Pegasus World Cup 2026: Dates, how to watch on TV, trainers and jockeys to watch 

2026 is now upon us and with it comes Florida’s day in American horse racing’s spotlight, as the Pegasus World Cup gets underway at Gulfstream Park. 

Held each year in January, the event has quickly become one of the most highly anticipated events in the US sporting calendar. 

Backed by the stunning shorelines of South Florida, it is a spectacle that sees elite horses and trainers travel from all over the country and beyond to take part. 

It also plays host to the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, the race that is nicknamed “Florida’s greatest horse race”. 

Here is everything that you need to know, as racing fans from around the world turn their attention to the Sunshine State. 

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When is the Pegasus World Cup?

The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 24 and will see renowned stars from across the continent and beyond in attendance. 

Awarding $3m in prize money, the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes serves as the meeting’s feature race. 

The race is designed as a showcase for established stars to test their credentials ahead of the season, whilst many contenders retire to stud, given its placement just before the North American breeding season.

Trainers to watch

Who better to start with than Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who holds the record number of race wins in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. 

The 72-year-old will turn a year older before the event and is a renowned name across the world in horse racing. 

He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer and holds the record number of wins in the Preakness Stakes as a trainer (eight). 

Baffert will look to make it four wins in the event’s showpiece race, in which he won the inaugural running in 2017, before also taking victory in 2020 and 2024. 

2025’s leading trainer in North America was Brad Cox, who accumulated over $30m in prize money. 

Cox has won the feature race of this event once, alongside Steve Asmussen, Bill Mott, Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown. 

Asmussen had more runners than any other trainer in the United States last year, but trailed Cox by over $5m in earnings. 

Brown comes next in 2025’s top-trainer by earnings, whilst Pletcher and Mott placed fifth and sixth, respectively. 

Mark Casse and last year’s Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes winning trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr, are the other two names within the top seven earners last year. 

The former was fourth, whilst the latter was seventh, meaning that Baffert was the only Pegasus World Cup invitational Stakes winning trainer to place outside the top seven earners last year. 

Baffert was 10th, though had at least 500 fewer runners than anyone who pocketed more prize money. 

Jockeys to watch

Irad Ortiz Jr has won the feature race at the meeting three times, more than any other jockey, and he just about pipped Frenchman Flavien Prat to earn the most money of any jockey in the States last year. 

Despite recording a lower win rate than the runner-up, Ortiz Jr collected just over $1000 more than Prat – after the two accumulated more than $40m. 

The pair finished 2025 almost $7m clear of Irad’s brother Jose Ortiz, with the two siblings recording an identical win rate (22%). 

Jose is yet to win the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, whilst Prat has been successful in the race once before. 

No other jockey to win the race finished within the top seven earners last year, with the 2023 winning rider, Junior Alvarado, the highest placed in eighth.

Joel Rosario was 10th, whilst Florent Geroux and Javier Castellano were in the top-25. 

Alvarado and Rosario won 15% of their rides in 2025, whilst Geroux won 14% and Castellano saddled 13% to victory. 

How to watch the 2026 Pegasus World Cup?

In the US, the action will be shown live on NBC and streamed on Peacock, whilst British viewers can tune into Sky Sports Racing to see the event.

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