He was purchased as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton sale in Kentucky by New Yorker Albert P. Coppola,[2] who only realized later that the colt's birthplace meant he qualified for the Canadian Triple Crown series.
Under jockey Robin Platts, the lightly regarded Runaway Groom surprised fans and bettors as he finished a solid second behind Son of Briartic.
His best graded stakes race result before he retired to stud duty was a third in the 1983 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack.
Sent to the Vinery breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky, Runaway Groom had a long and successful stud career.
He sired a number of Graded stakes race winners, including Cherokee Run (who won the 1994 Breeders' Cup Sprint), 2006 Sunshine Millions Oaks and 2007 Sunshine Millions Distaff winner Joint Effort, Japanese runner Machikane Hokushin, and multiple-stakes-winning millionaires Down The Aisle and Wekiva Springs.