Pegasus World Cup purse: Main prize money down to $9 million this year

The richest horse race in the world is still rich, but it spread the wealth around a bit in the third iteration of the Pegasus World Cup. The total purse of $16 million is now split among the final two races on Saturday, including the addition of a $7 million turf race at Gulfstream Park in Florida.

The main attraction remains the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, headlined this year by Breeders’ Cup champion Accelerate, who finished third. But this year the purse for that race is $9 million, down from $16 million in 2018, with the winner City of Light pocketing $4 million.

The difference in total is made up with the newly-added Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational this year, with a $7 million total purse. Among the horses vying for the $3 million winner’s prize are Yoshida, Catapult, and Aerolithe.

For diluting the purse of the main race, the entry fee for horses was cut this year from $1 million to $500,000.

“The appetite for a turf race is strong and the decision to include a premier turf race is part of the ongoing evolution of the Pegasus World Cup,” said Belinda Stonach, head of The Stonach Group, which owns the race.

In addition to $4 million for the winner of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, the second-place finisher Seeking the Soul netted $1.25 million, down to $200,000 for each of the 10th through 12th-place finishers, per Horse Racing Nation. The total purse for the race is $9 million, down from $16 million in 2018. The inaugural race had a total purse of $12 million.