Carlos Pellegrini 2026 Time: Schedule, Key Dates and How to Watch

Schedule: Carlos Pellegrini 2026 time and date

The Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini 2026 is on Saturday, December 12, 2026, at the Hipódromo de San Isidro outside Buenos Aires. The post time has not been announced yet, so there is no confirmed Carlos Pellegrini 2026 time in US Eastern or any other zone.

San Isidro has listed the date since early October, and on November 5 Turf Diario reported the Jockey Club Argentino's 2026 conditions with the same date. Neither gives a post time.

A handy rule for when the time is out: in mid-December, US Eastern runs 2 hours behind Argentina, Bogotá and Lima also run 2 hours behind, Mexico City runs 3 hours behind, and Madrid runs 4 hours ahead. Argentina does not change its clocks.

How to watch

The TV and streaming plan for 2026 has not been announced yet. Nobody has confirmed a broadcaster for this year, so treat any listing you see now with caution.

For reference, here is last year's plan. For 2025, Turf Diario reported that Global Media Turf would stream the whole Pellegrini card live on YouTube and on its own website, and that the Breeders' Cup would rebroadcast the signal on its official YouTube channels. That is a 2025 fact, not a 2026 promise.

What to check as race day nears:

• The Hipódromo de San Isidro website and its YouTube channel
• The Jockey Club Argentino's social accounts
• The Breeders' Cup channels, since this is one of its Challenge races
• Argentine racing press such as Turf Diario

Key dates before race day

The Pellegrini has a fixed run-up, and every step tells you more about the field. These dates come from the Jockey Club's 2026 conditions.

1. Monday, Nov 23, 12:00 (noon): entries close for horses traveling from abroad.
2. Wednesday, Dec 2: track reconnaissance for visiting connections.
3. Monday, Dec 7, by noon: final declarations (the confirmed field).
4. Tuesday, Dec 8: post-position draw.
5. Saturday, Dec 12: race day.

The entry and declaration fee is 7,500,000 pesos combined. Foreign teams pay their own shipping, lodging and insurance; San Isidro provides stabling, feed, groom housing and vet care.

What is the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini?

It is widely described as Argentina's most prestigious horse race. It was first run in 1887 as the Gran Premio Internacional and took the name of former Argentine president Carlos Pellegrini in 1941.

Today it is a Grade 1 over 2,400 meters (about 1½ miles) on turf, run left-handed, for horses 3 years old and up. It closes San Isidro's Ruta Clásica, which runs through the Clásico Yatasto and the Gran Premio Copa de Oro.

Purse and prize money

The 2026 purse stays at 500,000,000 Argentine pesos, the same as 2025. Because the peso has weakened, Turf Diario puts it at about US$319,500, down from about US$370,000 a year ago.

• Winner: 250,000,000 pesos
• Second: 87,500,000 pesos
• Third: 50,000,000 pesos
• Fourth: 32,500,000 pesos

All prize money is paid in pesos. Three more Group 1 races were announced alongside it: the Copa de Plata for fillies and mares (2,000 m), the Joaquín S. de Anchorena (a mile) and the Félix de Álzaga Unzué turf sprint (1,000 m).

The Breeders' Cup connection

The Pellegrini remains a Win and You're In race. Last year Obataye's win earned him a starting spot in the 2026 Breeders' Cup Turf with his entry fees paid, so this year's winner is in line for the same in 2027. If that idea is new, our explainer on Win and You're In races covers how it works.

The field: what we know so far

No field has been entered or declared for 2026. Final declarations are not due until December 7, so any list you see now is speculation.

What we can say is which recent results point toward the race:

• Honest Boy won the Gran Premio Copa de Oro (G1, 2,400 m) at San Isidro on November 7, by half a length over Neat Colt, with Acento Final third. The Copa de Oro is the step before the Pellegrini on San Isidro's Ruta Clásica. Trained by Carlos Daniel Etchechoury and ridden by Eduardo Ortega Pavón in the Copa de Oro, Honest Boy has run in the Pellegrini before: in 2024 he finished 16th of 20 for trainer Juan Manuel Etchechoury and jockey Iván Monasterolo.
• Acento Final is a familiar name: he ran in the 2025 Pellegrini, when Turf Diario called him Argentina's main hope.
• Brazil won last year with Obataye, and the November 23 deadline will show whether a raider is coming again.

None of these horses is confirmed for December 12. We will update this page once entries and declarations are published.

Last year's race

Obataye, from Brazil, won the 2025 Pellegrini on December 13, 2025, ridden by João Moreira. He beat The Gladiator's Hat by 1½ lengths, with Havana Cigar third, in a field of 17.

Recent winners show how open the race can be:

• 2025: Obataye (João Moreira)
• 2024: Intense For Me (Martín Valle)
• 2023: El Encinal (Eduardo Ortega Pavón)
• 2022: The Punisher (Martín Valle)
• 2021: Village King (Martín Valle), by 9 lengths

What to watch for

The international entries. The noon deadline on November 23 decides whether Brazil, Uruguay or others send a challenger. After Obataye's win, a Brazilian return would be a big story.

The draw on December 8. In a big field at 2,400 meters, a wide post can cost ground. Watch where the favorites land.

The turf. The race record is 2:21.98, set by Asidero in 1999. Rain in race week can change who suits the going.

The jockeys. Martín Valle has won three of the last five, and the race has drawn stars from abroad, including Moreira last year. Irineo Leguisamo still holds the record with 10 wins.

What to do now

• Save the date: Saturday, December 12. Leave the time open until the official program is out.
• Check back on December 8. After the draw, this page will add the field and, once published, the post time with conversions.
• New to racing? Our glossary explains terms like Group 1, post position and declarations, and our guide to Breeders' Cup 2026 shows where a Pellegrini winner ends up.
• Going in person? San Isidro is in the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires; check the racecourse site for gates, tickets and dress before you travel.

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