Gulfstream Park to have record stakes purses

Gulfstream Park released its stakes schedule Thursday for its winter championship meet, which will feature a record $28.6 million in stakes purses over four months.

The positioning of the track’s tent pole stakes races on this year’s calendar is unchanged. For the second consecutive year, Gulfstream Park will host the world’s richest horse race, the Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 27, which is the weekend prior to the Super Bowl. Seven other lucrative stakes races are on the Pegasus day card.

The purse for this year’s running of the 1 1⁄8-mile, Grade I Pegasus — which last year saw Arrogate set a new track record in defeating a stellar field that included California Chrome in his final race — has been boosted to $16 million. That increase from $12 million last year is largely responsible for the meet’s overall increase of $3.6 million in stakes purses from the 2016-17 championship meet.

The 3-year-old Triple Crown prep series culminates with the 67th running of the $1 million GI Florida Derby, Gulfstream’s signature race, on Mar. 31. The series begins Jan. 6 with the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man, followed by the $350,000 GII Holy Bull on Feb. 3 then the $400,000 GII Fountain of Youth on Mar. 3. All four weekends have been designated as “Super Saturday” weekends with the biggest being the Fountain of Youth, which features an additional eight stakes on the card.

On Jan. 25, Gulfstream will host the Eclipse Awards for the sixth straight year. However, the event moves to a Thursday for the first time since the facility’s Sport of Kings Theater began hosting the industry’s annual awards ceremony. The Sunshine Millions, which previously served as the racing lead in to the ceremony, will be held Jan. 20.

Also for the sixth consecutive year, Gulfstream will host the Claiming Crown on Dec. 2 as the opener to the championship meet.

The only significant addition to this year’s schedule happens Dec. 9 as Gulfstream will become the first track in the United States to host the Clasico del Caribe. The premier thoroughbred racing event in the Caribbean, the event is composed of five races with the feature a $300,000 race.

“Beginning in December, Gulfstream will be the place to be,” said P.J. Campo, vice president of racing for The Stronach Group and general manager of Gulfstream Park. “We are proud to once again host the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, Florida Derby, Clasico del Caribe, and excited to have the Eclipse Awards back.”

For the second consecutive year, Gulfstream Park will host the world’s richest horse race, the Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 27.