Bred at Wintergreen Farm in Midway, Kentucky by Max Wood and his wife, Sylvia, Favorite Trick was out of the mare Evil Elaine.
A descendant of the great Nearco through both his sire and dam, Favorite Trick was selected by trainer Patrick B. Byrne at an auction in February 1997 as a purchase for Joseph LaCombe.
For 1998, Favorite Trick's conditioning was taken over by Bill Mott after Patrick Byrne accepted an offer to take over the stable of prominent Canadian horseman Frank Stronach.
Starting from post position seven in the Derby, Favorite Trick moved up to fourth by the half-mile (4 furlong) pole but fell back to wind up eighth in the fifteen-horse field behind the winning 8:1 outsider Real Quiet.
He later stood at Cloverleaf Farms II in Ocala, Florida and finally at JEH Stallion Station near Hondo, New Mexico, where he and five other horses died in a barn fire on June 6, 2006.