Stormy Liberal made his first start on September 3, 2014, in a
maiden special weight run at a distance of furlongs on the then-existing
all-weather track at
Del Mar. He pressed the pace while racing wide around the turn, but tired and faded to eighth place. On October 10, he was entered in a maiden special weight over
Santa Anita's downhill turf case. He broke well and entered into a speed duel with Dream Police for the early lead. Turning into the stretch, Stormy Liberal took the lead then held off a late run from Battle of Evermore to win by a length. Stormy Liberal was then stepped up in class to enter the Cecil B. DeMille Stakes at Del Mar on November 30, run over a distance of one mile. He stalked the early pace and took the lead in mid-stretch but was passed late by Conquest Typhoon. Stormy Liberal finished his two-year-old campaign by finishing tenth in the Eddie Logan Stakes on December 27. Stormy Liberal started his four-year-old season with three straight second-place finishes in allowance optional claiming races, then a fifth. Stormy Liberal finished the year with two second-place finishes for his new connections. On March 4, Stormy Liberal followed up by winning the listed
Joe Hernandez Stakes, again over Santa Anita's downhill turf course. Running from off the pace, he made a strong stretch run to take the lead and held off the late closing Perfectly Majestic by a nose. He then survived a steward's inquiry regarding another horse, Danzing Candy, who had been cut off when Stormy Liberal passed him in the stretch. Jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr. noted the gelding's tendency to drift in, but was confident the result would stand. "I was flying by those horses," he said. Stormy Liberal continued his winning streak by taking the Siren Lure Stakes on April 23, then earned his first
graded stakes victory in the
Daytona Stakes on May 27. The latter was won by just a neck but Arroyo felt the gelding had been waiting for the second-place horse to get close. "I had them from the get go and I knew I had more horse than him the whole time." Stormy Liberal was shipped out of California for the first time for the
Jaipur Invitational Stakes at
Belmont Park on June 10. His winning streak was broken with an eighth-place finish after he weakened in the stretch run. The winner Disco Partner set a world record of 1:05.67 for six furlongs in the race. Stormy Liberal then had a long layoff before returning on November 4 in the
Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, held that year at Del Mar – trainer Peter Miller's home base. Going off as a 30-1 longshot, Stormy Liberal staged a major upset when he beat stablemate Richard's Boy by a head after rating behind a fast early pace. "I thought we had home-court advantage and they ran to that," said Miller. "I couldn't be prouder of these horses. They're just two gutsy, tough, hard-knocking horses." It was the first Breeders' Cup win for Miller and Rockingham Ranch, who then doubled up when Roy H won the Breeders' Cup Sprint soon afterwards. After running eleventh in the
Hong Kong Sprint at
Sha Tin, Stormy Liberal finished the year with a record of five stakes win from seven starts. Stormy Liberal was then shipped to
Meydan Racecourse in
Dubai for the
Al Quoz Sprint on March 31, in which he finished second to Jungle Cat. He made his next start in the Jaipur International at Belmont Park, finishing sixth to Disco Partner after lacking his normal closing kick. After four straight losses, Miller dropped Stormy Liberal down to allowance company at Del Mar on July 25. There he faced the highly regarded Tribalist, who had three wins over Del Mar's turf course. Tribalist took the early lead then fought to hold off Stormy Liberal's late drive. Despite being bumped, Stormy Liberal inched by to win by a nose under new jockey
Drayden Van Dyke. "He looked good, and that's all that really matters," said Brian Trump, the racing manager of Rockingham Ranch. "We liked the chemistry between Drayden and him." On August 17, Stormy Liberal returned to stakes company in the listed Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar. He stalked the early pace then made a wide move to win by a nose over Richard's Boy. He then extended his winning streak in the
Eddie D Stakes at Santa Anita on September 28 with a similar performance. "He knows where the wire is, for sure, but think he could've won by three (lengths)," Van Dyke said. "I thought I'd be a little farther back, but he broke like a rocket, so I was up close." Despite his three-race winning streak, Stormy Liberal went off at odds of 7-1 in the
Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, held in 2018 at
Churchill Downs in Kentucky. He again tracked the early pace, then swung wide to move alongside favorite World of Trouble. The two horses dueled down the stretch, with Stormy Liberal prevailing by a neck. "He just has a tremendous heart," commented co-owner David Bernsen. "He really wants to win. He does just enough, he doesn't overexert himself in any race or any workout... his soundness and durability have also been keys. With most horses, you can't do this. They're just not able to. He's just a special horse in so many ways."
2019: seven-year-old season Stormy Liberal was winless in seven starts in 2019 with two second-place finishes and three thirds. He was eighth in his final start on November 2 when attempting to defend his title in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. ==Pedigree==