Anita’s Ed Golden on Sunday. Following the money, in this case, takes the 4-year-old son of Speightstown to Saudi Arabia on […]
Defending Pegasus Champ Mucho Gusto Suddenly Retired After Injury
Illustrating once again the fragile nature of modern Thoroughbred horses, defending Pegasus World Cup champion Mucho Gusto was suddenly retired Tuesday after suffering a soft tissue injury. Bob Baffert, Mucho Gusto’s trainer, said the injury happened Tuesday. He told Horse Racing Nation that due to the nature of the injury […]
This Tax Return Pays Off in Harlan’s Holiday Stakes Romp
His return wasn’t inevitable, but Tax season is here again. Making only his third start in his 4-year-old season, Tax romped to victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Harlon’s Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream Park. He tore away from the field en route to a 4-½-length victory over 10/1 shot, Eye of […]
Gulfstream Park Championship Meet Opens with No Fans, Rich Stakes
Gulfstream Park opens its 2020-21 Championship Meet on Wednesday without spectators, but with a stakes schedule that – aside from several stops on the Road to the Kentucky Derby – offers one of North America’s richest races. Headlining Gulfstream’s 75 stakes races – 36 graded – is the $3 million […]
Tiz The Law Rides Into 2021 with a New Jockey: John Velazquez
Five days after Tiz the Law came home a disappointing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, ownership group Sackatoga Stable announced that Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez replaces Manny Franco in the irons for the colt’s 2021 season. That season begins at the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at […]
Saudi Cup Day Adds Pegasus World Cup Events as Automatic Qualifiers
The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia announced Friday that four races in the US and Japan will serve as “Win and You’re In†events for next year’s Saudi Cup Day races. Heading the list is the Grade 1 $3 million Pegasus World Cup. That race, one of the richest in […]
Gulfstream Park Will Allow Limited Fans Inside for Championship Meet
Gulfstream Park announced Monday it will allow fans inside for its Championship Meet, which begins Dec. 2 at the South Florida track north of Miami. Bill Badgett, the executive director of Florida racing for track owner The Stronach Group, told Thoroughbred Daily News Gulfstream Park will cap attendance at 50% […]
Arrogate, North America’s Top-Earning Horse, Euthanized at Age 7
Arrogate, who put on one of the most memorable runs of 21st-century racing en route to becoming North America’s richest racehorse, was euthanized Tuesday morning at an equine hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. The son of Unbridled’s Song suffered a mysterious neck illness last week at Juddmonte Farms, where he neared […]