Although he won four of his twelve starts in 1931, Burgoo King's best result in several major races for American two-year-olds was a third-place finish in the Pimlico Futurity.
The colt was ridden by 19-year-old Eugene James, an up-and-coming jockey from Louisville, Kentucky, whom Time magazine said had "made a sensation" in his 1931 racing season.
Fator chose to ride the colt Brother Joe, leaving the lightly regarded Burgoo King for young James.
Although Burgoo King raced two wide with another horse behind the frontrunner, he made a strong move on the backstretch to take the lead and in the homestretch pulled away to win easily by three lengths.
Another source claims that on June 11, while training for the American Derby in Chicago, Burgoo King bowed a tendon and would not race again for almost two years.
That Burgoo King did not race from around mid-1932 until mid-1934 is a fact, but the National Sporting Library's Thoroughbred Heritage website says that he was referred to as being "far from robust" by turf writers.
Or, his handlers may simply have chosen not to risk injuring the suddenly valuable colt over the Belmont's 1+1⁄2 mile distance, the longest and most grueling of the Triple Crown races.
At a time when more than one organization selected annual thoroughbred champions, despite his shortened campaign, Burgoo King still shared U.S. Three-Year-Old Co-Champion honors with Faireno.