Winter Racing Heats Up: Gulfstream Park’s Championship Meet Begins

Winter Racing Heats Up: Gulfstream Park’s Championship Meet Begins

Gulfstream Park’s 2024-25 Championship Meet kicks off on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, with the $115,000 Wait a While Stakes headlining the eight-race card. The stakes race, designed for 2-year-old fillies on turf, is the first of 66 black-type races scheduled during the meet, which runs through March 30, offering a total of $15 million in prize money.

Notable events on the stakes schedule include the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) on January 25, and the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) on March 29. Racing will take place four days a week in December and expand to five days a week starting in January.

Top jockeys like Irad Ortiz Jr., Paco Lopez, and Joe Bravo will be in action, with Ortiz Jr. aiming for his sixth Championship Meet title. The meet also features leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who has multiple contenders, including Bellavino in the Wait a While Stakes.

Highlights include Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher’s prominent winter training at Gulfstream, as well as key prep races for the Pegasus and other major stakes events. Gulfstream continues to attract top talent and fans alike, solidifying its reputation as a premier winter racing venue.

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