2024 Pegasus World Cup predictions, odds, post time, contenders: Picks, best bets from horse racing insider

Saturday's 2024 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park will mark the eighth running of a race that was once the richest in the world. The purse for the inaugural Pegasus World Cup in 2017 was $12 million and then rose to $16 million in 2018. Bob Baffert is a two-time winner of the Pegasus World Cup and he'll send Preakness winner National Treasure, the 9-5 favorite in the 2024 Pegasus World Cup odds, into the No. 7 post on Saturday. He's followed by First Mission (7-2), Skippylongstocking (8-1), Grand Aspen (8-1) and O'Connor (8-1) on the odds board.

Post time for the nine-furlong race is 5:40 p.m. ET. With several accomplished horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what Santa Anita-based racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2024 Pegasus World Cup picks.

Few people in racing are as well-connected as Yu. An on-air host and reporter who has provided racing analysis for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders' Cup, Yu has spent a lifetime in racing. Prior to her television career, she worked for trainers Steve Asmussen and Ron Moquett. She also is married to Santa Anita-based trainer Ryan Hanson.

Yu also has tremendous handicapping chops. In a wide-open Kentucky Derby in 2021, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1. In Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager last year, she suggested a play on All Other 3-Year-Olds, which cashed at a whopping 18-1 when Rich Strike won the Derby.

Since the end of February, she has crushed the Saudi Cup, riding a 15-1 winner, nailed Derma Sotogake to win the UAE Derby and hit the exacta in the Santa Anita Derby. She has hit the exacta in the Preakness Stakes and Hollywood Gold Cup and had both the winner and exacta in the Summertime Oaks and the Prince of Wales's Stakes. Last July, she smashed the Haskell Stakes for a $663 score, hitting 12-1 winner Geaux Rocket Ride as well as the exacta.

Now, Yu has handicapped the 2024 Pegasus World Cup lineup, made her picks and constructed her best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.

Top 2024 Pegasus World Cup predictions

One surprise: Yu is completely fading Skippylongstocking, even though he's one of the top favorites at 8-1. One of two Saffie Joseph entries in the 2024 Pegasus World Cup field, Skippylongstocking is a five-year-old son of Exaggerator out of War Chant. However, he will be making his 21st career start and has failed to hit the board more (eight times) than he's won (six). 

"A well beaten seventh in this race last year, Skippylongstocking rebounded with smaller stakes scores and finished the year a credible third in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Both 2023 scores were in frontrunning fashion on off tracks and I don't think he's getting on the lead here, even if it's a little wet," Yu told SportsLine. 

She isn't including him in any bets despite his experience at Gulfstream Park. You can see all of Yu's 2024 Pegasus World Cup bets here.

How to make 2024 Pegasus World Cup picks

Moreover, Yu's top pick is a horse who is "primed for a big effort." She also is high on a "grinder" who is not among the 2024 Pegasus World Cup favorites. She is including these horses in her 2024 Pegasus World Cup bets, and so should you. She's sharing which horses to back at SportsLine.

So who wins the 2024 Pegasus World Cup? And how has she constructed her wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Yu's picks for the Pegasus World Cup, and find out.