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Date: 01/24/2017

The inaugural running of the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) will be held on Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, for older horses going 1 1/8 miles, one complete lap of the main track. The race had been run in the past as the Donn Handicap and thus inherits its Grade 1 status. However, the race is no longer run as a handicap and is more along the lines of a futurity with the entrants covering almost the entire purse. The maximum 12 "shares" of $1 million each were sold last May, giving each owner the right to enter one horse in the race. As expected California Chrome LLC, the owner of 2014 and 2016 Horse of the Year California Chrome, was the very first to purchase a share, having expressed interest after he won the 2016 Dubai World Cup (G1).

Arrogate and California Chrome, who finished 1-2 in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic, will have a rematch in the inaugural Pegasus World Cup

A full field of 12 will make entry (with three also-eligibles, but who are designated substitutes for entered horses), but clearly the race is seen as a big rematch of the Breeders' Cup Classic, where eventual 3-year-old champion Arrogate upset eventual Horse of the Year California Chrome at Santa Anita. California Chrome drew the far outside post and is the 6-5 morning line favorite. He won the Dubai World Cup (G1), San Diego Handicap (G2), Pacific Classic (G1), and Awesome Again (G1) before his defeat in the Classic. In December he romped in the Winter Challenge at Los Alamitos in his final race in California. Regular rider Victor Espinoza gets the call again for trainer Art Sherman in what should be Chrome's final career start before retiring to stud at Taylor Made.

Arrogate drew the rail as the 7-5 second choice, with regular rider Mike Smith riding for owner Juddmonte Farm and trainer Bob Baffert. After narrowly losing his debut, in April of his 3-year-old season, he went on to win the next 5 starts, the last two being the Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga and then the Breeders' Cup Classic. The rest of the field has double digit morning line odds, led by 12-1 third choice Keen Ice with Javier Castellano riding for trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Donegal Racing. Best known for his upset of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the 2015 Travers (G1), he has not won since, and comes here off a distant third place finish in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) before finishing second in the Harlan's Holiday (G3) at Gulfstream.

As would be expected on a big race day, the undercard features some rich stakes races, led by the $400,000 Poseidon Handicap for older horses at 1 1/8 miles on the main track. There are two $200,000, 1 1/2 mile turf races as well, the W.L. McKnight Handicap (G3) for older horses, and the La Prevoyante (G3) for older fillies and mares.

The Pegasus World Cup will be on Saturday January 28 at Gulfstream Park, with the first race going to post at 11:30am and the Pegasus World Cup going off as race 12 at 5:40pm ET. The full card will be available via simulcast across North America and the big race will be shown on NBC from 4:30-6:00 p.m. (EST) and livestreamed on NBCSports.com.

Here are the entries with post positions and morning line odds for the Pegasus World Cup. Full entries for the day are available from Equibase. Past performances are also available from BRISnet for the Pegasus World Cup, just look for Arrogate.

Check out photos of the Pegasus World Cup horses from Thursday at Gulfstream Park here and from Friday here.

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