The Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf is one of the leading winter turf races for older female horses in North America. Contested at Gulfstream Park in Florida as part of Pegasus World Cup Day, the race gives established mares and emerging four year olds an early season target with international relevance.
Race overview
The 2026 edition was a Grade 2 event for fillies and mares aged four and older, run over 1 1/16 miles on turf with a purse of $500,000. Gulfstream Park staged the race alongside the Pegasus World Cup and Pegasus World Cup Turf as part of one of the first major championship style programs of the year.
Because conditions and purses can change from season to season, OTB Bet treats the official Gulfstream Park and Pegasus World Cup announcements as the controlling source for each new edition.
Why the race matters
The race sits at an important point on the calendar. Many leading turf mares have completed fall campaigns only a few months earlier, while others use Gulfstream as the first major target of a new season. That timing often creates fields that mix proven graded stakes performers with improving horses from North America and abroad.
The race also connects naturally with major female turf events later in the year. Horses that remain in training can progress toward spring and summer Grade 1 races, then toward races such as the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
Woodbine qualifying pathway
Woodbine Entertainment and 1/ST Racing renewed a qualifying partnership for the 2027 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf. The winner of the $200,000 Dance Smartly Stakes at Woodbine on October 3, 2026, will receive an automatic invitation to the 2027 Pegasus race.
The arrangement gives the Dance Smartly added strategic importance on a Woodbine program that also includes the Canadian International. It also creates a direct route from a major Canadian turf race into the winter championship program at Gulfstream Park.
Recent winners
Destino d’Oro won the 2026 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf for trainer Brad Cox and jockey Junior Alvarado. She produced a late run to take the 1 1/16 mile contest in 1:40.33.
Be Your Best won the 2025 edition by a neck, continuing a strong run of form after her Suwannee River Stakes victory. Earlier winners of the Pegasus era include Didia, Queen Goddess and Regal Glory.
How to use this guide
This page will serve as OTB Bet’s canonical guide for the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf. As the next edition approaches, it can be updated with confirmed invitations, final entries, post positions, official race conditions and links to timely previews or recaps without creating thin duplicate pages.
For broader context around the meeting, visit the Pegasus World Cup guide and OTB Bet’s Major Races hub.