1933:two-year-old season

In his two-year-old racing season, Cavalcade showed promise by winning twice from eleven starts and running prominently in defeat in several important races. In July in Chicago, Cavalcade recorded an upset win in the Hyde Stakes, beating the Whitney colt Singing Wood by a neck at odds of 90/1.^[4] At Havre de Grace Racetrack in September he finished a length second to his stablemate High Quest in the Eastern Shore Handicap.^[5] In a year when no colt dominated his age group, Cavalcade was among the best, although there were no official champions named in American racing until 1936.

1934: three-year-old season

Cavalcade's 1934 campaign was marked by his dominance of the future Hall of Fame colt Discovery whom he first defeated in the Chesapeake Stakes at Havre de Grace. Cavalcade set a new race record time of 1:43.6 for one and one sixteenth of a mile to establish himself as a "Leading Derby Candidate."^[6] Four days earlier he had equaled the track record for one mile and seventy yards when winning the Shenandoah Purse at the same track.^[7]

Of their three very capable colts, for the Kentucky Derby Brookmeade Stable raced Cavalcade as well as Time Clock, who had won the Flamingo Stakes. Sent off as the bettors' heavy favorite, Cavalcade was towards the back of the field before moving into contention behind Discovery and the filly Mata Hari on the final turn. He took the lead in the straight and drew away to win the race by more than three lengths over Discovery with Time Clock a disappointing seventh.^[8] After Time Clock's poor showing, his handlers replaced him in the Preakness Stakes with the third stablemate, High Quest, who had won April's Wood Memorial. High Quest won the Preakness, beating Cavalcade by a nose with Discovery in third place.

Cavalcade skipped the longer Belmont Stakes (in which High Quest was defeated by Peace Chance) running instead in the American Derby in Chicago which he won by two lengths and six from Discovery and Singing Wood, conceding weight to both, in a course record time of 2:04.0. Press reports described his finishing run as "a machine-like burst" and claimed that he looked "almost unbeatable".^[9] Cavalcade then set a new track record in winning the Detroit Derby before returning to Chicago for the Arlington Classic. He came from last place in the early stages to win by four lengths from Discovery in a "dramatic" performance which provoked a "delirium of cheers" from the 30,000 crowd. After the race Mack Garner described the colt as "the gamest horse I have ever ridden."^[10] During the summer of 1934 there were proposals for special international race at either Saratoga Springs or Belmont Park between Cavalcade, the English champion Windsor Lad and the leading French colt Admiral Drake (Brantôme, probably the best European three-year old of 1934 was a sick horse during the summer) but the plans did not come to fruition.^[11]

Later career

Cavalcade's later career was a disappointment as he became increasingly difficult to train. At age four, he missed his early season target when he was withdrawn from the Santa Anita Handicap and did not appear until late May when he finished second to the five-year-old Head Play at Belmont.^[12] Smith struggled to return Cavalcade to peak condition and he finished unplaced on his only other start of the year in the Suburban Handicap. After an absence of fifteen months, Cavalcade returned to action in September 1936 in an allowance race at Narragansett Park where he finished sixth of the seven runners.^[13] Two days later, he finished last of the nine runners behind Sun Teddy in what was intended to be a final warm-up for the Narragansett Special. He was then retired to stud.