Out of the mare Hot Novel, he was sired by the 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, Pleasant Colony.
Raced by William Clifton, Jr. and the Rudlein Stable of Donald and Anne Rudder, Behrens did not race until age three when he made a winning debut in January 1997 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
In the August Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, Behrens finished second by a nose to Deputy Commander, then in September scored a 5¾ length win in the Pegasus Handicap at the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey in which he beat a field that included the heavily favored Touch Gold.
In that year's Breeders' Cup Classic, Behrens disappointed his backers with a seventh-place finish.
However, with a chance at Horse of the Year honors he finished a dull 7th in the Breeders Cup Classic behind Cat Thief.