Dr. Fager returned in the Arlington Classic on June 24. Despite racing over a sloppy track for the first time and breaking poorly, Dr. Fager won with ease by ten lengths. "He has an awful lot of early speed," said Baeza, "and he's willing to run at any time in a race. He's willing to run from start to finish." On July 25, Dr. Fager won the Rockingham Special by four lengths, completing the distance of miles in a time of 1:48, lowering the Rockingham Park track record by a full second. His next scheduled start was the Travers Stakes on August 19 but he suffered a recurrence of the virus that had sidelined him at the beginning of the year and missed the race. Dr. Fager made his next start on September 2 at Rockingham Park in the New Hampshire Sweepstakes Classic, then the world's richest horse race for three-year-olds. In his first start at miles, Dr. Fager set the early pace but was passed by In Reality with a half mile to go. Dr. Fager fought back and went on to win by lengths. His time of 1:59 was a new track record. Dr. Fager's win made him a potential horse of the year candidate, but first he would have to beat Buckpasser, the defending horse of the year, and Damascus, whose three-year-old campaign included wins in the Preakness, Belmont and Travers Stakes. The three horses finally met in the Woodward Stakes at Aqueduct on September 30, with Buckpasser going off as the favorite. The field also included two "rabbits", Hedevar and Great Power, who were entered to set a fast pace in the hopes of tiring out Dr. Fager in order to set up the race for their stablemates, Damascus and Buckpasser respectively. The race played out as expected, with Dr. Fager going to the early lead while pressed by Hedevar with Great Power in third. Dr. Fager set very fast opening fractions of :22 for the first quarter-mile and :45 for the half. After three-quarters of a mile, Dr. Fager started to draw away from the rabbits, who would finish fifth and sixth respectively. On the far turn however, Buckpasser and Damascus started to close ground. Damascus swept by Dr. Fager to win by ten lengths while setting a track record for miles. Buckpasser and Dr. Fager dueled down the stretch for second, with Buckpasser prevailing