2009: three-year-old season Trained by
Jimmy Jerkens, Quality Road raced in
Florida in early 2009, where his wins in the
Fountain of Youth Stakes and
Grade 1 Florida Derby made him a favorite for the Kentucky Derby. However, he suffered two injuries. The first was a quarter crack on his right hind foot the day he won the Florida Derby. In April, he suffered a second quarter crack on his right front foot. As a result, he missed all three legs of the
U.S. Triple Crown series. In mid June, owner Edward Evans transferred the colt to the care of trainer
Todd Pletcher. On August 3, 2009, Quality Road made his first start since his injury, winning the
Amsterdam Stakes at
Saratoga Race Course in a track record time of 1:13.74 for six and a half
furlongs. On August 29, 2009, Quality Road finished third to Summer Bird in the Travers Stakes. He followed that with a second to Summer Bird in the October 10 Jockey Gold Cup. Later that month, Quality Road was pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup Classic, in the hopes that his running style would be well-suited to the polytrack at
Santa Anita Park. On November 7, 2009, Quality Road became the first horse to scratch at the gate in the Breeders' Cup Classic. After he refused to load into the starting gate, kicking with his hind legs on two or three occasions, the track crew blindfolded him and he kicked wildly, scraping his hocks on the gate and forcing the scratch.
2010: four-year-old season On January 3, Quality Road made his 4-year-old debut in the Grade III
Hal's Hope Stakes as the odds-on favorite. He won by lengths. On February 6, he broke his own track record when he won the
Donn Handicap with
John Velazquez riding. Quality Road finished the race in 1:47.49 to break the record of 1:47.72, which he set when he won the 2009
Florida Derby. He took control of the race at the stretch and began to pull away at the eighth pole. Dry Martini, the 2009
Suburban Handicap winner, was second. In an interview with the
Thoroughbred Times after the race, Pletcher said he would point the colt for the
Metropolitan Handicap and the "big races" at
Saratoga Race Course "before the
Breeders' Cup Classic" in fall 2010. He also complimented Quality Road's performance, saying, “He’s got a very high cruising speed and can go :46 and 1:09 and still keep going. Not many horses can do that and he was spotting weight to all those horses, six pounds or more. Quality Road earned a 121 Beyer Speed Figure in the Donn Handicap, then the highest speed figure awarded for a race over one mile since 2005. In the May 31
Metropolitan Handicap, Quality Road was installed as favorite and held off Musket Man to win in a very fast time of 1:33.11. On August 7, 2010, he ran 2nd in the
Whitney Handicap, beaten a head by eventual
Breeders' Cup Classic winner Blame. On September 4, 2010, he won the
Woodward Stakes by lengths. Quality Road ran only once more. On November 6, 2010, he started in the
Breeders' Cup Classic at
Churchill Downs. Breaking from the 1 post, he remained on the rail throughout the race and finished 12th and last behind Blame. After the race, it was determined that the horse had an abscess and that was the reason he was pulled up. ==Stud record==