The Pegasus World Cup, owned by the Stronach Group, is the U.S.’s richest race with a $16 million-dollar purse. One of the premier events on the Thoroughbred racing calendar, Pegasus is reinventing racing by blending entertainment, innovation and horse racing like no other event of its kind, and capturing the attention of the racing industry, celebrities and new and younger fans from around the world.
The 2019 Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series will be held on Saturday, January 26 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, FL.
Here are a few behind-the-scenes looks at some of the hottest jockeys in the sport today – all of whom will participate in The Pegasus World Cup.
The Ortiz Brothers are the most popular by far in the sport – they have ridden the winners of more than $26 million in purses EACH in 2018. The next closest jockey is $21 million. The Ortiz Bros are originally from Trujillo Alto in Puerto Rico. They are graduates of a jockey school there named Escuela Vocacional Hipica. Horseracing is truly in their blood. Their grandfather was a jockey as well as their uncle. They’ve been successful since coming to the United States. Irad rode his first U.S. race in 2011 and Jose in 2012. Jose is married to jockey Taylor Rice, the daughter of leading New York trainer Linda Rice. They have a one-year-old daughter. Irad has a 3-year-old daughter. Both make their base in New York. Both ride at Gulfstream in the winter months.
Here is some video of the brothers prior to Saratoga Springs.
Luis Saez has been Gulfstream’s leading rider the past two seasons, and is regarded, along with the Oritz Brothers, as one of the sport’s brightest stars. Saez is a native of Panama who has ridden in the U.S. since 2009. In 2014, Luis lost his brother, 17-year-old Juan, due to injuries sustained in a riding accident in Indiana. Luis, who had gone to Panama to surprise his father on his birthday, had to break the news of his brother’s loss to his parents. He was riding with his brother’s necklace. Saez’s family didn’t have much growing up, but he became a jockey by attending the Laffit Pincay Jockey School in Panama. Here is a profile on Luis Saez.
Tickets for the 2019 Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series, to be held on Saturday, January 26 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, FL, are now on sale. Tickets are available online at www.pegasusworldcup.com
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