Pegasus World Cup Invitational 2018: Vegas Betting Odds, Race Predictions, More

Gun Runner will attempt to end his decorated career with a victory in the 2018 Pegasus World Cup, the richest competition in horse racing since its debut last year. The second running of the Gulfstream Park showcase features a $16.3 million purse.

Sharp Azteca, West Coast and Collected headline the group of challengers in the Grade I stakes race. In all, it's the strongest field in American horse racing since the 2017 Breeders' Cup Classic in November, which was won by Gun Runner.

Let's check out all of the important details for the nine-furlong race. That's followed by a look at the entire field as well as a preview and predictions for the top finishers.

Viewing Information

Where: Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida

When: Saturday, Jan. 27 at 5:40 p.m. ET

Watch: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live

Field And Odds

Post – Horse (Trainer; Jockey; Odds)

1 – Singing Bullet (Dale Romans; Robby Albarado; +7500, bet $100 to win $7,500)

2 – West Coast (Bob Baffert; Jorge Castellano; +650)

3 – Stellar Wind (Chad Brown; Joel Rosario; +3500)

4 – Sharp Azteca (Jorge Navarro; Irad Ortiz Jr; +475)

5 – Collected (Bob Baffert; Mike Smith; +650)

6 – Gunnevera (Antonio Sano; Luis Saez; +2500)

7 – Fear the Cowboy (Efran Loza Jr.; Tyler Gaffalione; +3500)

8 – War Story (Jorge Navarro; Jose Ortiz; +3500)

9 – Toast of New York (Jamie Osborne; Frankie Dettori; +2500)

10 – Gun Runner (Steve Asmussen; Florent Geroux; -140)

11 – Seeking the Soul (Dallas Stewart; John Velasquez; +1500)

12 – Giant Expectations (Peter Eurton; Gary Stevens; +2500)

Vegas lines are courtesy of OddsShark.

Race Preview

Gun Runner didn't take the traditional route to stardom. The Kentucky-bred sensation finished third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby and wasn't entered in the other two Triple Crown races that year. He also picked up just one victory in his next five starts after the Derby.

He finished the 2016 campaign with a triumph in the Clark Handicap, however, and he was virtually unstoppable during the 2017 season.

Gun Runner added five victories to his resume—the Razorback Handicap, Stephen Foster Handicap, Whitney Stakes, Woodward Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic—in six starts. His only defeat was a second-place finish to Arrogate, the 2017 Pegasus World Cup winner, in the Dubai World Cup.

On Thursday, he was honored for that success by getting named Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards, joining recent stars such as California Chrome, American Pharoah and Wise Dan.

Trainer Steve Asmussen used the opportunity to talk about working with Gun Runner before he exits the spotlight after Saturday's race, according to the Associated Press.

"He stepped up when called upon and just met the challenge and, you know, how do you say, got it done," Asmussen said. "He's truly a special horse mentally and physically. And we've, you know, been on a tremendous run with him."

He added: "Just to be in his presence, to be around him, to have the privilege to train him as well as run him, you know, it's a dream come true."

While he'll be tough to beat in his career finale, there are a couple horses with the potential to pull off the extremely lucrative upset.

West Coast racked up five straight wins from May through September last year, including Grade I victories in the Travers Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby, before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Classic to Gun Runner and Collected.

Trainer Bob Baffert, who also works with Collected, told the Paulick Report that West Coast has come into his own and both of his horses should once again be ready to challenge the favorite.

"I think he has really matured," he said. "He's a little bit anxious in the paddock. Sometimes he'll run half a race in the paddock. It's tough getting the saddle on him. I think he has become more professional. He shows you more in the afternoon. He's healthy, and he looks great. Both of them do."

War Story is the most intriguing long shot. The six-year-old gelding doesn't have the numbers to match Gun Runner with five wins in 24 career starts.

That said, he showed signs of potentially being a late bloomer with a victory in the Grade II Brooklyn Invitational Stakes last June before a trio of fourth-place finishes in races won by Gun Runner.

Joe Drape of the New York Times thinks War Story will be in the mix but doesn't know whether anybody in the field can match the Horse of the Year:

All told, if Gun Runner matches his 2017 form in his first and only race of 2018, he'll end up in the winners' circle. A slight drop-off in performance will bring a handful of other horses into the mix, however, especially with the favorite breaking from an outside post.

Predictions

Win: Gun Runner

Place: West Coast

Show: War Story