To date, Kauai King is one of only two horses born in Maryland to have crossed the Kentucky Derby finish line first, but 1968 winner Dancer's Image was later stripped of his title, leaving Kauai King as the only official Maryland-bred winner of the Derby.
With his sire (Native Dancer) and grandsire (Polynesian), three successive generations won the Preakness Stakes, a feat accomplished only one other time.
On June 27, 1966, Kauai King (against the advice of his trainer, Henry Forrest) and Buckpasser met in the Arlington Classic.
Following the announcement of his career-ending injury, he was retired to stand at stud at Alfred G. Vanderbilt II's Sagamore Farm in Glyndon, Maryland.
Kauai King is still one of only two dual Classic winners ever bred in Maryland (the other was Cloverbrook, foaled in 1874) and one of only nine to win a Triple Crown race.