Frank Stronach first proposed the idea for the race during the Thoroughbred Owners Conference at Gulfstream in January 2016. His original proposal called for an annual -mile (10 furlong) race to be run at either Gulfstream or
Santa Anita Park in mid to late January, which would not interfere with the
Breeders' Cup or the
Dubai World Cup. The
Stronach Group officially announced plans for the race in May 2016, with the distance shortened to miles (9 furlongs). Each shareholder was permitted to pre-enter two horses. A pre-entered horse that did not draw into the Pegasus World Cup was eligible to compete in the newly created
Poseidon Stakes, which was run under similar conditions but offered a $400,000 purse and required a $20,000 entry fee. The second Pegasus World Cup in 2018 was contested for a higher purse of $16 million, with $1 million from each of the 12 starting positions and an additional $4 million contributed by the Stronach Group. With the addition of a race on turf, the total prize money for the 2019 event was increased to $17 million. The purse for the original dirt race was reduced to $9 million, with the other $7 million in purse money was allocated to the new
Pegasus World Cup Turf race (formerly the
Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap), and another $1 million is available as bonus money should an owner win both races. The entry fee was reduced to $500,000, with 24 entries available — 12 in each of the dirt and turf races. In 2019,
the Stronach Group partnered with
Xpressbet to host Pegasus World Cup Betting Championship with the total prize of $435,000. The fourth Pegasus World Cup, to be run on 25 January 2020, will carry a purse of $3 million and require that horses be free of all race-day medications. There will no longer be entry or starting fees, as was the case with the previous runnings. 2% of all purse winnings will be donated to thoroughbred aftercare. ==Records==