Thoroughbred Racing Fan Association, Inc.

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WHAT GRADE ONE RACE GAVE UP ITS LEVEL SO THE PEGASUS WORLD CUP COULD BE A GRADE ONE RACE?
1/22/2021

  

In 2017 the Pegasus World Cup Invitational was the talk of racing with its $12,000,000 purse. At the time it was by far the richest race in the United States and maybe the world for that year. Each owner-connection had to pay a $1,000,000 entry fee with the assurance they would share equally in the total profit of the race. That year the profit algorithm for the owners fell short of expectation. Not scared the Stronach Group upped the purse to $16,000,000. In 2019 interest waned and the purse was slashed by over 40% to $7,000,000 with City of Light taking home the winner’s share. Then in 2020 it was cut again by a little over 40% to $3,000,000 where is for the 2021 edition. Bob Baffert leads trainers with 2 wins. But it all started in 2017 when the Pegasus World Cup Invitational assumed the Donn Handicap’s grade one status.