Despite all this, he still won by three-quarters of a length over In Reality with Successor in third. Dr. Fager suffered his first defeat in the Champagne Stakes on October 15. He led from the start but was passed in the stretch by Successor, who went on to win by a length in a time of 1:35, just one-fifth of a second off the stakes record held by Count Fleet. His jockey Bill Shoemaker said, "I thought Dr. Fager was the winner at the head of the stretch, but I guess the pace was too much, and he got tired at the end." A Hall of Fame jockey, Shoemaker would state that Dr. Fager was too headstrong for him to control. 1967: Three-year-old season Dr. Fager's return to the racetrack at age three was delayed due to a virus. He made his first start of the year in the Gotham Stakes on April 15, where he faced off for the first time with Damascus, who had previously won the Bay Shore Stakes. Both horses went off at odds of 6-5, with slightly more bet on Damascus in the win pool. Damascus rated just behind the early pace-setter with Dr. Fager close behind in third. In the turn, Damascus moved to the lead but Dr. Fager closed ground steadily, hitting the lead at the top of the stretch. He ultimately won by half a length in a time of 1:35 for the mile. Despite the win, Nerud surprised many by announcing the colt would not run in the Kentucky Derby on May 6, instead entering Dr. Fager in the Withers Stakes on May 13. Dr. Fager responded with a brilliant six length win, completing the mile in a stakes record 1:33. At the time, it was the fastest mile ever run by a three-year-old in New York state. With the Preakness Stakes being held only one week after the Withers, Nerud decided to bypass that race and entered the colt in the Jersey Derby on May 30 instead. Dr. Fager finished first by lengths but was subsequently disqualified to fourth place for crossing in front of the field going into the first turn. It was a controversial decision, prompted perhaps by the reputation of jockey, Manuel Ycaza, who was substituting for his regular jockey Braulio Baeza. Dr. Fager's time for miles was 1:48 flat, which would have been a stakes record.