Pegasus World Cup: Tappan Street can return to the top

The year begins in earnest for the handicap division on Saturday, January 24 in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream Park! An overflow field of top dirt horses, 12 plus a pair of also-eligibles, are signed up to go 1 ⅛ miles on the dirt for a huge purse and a position at the top of the older-horse dirt division.

The race is named for the statue of Pegasus and the dragon that looms over Gulfstream Park. Though it’s still one of the newer traditions in the age-old game of horse racing – the Pegasus turns just 10 in 2026 – the winners’ list consists of stars like hall of famers Arrogate and Gun Runner, as well as more Breeders’ Cup Classic winners like Knicks Go and White Abarrio.

White Abarrio lines up to try and become the first two-time winner of the Pegasus, but it won’t be an easy path with the likes of Tappan Street and the undefeated Disco Time racing as well. Keep reading to find out more about the contenders, and to find the best places to get Las Vegas odds on the 2026 Pegasus World Cup online!

Pegasus World Cup Post Positions

This is the official field for the 2026 Pegasus World Cup including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines:

1. Disco Time (Brad Cox/Flavien Prat) – 8/5
2. British Isles (David Fawkes/Diego Herrera) – 20-1
3. Full Serrano (John Sadler/Josel Rosario) – 12/1
4. Banishing (David Jacobson/Jose Ortiz) – 20-1
5. Skippylongstocking (Saffie Joseph, Jr./Tyler Gaffalione) – 15-1
6. Madaket Road (Bob Baffert/Mike Smith) – 10-1
7. Tappan Street (Brad Cox/Luis Saez) – 6-1
8. Poster (Eoin Harty/Junior Alvarado) – 20-1
9. Captain Cook (Todd Pletcher/John Velazquez) – 15-1
10. Mika (Mike Maker/Manny Franco) – 10-1
11. White Abarrio (Saffie Joseph, Jr./Irad Ortiz, Jr.) – 4-1
12. Brotha Keny (Jose D’Angelo/Javier Castellano) – 30-1
13. Lightning Tones (Jose Castro/Jose Morales) – ALSO ELIGIBLE
14. Catalytic (Antonio Sano/David Egan) – ALSO ELIGIBLE

The morning-line odds are a solid guide to who is expected to take money, but they are no guarantee of on-track odds. If you play at the track, your odds are not set in stone until the gates open, leaving you vulnerable to late swings.

There is a better way: play the Pegasus World Cup at an online sportsbook! If you bet online, you can lock in real Las Vegas odds on the Pegasus World Cup and other major horse races all year long just by placing a bet! It’s that simple: see an overlay, bet online, and then watch the race fully confident in what you’ll be paid if you win.

Pegasus World Cup Bets 

Choosing an online betting site can seem like a difficult choice, but our Las Vegas betting experts are here to make it easy. They have done the homework to show you the best places to bet horse racing online.

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Pegasus World Cup Favorites

Disco Time (+180) 

• He has yet to do anything wrong in five starts, but now steps up to the big time for the first time. Furthermore, this will be his first tilt against older company. Though he proved i the Lecomte (G3) last year that he could pass horses if he didn’t get the early lead, he is still hard to like for a short price, against his toughest foes yet, at his longest distance yet.

Take a stand against this heavy underlay.

Tappan Street (+275) 

• This lightly-raced son of Into Mischief is the last horse to beat Sovereignty, a feat he accomplished over the same course and distance as the Pegasus. He was out with an injury after that but returned with a sharp local allowance score over older last month. With tactical speed from a good middle gate, he could get a nice trip.

From trip, to draw, to affinity for the course, there is a lot to like.

White Abarrio (+450)

• The reigning and defending champion hasn’t won since March – the last time he raced at Gulfstream. Things have been tougher since, with three fourth-place finishes, a controversial scratch at the Breeders’ Cup, and then another scratch from the Mr. Prospector (G3) last month. He can fire fresh, especially back over his best track, and he is tactical enough to work a trip under Irad Ortiz. But, watch the price.

Fits on his best, but don’t let his price shorten too much given the layoff.

Pegasus World Cup Mid-Priced Horses

Full Serrano (+850) 

• The 2024 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner races for the first time since a fifth-place finish when he tried to defend that title. He has good old-fashioned west coast speed – speed is usually an asset at Gulfstream, but with plenty of pace both inside and outside him, he’s going to have to battle for every step.

Game enough to hang on for a piece underneath, especially if speed is playing well.

Madaket Road (+1100) 

• This Bob Baffert shipper was well regarded going into last season, but seemed distance-limited on the Kentucky Derby trail, but couldn’t quite get it together even in shorter races. His comparative advantage really only comes up over wet tracks, something he won’t get Saturday.

He’ll be part of the pace, but it’s hard to see him figuring at the finish.

Skippylongstocking (+1600) 

• He has run in the Pegasus three times already, with his best finish coming last year when he was third to White Abarrio. He is versatile enough to run well from just about anywhere in the field, and closed from a few lengths off the pace to win the local prep last month. The waters do get deeper, but Tyler Gaffalione seems to always find the best in him and he takes the call.

Unlikely to get all the way there but would not surprise to round out a trifecta or superfecta.

Banishing (+1800) 

• He misfired after a troubled trip in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, though he bounced back into form when dropped into an ungraded race next out at Oaklawn. He won the Charles Town Classic (G2) at this distance (albeit at three turns), and wasn’t disgraced next out in the Lukas Classic (G2) when third to Mystik Dan. 

Probably finds a couple too good, but consistent enough to sweeten the exotics.

Pegasus World Cup Long Shots

Mika (+2200) 

• Speed is the name of the game for this guy – he did stalk and pounce when breaking his maiden on the lawn in 2024, but his recent renaissance in form has come from a strategy of sending to the lead and daring everyone to catch him.

There is too much other speed in this race to think his “run ‘em off their feet” gambit will work.

Poster (+2200) 

• He has tried every surface under the sun and run okay on all of the, including a win and two money finishes in three starts on the dirt – all in stakes. He just missed to Skippylongstocking last out in the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) and has further upside third off the lay. He is a Grade 2 winner at this distance already, and trainer Eoin Harty can win at a price when strapping blinkers on for the first time.

Lightly-raced 4-year-old still has upside at a huge price.

Captain Cook (+4000) 

• Stretching out from seven furlongs, Captain Cook is likely to be another part of the speed brigade, though he has some ability to battle or even press. He has been able to stay this distance – he won the Withers last year at 1 ⅛ miles and wasn’t disgraced running third in the Peter Pan (G3). The fact that he is trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velazquez also stands out at Gulfstream. But, he faces older horses for the first time from a tricky gate just inside the speedy Mika.

Not without some upside, at least eventually, but other long shots appeal more in this spot.

British Isles (+5000) 

• He gave lightly-raced Grade 1 winner Nevada Beach all he could handle in the Native Diver (G3) last out, and now ships east for his first Grade 1 try in over a year. That last out effort was good, but it was a huge step up from any of his previous form – maybe he just should be on dirt, but likely he regresses. The draw where he’s hemmed in between a couple of speedballs doesn’t help, either.

Has promise on the dirt, but this may be too much, too soon.

Brotha Keny (+6600) 

• He nipped at plenty of pieces in some “B” derbies last year and even got top money in the Zia Park Derby last out. To his credit he has a couple races against older foes – even an allowance win against them last May at Horseshoe Indianapolis. But, now he faces top older horses for the first time, he is mired outside, and he has yet to run a rae fast enough to threaten.

Wait for him to get a class drop.

Watch the Pegasus World Cup 

Pegasus World Cup Day at Gulfstream features eight stakes races including the Pegasus World Cup, Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) and the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G2). The feature races will be shown on NBC and their streaming affiliate Peacock from 4:30-6 p.m. EST, with Gulfstream action all day long showing on FanDuel TV and the Gulfstream Park simulcast feed.