 As a two-year-old in 1925, Crusader won the Potomac Purse at Belmont Park, but his most important win of the year came in the $10,000 Manor Handicap at Laurel Park Racecourse on October 24.In 1926 Crusader defeated older horses including his stable companion American Flag to win the Suburban Handicap.Against his own age group he won the Belmont Stakes a week later, beating Espino by a length in front of a crowd of 25,000.