 On April 8, 1943, Blue Swords finished 11th at Jamaica, New York in the feature race, Experimental handicap.He came in ahead of only four horses at a time when he was considered second to Count Fleet in the Kentucky Derby future books.Nevertheless, odds makers made Blue Swords a 6 to 1 pick to win the Kentucky Derby prior to the horse's arrival in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 17, 1943.