Bred by Ogden Phipps, Effervescing was a son of the French sire Le Fabuleux whose other significant progeny included American multiple Grade I winner, The Bart and Dauphin Fabuleux, the 1984 Canadian Horse of the Year.
At the age of three and going off at long shot odds of 24-1 he won the $112,500 Man O' War Stakes on Belmont Park's turf course October 11, 1976 [1] At age four, he won at Saratoga Race Course the turf-run Sword Dancer Handicap with future Hall of Fame jockey Ángel Cordero Jr. up At the age of five Effervescing won two $100,000+ purse stakes races within one week.
According to Lukas' autobiography "D. Wayne", Albert Yank, one of the owners, after the American Handicap victory wanted to run the horse in a stakes race in Chicago later in the fall.
When Lukas said he wanted to run the horse back again in five days the reply was Are you drinking your own bathwater?.
[3] Effervescing won the Eddie Read Handicap (a turf race at 9 furlongs) at Del Mar Racetrack also in 1978 with Laffit his rider again.