THE PEGASUS WORLD CUP V THE EVEREST. SAME CONCEPT - TWO VASTLY DIFFERENT OUTCOMES

By Graham Potter | Friday, January 23, 2026

The tenth running of the Pegasus World Cup will take place at Gulfstream Park in Florida this weekend, making it an appropriate time to review its history in comparison to The Everest, another slot race who kicked off in the same year in which The Pegasus had its inaugural running.

This is a story of The Pegasus World Cup v The Everest, races which embraced the same concept, but which have produced vastly different outcomes.

Nine years ago, on January 28, 2017, the Pegasus World Cup saw the launch of an entirely new concept in racing with an initiative designed to, ‘excite, energize and modernize the sport of racing for a new generation of fans’ … and, thus, slot racing was born.

The 2026 edition of the race takes place this weekend in America, but it is hardly recognisable from the bold branding play-sheet that announced its arrival.

The brainchild of Frank Stronach, the founder of the Stronach Group who owns Gulfstream Park in Florida which hosts the race, the inaugural running of the Pegasus World Cup was made up of twelve runners selected by individual slot-holders who paid US$1 million each for that privilege which came with the right to sell, share, or lease that spot if they so desired.

At that time the $12 million Pegasus World Cup, a dirt race, was the richest race in the world, surpassing the Dubai World Cup.

But while the Pegasus World Cup event took off for the stars in 2017, it took just two runnings of the race before it came back down to earth with a bang.

In 2018, the prize-money pool went up to US$16 million, with the Stronach Group contributing the extra US$4 million to the prize-money pool, but that was to be something of a last hurrah, both for the conditions of the race and for the exaggerated level of prize-money on offer for the contest.

In 2019, the introduction of a second race, the Pegasus World Cup Turf, brought the Pegasus World Cup invitational Stakes prize-money down to US $9 million, meaning it relinquished its position as being the richest race in the world.

In 2020, prize-money reduced to US$3 million, just a quarter of its original stake … a level at which it remains today … and it also brought about another massive change in the entry fee structure, from $1 million in 2017 and 2018, to $500,000 in 2019 to free in 2020 … with the slot race conditions falling by the wayside in 2020, the race field now being filled by invitation.
It is a Group 1 race.
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Racing NSW, recognising exciting possibilities in the original Pegasus World Cup concept moved very quickly to establish a slot race of its own … and, on October 14, 2017, just nine months after the first running of The Pegasus, The Everest slot race was born.

Like The Pegasus, The Everest started with some bragging rights with the $10 million prize money making it ‘the world’s richest race on turf.’

The Everest had the same ‘buy in … slot holder concept’, with twelve slots being available, but with one resounding difference which was going to make all of the difference when compared to the Pegasus World Cup’s stumble and fall.

Racing NSW’s CEO Peter V’Landys was adamant that those purchasing a slot would have to commit for a three-year period, with an option on a fourth year … his feeling being that the longevity of the race had to be protected, even in the short-term, so that it could gain traction with the racing stakeholders and punters alike.

V’Landys had no idea at the time of the shaky road that The Pegasus will follow in the next couple of years, just some important foresight which, with hindsight, you would have to say that was a masterstroke with most of the original slot-holders still involved nine years later and many others reportedly waiting for the opportunity to get onto the slot holder train.

In stark contrast to the Pegasus World Cup, the original race which brought the first slot race to the world, the prize-money for The Everest has continued to climb … from the $10 million of its inaugural running in 2017 … to $13 million in 2018 … to $14 in 2019 … to $15 million from 2020 to 2023 … to $20 million in 2024 and 2025, when it also became a Group 1 race.

That means that since the first running of the respective events, The Everest had doubled its prize-money while The Pegasus has lost seventy-five percent of its prize-money.

Some will say that slot races, with their big number buys-ins is just creating a playing field for the rich to get richer … but if judged on where outcome meets objective, The Everest is a clear success.

The proof is in the pudding as they say.

Well, as far as The Everest v The Pegasus is concerned, there is no contest as to who has the more tasty treat.

Score one for Australia!