Gran Premio Latinoamericano Returns to Monterrico, Peru, in Continental Showdown

Monterrico will again become the center of South American racing on Sunday, April 26, when the 42nd Gran Premio Latinoamericano returns to Lima as the continent’s richest and most important race. The 2,000-meter turf feature, run under a 16-stall gate, is more than a prestige stop: it is the rare annual meeting where the best of OSAF’s member countries can measure bloodlines, training programs and stable power on the same stage.

That matters because the Latinoamericano has always been a traveling championship, first staged at Hipódromo de Maroñas in Uruguay in March 1981 and then handed from one racing nation to another. Monterrico’s turn puts Peru back in a familiar role, and a dangerous one for visiting challengers. Race-history sources say Peruvian horses have won every edition staged there, turning Lima into a home-track referendum on regional strength rather than a simple venue shift.

Monterrico itself carries the scale to match the event. Opened on December 18, 1960, owned and operated by the Jockey Club del Perú, and built to hold about 15,000 spectators, it blends a dirt main track with an inside turf course. The 2024 Latinoamericano there drew more than 20,000 spectators, a reminder that the race can stretch beyond racing’s usual audience when the country gets its biggest international showcase. That 2024 edition was won by Manyuz (USA), a Peru-based runner owned by Stud Jet Set, trained by Juan Víctor Suárez Villarroel and ridden by Carlos Trujillo, who rolled home by 3 3/4 lengths in 2:04.38. A year later, Obataye (BRZ) won at Gávea in Brazil, restoring the event’s regional shuffle and underscoring how quickly the competitive balance can move.

The 2026 field is already shaping up as a continental collision. As of March 17, the Jockey Club Brasileiro had 12 horses qualified, including Thor Medina, The Gladiator’s Hat, Olympic Oman, Pivot Central, Apolo Rey, Medjool, Teao, Khamal, Maria Luisa, Magic Power, Puppi’s Husband and Galikovic. OSAF later ratified the full list of runners and jockeys, and the Jockey Club del Perú had already nominated its first two representatives by February 20. The race is also being run as the Gran Premio Latinoamericano - Copa Jockey Plaza, adding a commercial layer to an event that still serves as the clearest regional benchmark in Latin American racing. For Peru, hosting is about more than prestige. It is a chance to defend a home advantage that has become part of the race’s identity, and to remind the rest of the continent that Monterrico remains one of the sport’s decisive battlegrounds.