Burgoo King (1929–1946) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series but who did not run in final race, the Belmont Stakes.
Owned by Colonel Edward R. Bradley and foaled at his renowned Idle Hour Stock Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, Burgoo King was named for a local grocer famous for his burgoo stew. Out of the mare Minawand, he was sired by Bradley's 1926 Kentucky Derby winner, Bubbling Over.
Burgoo King was trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, "Derby Dick" Thompson. Although he won four of his twelve starts in 1931, Burgoo King's best result in several major races for American two-year-olds was a third place finish in the 1931 Pimlico Futurity.
At age three, Burgoo King was unplaced in the Withers Stakes and for the Kentucky Derby was not considered a significant contender. He was sent off at betting odds of close to 6:1 behind the favored Hopeful Stakes winner, Tick On. The colt was ridden by 19-year-old Eugene James, an up-and-coming jockey from Louisville, Kentucky about whom TIME magazine said had "made a sensation" in his 1931 racing season. Nonetheless, at the time, Col. Bradley's top jockey was Laverne Fator who had first choice of any of Idle Hour's horses. Fator chose to ride the colt Brother Joe, leaving the lightly regarded Burgoo King for young Eugene James.
Read more about Burgoo King: The Derby and Preakness, The Belmont Stakes Mystery
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