A chestnut colt with inherited Bend-Or spotting, he was out of Belmont's imported English dam Fairy Gold, who also produced Fair Play, the sire of Man o' War.
Friar Rock was sent to the track at age two, earning wins in the 1915 Adirondack and Whirl Stakes.
)[1] August Belmont Jr. sold Friar Rock shortly after winning the 13⁄4 miles Saratoga Cup.
New owner John E. Madden brought him to stand at stud at his Hamburg Place farm in Kentucky.
One of his best-known daughters was Friar's Carse, the United States' Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and dam of War Relic.
In 1918, Friar Rock was sold again and his new owners brought him to Santa Rosa, California, to stand at Rancho Wickiup, where he remained for the rest of his life.