Updated Pegasus World Cup Invitations List
The annual Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes is now just 12 days away.
The event was first established in 2017. It will be held once again at the Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Knicks Go (jockey Joel Rosario) is aiming for a second straight title.
The winner will take home a purse of $3 million, the same total of the previous two races.
An updated list for the Pegasus World Cup invitations has been released, via BloodHorse. Aside from reigning champion Knicks Go, the list also features Fearless, Law Professor, Chess Chief, Title Ready, Happy Saver, Life Is Good, Sir Winston, Ginobili, Stiletto Boy, Super Stock and Olympiad.
The inaugural Pegasus World Cup winner in 2017 was Arrogate (jockey Mike E. Smith), followed by Gun Runner (jockey Florent Geroux), City of Light (jockey Javier Castellano) (jockey Mucho GustoIrad Ortiz Jr.) and Knicks Go.
Knicks Go is currently the favourite to win the 2022 Pegasus World Cup at 3/2, followed by Life Is Good (7/4), Hot Rod Charlie (12/1), Mandaloun (10/1) Happy Saver (10/1) and Midnight Bourbon (10/1).
There are several races upcoming in New York for this year’s Road to the Kentucky Derby. Several of the top sportsbooks for New York sports betting are offering special promo codes for new customers.
A Look At Upcoming New York Races
There are three more major upcoming horse races that will be held in the state of New York.
All of them will take place at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Aqueduct held the Jerome Stakes event on New Year’s Day. It was won by Courvoisier, whose jockey is José Ortiz.
With the victory this year, Ortiz pocketed 10 points for the Kentucky Derby.
Ortiz will be aiming for his third Jerome Stakes title. He also won the 2020 race with horse Independence Hall; the 2021 event was won by Capo Kane (jockey Dylan Davis).
The next race scheduled for the Aqueduct Racetrack is the Withers Stakes, set to take place on Feb. 5. Like the Jerome Stakes, the Withers Stakes grants 10 points to the winner, four points to second place, two to third place and one point to fourth.
Last year’s event was won by Risk Taking (jockey Eric Cancel). The aforementioned Dylan Davis won the 2020 event with horse Max Player.
The Gotham Stakes (to be held at Aqueduct Racetrack on Mar. 5), carries a far greater points system. The winner will get a whopping 50 points, with second place garnering 20 points, third place 10 points and fourth five points.
The final race at Aqueduct before the Kentucky Derby is the Wood Memorial Stakes (Apr. 9), which was implemented back in 1925.
Whoever wins the Wood Memorial Stakes will all but clinch a spot in the Kentucky Derby race, and even the runner-up will put themselves in a terrific position.
First place will be granted 100 points, with second place receiving an ultra-valuable 40 points. Third place will garner 20 points, and fourth place will get 10.
Bourbonic won last year’s Wood Memorials Stakes race (jockey Kendrick Carmouche). The 2020 event was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Wood Memorial Stakes is one of the last races before the Kentucky Derby. The BlueGrass and Santa Anita Derby races will also take place on Apr. 9.
The Lexington event, the last before the Kentucky Derby, will be held on seven days later
Joe Sharp Has Suspension Over Levamisole Positive Tests Vacated
The suspension for veteran horse trainer Joe Sharp — stemming from multiple positive tests of Levamisole — has been vacated, BloodHorse reports.
Sharp was issued a $1,000 fine per Levamisole incident by Louisiana per BloodHorse. Kentucky fined Sharp $500 and a 30-day suspension, which he subsequently appealed.
The Levamisole positive test incidents took place during events at the Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky.
Per Bloodhorse, stewards in Kentucky overturned the suspension “due to the declassification of levamisole in August 2015 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.”
Addressing the overturned suspension, Sharp said: “It’s been a long couple of years, and we’re glad to put it behind us and come out on the right side of it,” via BloodHorse.
It should be noted that despite the ruling, the disqualifications against Sharp’s horses remain intact.