In 2014, he won one minor race from his first four starts and then established himself as one of the top two-year-old colts in North America with a six and a half length win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Keith Desormeaux later commented, "I still don’t realize how we got him for such a price because he was a physical masterpiece even then – very correct, very confident, very intelligent looking, all the things we look for as horsemen in trying to acquire a good animal".
Ridden by James Graham, he started slowly and lost several lengths but stayed on well to finish second, a neck behind the winner, Mr Lightning Boy.
In a similar event over six furlongs at Del Mar twenty-four days later, he finished fourth of ten runners behind Red Button, Homer Matt, and Battle of Evermore after again starting poorly.
[7] Texas Red was then moved up sharply in class to contest the Grade I FrontRunner Stakes over one and one sixteenth miles at Santa Anita Park on September 27.
Starting a 12.5/1 outsider, he was towards the rear of the field in the early stages as usual before making steady progress in the second half of the race to finish third behind the odds-on favorite, American Pharoah, and Calculator.
After his customary slow start, the colt dropped back to last place, several lengths detached from the rest of the eleven-runner field in the early stages.
Texas Red took the lead inside the last quarter mile and accelerated clear of his rivals to win by six and a half lengths, with Carpe Diem taking second ahead of Upstart and Irish challenger The Great War.
[13] After a five-month break, Texas Red returned in the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park on July 4 and finished second, two and a half lengths behind the winner Speightster.