Oaklawn Park Race Track
At age two in 1980, Bold Ego raced primarily at racetracks in New Mexico for trainer Clifford Lambert, where he won his first five races before finishing third in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship Stakes at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. He ended the year having won seven of eight starts but had never been tested beyond six furlongs. Partway into the 1981 racing season, Lambert stepped down as trainer and recommended that the owners contact trainer Jack Van Berg. The future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer inductee agreed to take over the conditioning of Bold Ego, so the horse was shipped to Van Berg's stable at Oaklawn Park Race Track. Under Van Berg and assistant trainer Dennis Werre, Bold Ego won Oaklawn's Southwest and Rebel Stakes followed by the prestigious Arkansas Derby, a win that propelled him into the U.S. Triple Crown picture.