[1] Jack Wold and Donnie Lucarelli, the owners of Starlight Racing, named the horse after their friend Bob Burton, an airline pilot who often flew to Shanghai.
[2] He is trained by the five-time Eclipse Award winner Todd Pletcher and has been ridden in all of his races to date by Rosie Napravnik.
Shanghai Bobby made his first appearance on April 19 when he won a four and half furlong race at Aqueduct Racetrack.
[3] For his final start of the year, Shanghai Bobby raced outside New York State for the first time when he was sent to California to contest the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park.
Commenting on the horse's performance, Napravnik, who became only the second woman to ride a Breeders' Cup winner,[4] explained that "Bobby gets lost when he's out there by himself".
He broke sharp and stalked on the inside until the far turn where he weakened to place 5th behind Orb, Itsmyluckyday, Merit Man, and Narvaez.