The richest horse race in the world takes place on Saturday afternoon with 12 horses vying for their share of the over $16 million purse at the 2018 Pegasus World Cup from Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Pegasus World Cup 2018: A record $16 million purse is available
$7 million to the winner of the richest horse race in the world.
Photo by Scott Serio/Eclipse Sportswire/Getty Images
Gun Runner is the favorite heading into Saturday, after capturing the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Classic as well as Horse of the Year honors on Thursday at the Eclipse Awards.
The winner gets $7 million, with a strong field, including five of the top six finishers at last year’s Breeders’ Cup — Collected, West Coast, War Story and Gunnevera.
“We have the top five Breeders’ Cup winners,” race host Belinda Stronach told Miami ABC affiliate WPLG. “We have the first filly ever — Steller — win. We have a horse out of Europe — the first horse out of Europe — (and) Toast of New York that came out of retirement that was in stud for two years.”
The total purse is up from $12 million in 2017, thanks to the horse owners each ponying up $1 million for their entries into Saturday’s race.
“We view these races as entertainment,” Stronach told Forbes this week. “Not only are we trying to entice a great field of contenders, but also create a great experience around that and make it fun and introduce the sport to a new group of fans.”
NBC will televise the race beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET, with online streaming available through NBC Sports and the NBC Sports app.
Second place takes home $1.6 million with a sliding scale down to $650,000 for sixth through 12th place per CNN and Blood Horse. The total purse checks in at $16.3 million.
2018 Pegasus World Cup purse
Place | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1st | $7,000,000 |
| 2nd | $1,600,000 |
| 3rd | $1,300,000 |
| 4th | $1,000,000 |
| 5th | $850,000 |
| 6th | $650,000 |
| 7th | $650,000 |
| 8th | $650,000 |
| 9th | $650,000 |
| 10th | $650,000 |
| 11th | $650,000 |
| 12th | $650,000 |
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