Gulfstream Park, Coglianese Photo
Gulfstream Park Press
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Anticipation for the Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park can always be expected, but the 2025-26 season that will get underway Thursday, Thanksgiving Day comes with a level of excitement heightened by the upcoming milestone anniversaries of the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) and the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).
The Curlin Florida Derby, the historic 1 1/8-mile prep race for 3-year-olds on the Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1), will mark its 75th anniversary on March 28 while headlining a program with 10 stakes, five graded, including the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies that will serve as a key prep for the 2026 Kentucky Oaks (G1).
The Pegasus World Cup, a 1 1/8-mile stakes for the world’s most accomplished older horses, will celebrate its 10th anniversary while anchoring a Jan. 24 program with 10 stakes, seven graded, worth $5.5 million. The $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), a 1 1/8-mile turf stakes for 4-year-olds and up, and the $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G2), a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for older fillies and mares, will be supporting features to the Pegasus World Cup, which has been designated as an automatic qualifier for the 2026 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
The Curlin Florida Derby and the Pegasus World Cup will be showcased on a schedule of 68 stakes, 27 graded, worth $15.2 million in purses, for the 2025-2026 Championship Meet that will host 84 racing days through March 29.
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The $100,000 Wait a While, a 7 ½-furlong stakes for 2-year-old fillies on turf, will kick off the stakes schedule while headlining Thursday’s eight-race program with an 11:15 a.m. first-race post time.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who saddled White Abarrio for a victory in last season’s Pegasus World Cup, will seek his fifth consecutive Championship Meet title, as well as his 15th Gulfstream title in a row.
“We feel like we have the horses and we have the numbers to win titles. We feel pretty good about our chances,” said Joseph, who is preparing White Abarrio for a title defense in the Pegasus World Cup, in which he is also planning to run last season’s third-place finisher Skippylongstocking.
Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode White Abarrio to his Pegasus World Cup score, will be back at Gulfstream in search of his fourth consecutive Championship Meet title and seventh overall after winning 109 races last year.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who has captured 18 Championship Meet titles, is planning to bring undefeated Ted Noffey to Gulfstream Park for his highly anticipated 2026 debut during the Championship Meet.
Ted Noffey, who finished off his 2025 campaign with a victory in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) Oct. 31 at Del Mar, is expected to make his 2026 debut in either the $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) or the $400,000 Coolmore Fountain of Youth (G2) at 1 1/16 miles before returning in the Curlin Florida Derby. Pletcher, an eight-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer, has saddled a record eight Curlin Florida Derby winners.
“We’ve been blessed with a lot of Gulfstream meets over the years. I’ve always said it fits our program as far as young developing 2-year-olds turning 3 on the Kentucky Derby trail leading up to the preps,” Pletcher said. “We’re always excited about the meet.”
The Road to the Curlin Florida Derby will start on Jan. 3 with the running of the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man, a one-turn mile for newly turned 3-year-olds, followed by the Holy Bull Jan. 31, and the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Feb. 28.
The Coolmore Fountain of Youth, a dress rehearsal for the Curlin Florida Derby, will top a program with nine stakes, eight graded, including the $200,000 Davona Dale (G2), a mile prep for the Gulfstream Park Oaks, and the $200,000 Gulfstream Park Mile (G2).
The $150,000 Harlan’s Holiday (G3), a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds and up, will serve as a key prep for the Pegasus World Cup on a Dec. 20 card with five stakes, including the $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G3), a 1 1/8-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds and up and a prep for the Pegasus World Cup Turf.
The opening weekend of the 2025-2026 Championship Meet will feature the finals of the 2025 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited Florida stallions. The $300,000 In Reality, the 1 1/16-mile open division third leg, and the $300,000 My Dear Girl, the 1 1/16-mile third leg for fillies, will co-headline Saturday’s program.
Live racing during the Championship Meet will be conducted four days a week, Thursdays through Sundays through the first week of January, with the exception of Christmas week when the track will race Wednesday, Dec. 24 and will be closed Thursday, Dec. 25. Thereafter, Gulfstream will host five days of racing each week, Wednesdays through Sundays through the end of the meet.
