By Bill Finley
According to an Associated Press report, 1/ST Racing, which owns Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita, intends to bring the Pegasus format to the California in 2024.
“I'd really love to see that we bring it to the West Coast,” 1/ST President and CEO Belinda Stronach told the AP. “That will probably happen in 2024. What we did this year for 2023 was said, 'OK, we have a number of great race days, let's coordinate those better and call it the 1/ST Racing Tour and recognize great achievements within our own footprint.'”
The wire service reported that the plan is to have two Pegasus days in 2024, one at Gulfstream and the other at Santa Anita, with each program including turf and dirt races. It was not immediately clear where the two race days would fit into the calendar and what races would be run at each track. Stronach made it clear that the 2024 schedule will include Pegasus races at Gulfstream, the only home the events has known since it began in 2017.
“This is staying here in Miami,” Stronach said. “Pegasus has a home here in Miami. We can't move Pegasus from Miami. We have great partners here and it's more than just a day now. We have deep roots here in Miami.”
A California Pegasus will join the 1/ST Racing Tour, a package that includes many of the biggest days and races at the 1/ST tracks, including the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico. The tour also includes the runnings of the GI Florida Derby and the GI Santa Anita Derby.
“We can never rest on our laurels,” Stronach said. “We have to keep moving forward. We have a great team that's really committed.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
