Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem for Jan. 22, 2026

A good Thursday morning to you all! Hope everyone’s week is going well as we cruise into the first “huge” racing day of 2026, with the Pegasus World Cup (G1) being run for the 10th time on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. I know the race took the calendar spot of the Donn Handicap, but it really was a shift when it became the Pegasus World Cup and established itself as a top 10 wagering card in the country. Now, a lot of people look forward to it, me included!

The race was very outside the box when it was first conceived. All stakes races require nomination and entry fees, but the first Pegasus World Cup was set to be almost like a poker tournament where 12 horses would each “buy-in” for $1 million and compete for the $12 million dollar pot. It also was meant to keep horses around for one more start after the Breeders’ Cup as opposed to going to stud, which you can say it certainly did with California Chrome. 

The first edition drew the two biggest names, California Chrome and Arrogate, and I remember being really pumped up for it. The problem was on paper, even with a 12-horse field, those two completely stood out. In a 12-horse field, Arrogate was 4-5 and California Chrome 6-5. Keen Ice was the third choice at 16-1, which is crazy to think of for a third choice. Arrogate of course won and Chrome didn’t fire finishing ninth, but it was certainly a major hyped-up day that featured $40 million in betting handle. Almost exactly double what the Donn Handicap program did the previous year. 

The purse went to an absurd $16 million the next year and it seemed like the race became a showdown between a couple of top horses and a bunch of also-rans. Gun Runner and West Coast were the big draws in the second edition, and City of Light and Accelerate in the third year. At that point, the purse finally was brought back to Earth at it’s current $3 million level. Oddly enough, with the lower purse, it seems as though year in and year out the race has become  more competitive than loftier-pursed editions. It’s a debate many have had in racing over the years, when it comes to stakes races, is star power more important than depth and potentially field size. 

I will always prefer a big and competitive field to anything racing has to offer. Heck, the other day at Tampa we had a 12-horse field going long on the dirt at the $5,000 claiming price and it was one of my favorite races of the meet, just cause it’s something we don’t get a whole lot of in US racing anymore. We still have plenty of wide open and big field turf events, but wide open dirt routes just don’t happen all that much. That’s part of why I’m intrigued by the Pegasus World Cup. This year’s field does look a little top heavy, but most races tend to be that. I think there are some interesting price horses like Captain Cook, Mika, and even Full Serrano, who makes the race pretty interesting. 

I’m glad they tinkered around with the Pegasus World Cup and tried some new things. Even though it may not match the original vision, with the big buy-in and absurdly huge purse, it’s remained a top 10 racing day of the year, which it wasn’t before 2016. I know we’re a sport based on history and tradition, but it’s ok to try new things, even if they end up failing, or just changing. The Pegasus certainly hasn’t failed, it just changed shape a little bit. 

Have a good weekend everyone!