Owned by Arkansas businessman John Ed Anthony, Vanlandingham was bred and raced by the Loblolly Stable.
Racing Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, who told Sports Illustrated in an October 14, 1985, article that the colt suffered from tender feet that stung him.
Racing at age three, Vanlandingham broke the Oaklawn Park track record in winning the March 1984 Rebel Handicap.
Returning to racing in 1986 at age five, in his first start of the year Vanlandingham equaled the Gulfstream Park track record while winning the Canadian Turf Handicap.
[5] Retired to stud duty, Vanlandingham met with modest success as the sire of 151 winners of 508 races.