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By the numbers: The Stronach Group’s 2018 Pegasus World Cup strategy

Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park

The Stronach Group announced on Friday that as of the passing of the deadline to purchase slots to participate in the 2018 Pegasus World Cup, they have managed to sell nine of the 12 slots in the starting gate for the January 27 race at Gulfstream Park. Which means they will have to buy the remaining three slots at $1 million each.

It was previously announced that The Stronach Group would add $4 million to the 2018 running of the Pegasus in an effort to make the race more appealing, as many of the participants in the inaugural 2017 running lost “hundreds of thousands of dollars on their investment.”

The Stronach Group Strategy: Revenue Sharing

By increasing the total prize to a world-record $16 million, there would be more money distributed to each starter, regardless of where they finished.

This year, each owner was guaranteed a $250,000 return on their investment from the $12 million purse of the 2017 Pegasus World Cup, plus a share of the total revenue generated (not to exceed $150,000) in handle, advertising and sponsorship monies the track took in. And still, each owner who wasn’t first, second or third, lost “at least $600,000” or two-thirds of their initial investment.

Next year, it is expected that starters who finish out of the money, in other words fourth through 12th, will receive a minimum of $650,000, or “a collective $5.85 million,” and $3.6 million more than was paid out last year for the ‘rest of the field.’ The remaining $10.15 million will go to the top three finishers. But is it enough?

Despite its efforts to entice owners to put up their money for next year’s race, The Stronach Group is currently all-in for $7 million ($3 million for the unsold slots and $4 million to raise the minimum payout) to make the 2018 Pegasus World Cup a go. And their hope is that they’ll be able to market the race to “late comers” in the closing weeks prior to the January 27 running.

Over the years, horsemen and horse racing fans have had their fair share of criticism of Frank Stronach, Founder and Chairman of The Stronach Group. But you can’t fault him for trying to save the sport from dying a slow death with innovative ideas.

Here’s to hoping that the Pegasus World Cup will continue to grow and attract the interest of owners, trainers and most importantly fans around the world.

Articles on DRF.com provided inspiration for this post