Gran Premio Internacional Dardo Rocha 2026 Schedule and How to Watch

The biggest day of the year at La Plata is nine days away, and the first entry list just landed. Here is the Gran Premio Internacional Dardo Rocha 2026 schedule as it stands today, with everything still unconfirmed marked as such.

Schedule: what time is the Gran Premio Internacional Dardo Rocha 2026?

The Gran Premio Internacional Dardo Rocha 2026 is on Thursday, November 19, 2026, at the Hipódromo de La Plata in Argentina. The post time has not been announced yet, so there is no confirmed time yet for US Eastern, Mexico City, Bogotá and Lima, Buenos Aires or Madrid.

We checked the reports published so far by Turf Diario and by local outlets covering the track's agenda. All of them give the date. None gives a time for this year.

For reference only: Turf Diario's preview of the 2025 race put that edition at about 7 p.m. in La Plata. That is last year's time, not this year's.

When the time is published, the conversion is simple. In mid-November, Argentina is:

• 2 hours ahead of US Eastern
• 2 hours ahead of Bogotá and Lima
• 3 hours ahead of Mexico City
• 4 hours behind Madrid

We will update this page as soon as the track or a racing report states the post time.

How to watch the Gran Premio Internacional Dardo Rocha 2026

The TV and streaming plan for this year has not been announced. None of the 2026 reports we opened names a channel, a stream or a wagering platform carrying the card.

What you can do now:

1. Follow the Hipódromo de La Plata's official website and social accounts. Tracks usually post the race-day program and any stream link there in race week.
2. Watch Turf Diario, which publishes in Spanish and English and has been covering the run-up to this race.
3. If you plan to go in person, check the track's channels for gate and admission details. None of the reports we read states them.

We will not name an outlet until a source confirms it for 2026.

The race at a glance

Turf Diario's entries report gives the winner's prize as 160 million Argentine pesos. One line of its English version says 150 million, which was the figure for the 2025 race, so treat 160 million as the reported number until the official program is out.

The Dardo Rocha is not the only stakes race that day. According to Turf Diario, the card also has three Group 2 races (the Clásico Ciudad de La Plata over 1,200 meters, the Joaquín V. González over 1,600 meters and the Marcos Levalle for fillies and mares over a mile) and a Listed sprint over 1,100 meters.

New to the labels? Our guide to what a Grade 1 or Group 1 race is explains them, and the glossary covers the rest.

The field so far: 17 entries, none final

This is the important caveat. Turf Diario reports 17 horses on the initial entry list, and those entries still have to be ratified. An entry is not a starter: horses drop out, and the real field, with jockeys and post positions, comes later.

Turf Diario names 12 of the 17. Here is what it says about them.

The defending champion

• The Gladiator's Hat (by Hat Ninja) won this race on November 19, 2025 by 7 lengths in 2:30.37, beating 19 rivals. Since then he has finished second in the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini and third in the Gran Premio Latinoamericano, both Group 1 races.

The rivalry from Palermo

• Nassau (by Forge) is trained by Juan Carlos and Juan Sebastián Maldotti. He won the Clásico Vicente L. Casares (G3) over 2,500 meters at Palermo, and his team picked this race over the Gran Premio Copa de Oro.
• Sono Perfetto (by Tetaze) won the Clásico OSAF (G3) over 2,200 meters. He was fourth in last year's Dardo Rocha.
• Elegir Bien (by Fortify) was second to him in that OSAF.
• Amuni (by Tetaze) beat both Nassau and Sono Perfetto in the Clásico Stud Book Argentino (Listed), then ran below that form in the OSAF.

Turf Diario notes that final confirmation is still pending for several of these.

The young one with a weight break

• Teobaldo (by Uncle Chuck) won the Clásico Provincia de Buenos Aires (G3) by 6 lengths. Turf Diario says he would carry 53 kilos against older horses. In late October his participation was still described as unconfirmed.

Horses with Group 1 form

• Thor Medina (by Mootasadir) won the Gran Premio Miguel A. Martínez de Hoz (G1) and more recently the Gran Premio Batalla de Tucumán.
• Crazy Talent (by Equal Talent) won the 2025 Gran Premio de Honor (G1).
• Vota Bien (by Hi Happy) was second in the Gran Premio República Argentina (G1) and was awarded the Clásico Carlos Gardel (Listed) on a disqualification.

Also named

• El Darwin (by Il Campione), who was named in Turf Diario's preview of the 2025 field.
• Adorado Rim (by Remote).
• Oh l'Amour (by Drosselmeyer), a Brazilian-bred entry.

Why this race matters

The Dardo Rocha is named for the founder of La Plata, and November 19 is the city's founding day. The race was first run in 1915 and first carried Dardo Rocha's name in 1918.

It has been a Group 1 since Argentina adopted the graded system in 1973, and it has been run over 2,400 meters since 1979. It is open to horses aged three and up at weight for age, which is why a three-year-old can carry less than his elders.

Two more things make it stand out:

• It is a dirt race. Argentina's other big 2,400-meter prize, the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini in December, is on turf at San Isidro.
• It draws a crowd. Turf Diario's 2025 preview expected more than 30,000 people at the track, and its race report estimated about 18,000 on the day.

Recent winners:

The 2023 edition moved to December 2. The race returned to November 19 in 2024.

What to watch next

• Ratification. The list of 17 will shrink or hold. That is when the field becomes real.
• The post time and the program. Once the official race-day program is out, we will add the time in US Eastern, Mexico City, Bogotá and Lima, Buenos Aires and Madrid.
• The broadcast. Look for a stream announcement from the track in race week.
• A repeat bid. Last year The Gladiator's Hat won by 7 lengths. The four winners before him were four different horses.
• The Pellegrini link. Nassau's team has said a strong run here could send him on to the Carlos Pellegrini.

If you follow South American racing this month, see also our pages for the Gran Premio Nacional 2026 and the Clásico del Caribe 2026. More racing stories are in Trends.