The early-season feature of the handicap division is the 2024 Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, January 27! The race offers a colossal $3 million purse, and a field of 12 invitees plus one also-eligible entrant are ready to put on a show! With an overflow field, it is certain to be one of the most lucrative horse race betting of the year, and this is the place to find out how to be part of the action!
The race is one of the newest traditions in horse racing, run for the first time in 2017, but even in its short history it has had excellent winners like Arrogate, Gun Runner, Knicks Go, and Art Collector. Who will join this list this year? Keep reading to find out, and to see the best online sportsbooks for betting on the Pegasus World Cup
We cannot all make it down to Florida to see the Pegasus World Cup in person. Fortunately, you can be a part of the action from anywhere – and avoid the crowds! – by betting the Pegasus World Cup online! That can seem daunting at first because there are so many options out there, but we are here to help you find the best online sportsbooks quickly and easily.
All of our recommended sportsbooks have the foundations of a great experience: real Las Vegas odds, great user interfaces, and trusted money management features. They also offer great Pegasus World Cup betting bonuses like sign-up and deposit incentives, referral benefits, and even horse racing rebates that pay you for every bet you make on horse racing or sports!
These are the best online betting sites for playing the Pegasus World Cup:
This is the official field for the 2024 Pegasus World Cup including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines:
Note that Castle Chaos will not race unless a horse scratches from the main field before the Saturday-morning deadline. Gulfstream Park did not assign morning-line odds for Castle Chaos.
Keep in mind that you are not guaranteed these odds on the Pegasus World Cup contenders. Your bet bet is to wager on the Pegasus World Cup at an online sportsbook.
Since online sportsbooks offer fixed-odds wagering on major races, you can lock in an overlay as soon as you see one. Then, you can watch the race with confidence that you’ll get the best price when your horse wins! This gives you an advantage over the players betting at the track.
 |  |  |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| National Treasure | +135 | +180 | +180 |
| First Mission | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Trademark | +900 | +900 | +700 |
| Grand Aspen | +1200 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Hoist the Gold | +1200 | +1200 | +900 |
| O'Connor | +1200 | +1200 | +1100 |
| Skippylongstocking | +1200 | +1400 | +1400 |
With your online betting account set up, it’s time to start handicapping. Read on to get to know the Pegasus World Cup field and find out the best bets!
The favorite for the 2024 Pegasus World Cup will be National Treasure. His trainer Bob Baffert has won the Pegasus World Cup twice with Arrogate and Mucho Gusto, and his speed will be an asset at Gulfstream. Though he comes out of the traditionally live Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, he has never been the most consistent horse and does not tend to fire first off the lay. Thus, it makes sense to be skeptical at such a short price.
A better option is First Mission. Though he missed the Preakness and much of his three-year-old year, he returned strong in the fall. Though he missed by a nose in the Clark (G2), he did the dirty work on the pace that day. In this race, if he is able to stalk just off the pace, he should get exactly the right trip. The 1 ⅛-mile distance is perfect, and this is a good spot for him to start his four-year-old year off right.
Hoist the Gold is better proven at sprint distances than routes, but his pedigree has potential for this nine-furlong distance top and bottom. He has the speed to get involved early, an important thing over this course, but has also proven he can run a winning race from a stalking spot. Trainer Dallas Stewart has a good history of upending big races and he can do so with Hoist the Gold.
Skippylongstocking has to deal with a challenging far-outside post, but there are plenty of reasons to keep him in the mix anyway. He has good tactical speed, and could work a clean outside tracking trip. He is well proven at both Gulfstream Park and at the mile and an eighth distance. And, though he disappointed in this race last year, he is a more proven and consistent horse now.
To fill out lower rungs of exotics, Senor Buscador should be coming on well late. He is a fixture in these top-level handicap races, the kind of horse who can bring his game to different tracks. Though Gulfstream is typically not the best place for a closer, his late pace is good enough even in slower situations that he should be able to make up ground late and juice up trifecta and superfecta payouts.
These are the expert best bets for the 2024 Pegasus World Cup!
About the Author
For a decade, Rowan Ward has been making horse race predictions and wagers in Chicago, and has been writing about horse racing for nearly just as long. Understanding the various factors that influence a race's outcome, they often find that the age-old saying "the pace makes the race" can uncover worthwhile betting opportunities. When it comes to handicapping, their favorite races are those held locally in Chicago, major stake races across the country, and two-year-old maiden races with intriguing bloodlines.
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