Several familiar names will take the field at Gulfstream Park on Saturday as the countdown to the Kentucky Derby continues with the 2025 Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Mystik Dan, winner of the 2024 Kentucky Derby, makes a return to the track and aims to win his first race since the Run for the Roses. The four-year-old colt is coming off of a sixth-place finish in the Malibu Stakes last month and is 8-1 in the 2025 Pegasus World Cup odds. He will be racing against a familiar foe in White Abarrio, winner of eight races including the Whitney Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2023. Post time for the Pegasus World Cup 2025 is 5:40 p.m. ET.
Locked is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the 2025 Pegasus World Cup field, followed by White Abarrio (3-1) and Saudi Crown (9-2). With several accomplished horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you’ll want to see what SportsLine writer Gene Menez has to say before making any Pegasus World Cup picks or horse racing predictions.
A former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, Menez covered an array of sports, including horse racing, for the magazine and its website for almost 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as SI’s handicapper for the Triple Crown races and correctly predicted Super Saver to win the Kentucky Derby in 2010.
In 2015, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately gave out the Kentucky Derby superfecta (American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund and Frosted), which paid $1,268.20 for $2. Then in 2017, he tweeted out his Kentucky Derby picks, including Always Dreaming to win, and hit the Pick 4, which paid almost $6,900 on a $1 bet.
In May of last year, Menez gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby. Last November, he crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders’ Cup Saturday for a $5,303 score.
For Saturday, Menez has handicapped the 2025 Pegasus World Cup field, made his picks and constructed his best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
One surprise: Menez is fading Locked, even though he is the top favorite at 5-2. The expert is impressed with what the young colt has done early in his career, winning four of the six races on his resume. The Todd Pletcher-trained son of Gun Runner has momentum coming into Saturday’s race as well following a first-place finish at the Cigar Mile (Gr. 2) last month.
However, Menez isn’t sold on Locked finishing first given the length of the Gulfstream track. “Facing a short run to the first turn, Locked is almost certain to lose ground around the first turn from this wide draw,” Menez told SportsLine. You can see all of Menez’s 2025 Pegasus World Cup bets here.
Moreover, Menez’s top pick is a horse who is “proven at nine furlongs.” He also is high on a double-digit longshot who “figures to get a sweet mid-pack trip.” Menez is including these horses in his 2025 Pegasus World Cup bets, and so should you. He’s sharing what horses to back at SportsLine.
So what horse wins the Pegasus World Cup 2025? And how has Menez constructed his wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Menez’s picks for the Lecomte Stakes, all from the expert who gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby and crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders’ Cup Saturday for $5,303, and find out.
