of the season. In the Cowdin Stakes on October 3, ridden by Bill Hartack, he turned into the straight in third before producing a strong late run to win going away by one and a half lengths from Globemaster. He disappointed in the Champagne Stakes after being left at the gate, leading to concerns that he was developing the same problems which ended his mother's career. After being given extra schooling, he was sent to Garden State Park for the $287,000 Garden State Futurity, at that time the most valuable race in America. Price paid a supplementary entry fee of $10,000 to run Carry Back in the race, which he described as "a lot of dough to me." Ridden by Johnny Sellers, Carry Back was fourteenth of the fifteen runners in the early stages but moved into contention on the outside approaching the straight. He took the lead at the sixteenth pole and drew clear to win by three and a half lengths from Ambiopoise. On his final appearance of the season, Carry Back won the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack on November 8, coming from well back in the field to catch Vapor Whirl in the closing stages and win by half a length. Carry Back's performances made him a championship contender, but Hail to Reason was preferred in the Daily Racing Form poll. 1961: three-year-old season Florida Carry Back was sent to his home state of Florida in early 1961 and recorded his first important win of the year on his third start when he produced "one of his blazing finishes" to beat Sherluck in the Everglades Stakes at Hialeah Park Race Track on February 15. Ten days later, he added the Flamingo Stakes in which he got up in the last strides to beat Crozier by a head. On April 1, Carry Back ended his Florida campaign with a repeat win over Crozier in the Florida Derby. According to press reports, the victory established him as "the king of the Eastern three-year-olds" and a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby. Triple Crown campaign Carry Back then moved north for the Wood Memorial Stakes three weeks later. He started 19/20 favorite in front of a crowd of 57,109 at Aqueduct, but failed to catch the front-running Globemaster and finished second, beaten three and a quarter lengths. Despite his defeat and a poor outside draw, Carry Back was favored