HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Gulfstream Park racing office released the first group of invitations to the $3 million Pegasus World Cup on Wednesday. The list is headed by Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, along with fellow Grade 1 winners Mixto, Saudi Crown, Senor Buscador, Stronghold, and White Abarrio. Invitations also were released for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf and $500,000 Filly and Mare Turf, all three events to be decided here Jan. 25 on a blockbuster card featuring 10 stakes, seven graded, worth $5.55 million. The top 12 list of invitees to the Pegasus also includes Mystik Dan’s stablemate Rattle N Roll; Saffie Joseph Jr.’s Skippylongstocking; both Locked and Crupi from the barn of Hall of Fame horseman Todd Pletcher; Mixto's Doug O'Neill-trained stablemate J B Strikes Back; along with Imagination, whose trainer, Bob Baffert, has won three previous editions of this race, including last year’s renewal with National Treasure. :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now.  Another nine horses were named as reserves, several of whom figure to ultimately be tendered invitations if one or more of the top names opt out of the Pegasus World Cup over the next several weeks. The invitation lists for all three Pegasus events will be updated again on Jan. 8 and Jan. 15. “We’ve been working on the [Pegasus World Cup] for several months and have done our due diligence, spoken to each trainer on the list, and at the moment every one said they still have an interest in coming,” Gulfstream vice president of racing Mike Lakow said. “One thing I am confident about is that we will have a full field in the starting gate for this and all of our big races on Pegasus Day.” Along with the main event, Lakow also was very excited about the Pegasus World Cup Turf, which is expected to attract Breeders’ Cup Mile runner-up Johannes, Godolphin’s multiple Grade 1 winner Nations Pride, and Grade 1 Hollywood Derby winner Formidable Man. “The Turf is going to be a very powerful race,” Lakow said. “Johannes is definitely coming, and he’s probably the top grass horse in the U.S. right now. And having a Charlie Appleby horse like Nations Pride coming is a terrific addition to the field as well.” Senor Buscador returning One horse already confirmed for the main event is last year’s runner-up, Senor Buscador, who finished full of run only to fall a neck shy of upsetting National Treasure here a year ago. He used the performance as a stepping-stone to his victory four weeks later in the rich Saudi Cup and subsequent third-place effort in the Dubai World Cup. Senor Buscador has started four times since Dubai, his last two outings a fifth-place finish behind Sierra Leone in the Breeders’ Cup Classic followed by a disappointing ninth-place effort in the Cigar Mile, a race in which he had his best chances compromised when stumbling badly at the break. Trained by Todd Fincher, Senor Buscador returned to his home base in New Mexico after his last start, unlike a year ago when he came directly to Gulfstream Park to prepare for the Pegasus World Cup following a second-place finish in the Cigar Mile. “I thought we had him right back where we wanted him and where we had him last year after the Breeders’ Cup,” Fincher said. “Unfortunately, the Cigar Mile was a bit of a shocker. But he fell pretty hard at the start, probably got stunned a little bit, and really didn’t run at all the first half of the race. Fortunately, he came out of it just fine and is doing well. We’ll continue to train him here at home before sending him down there in a couple of weeks to have one little blowout over the track before the race.” :: Get Gulfstream Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.  Fincher said his experiences with Senor Buscador during the first three months of his 2024 campaign were nothing short of sensational. “The whole thing, starting with the Pegasus, was awesome and will be with all of us forever,” Fincher said. “I thought he ran great over what is typically a speed-biased track last year in the Pegasus. We’re a little more confident coming back knowing he handled it well, now all we can hope for is a hot pace.” Fincher said he is undecided on a rider at this point, although he did offer the possibility that Senor Buscador could be reunited with Junior Alvarado, who rode him in each of his first three starts in 2024, including the Pegasus. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.