[1] In October 2010, Camelot was sent as a yearling to the Tattersalls sales at Newmarket, where he was bought for 525,000 guineas by the bloodstock agent Dermot "Demi" O'Byrne[2] on behalf of the Coolmore organisation.

Starting at odds of 1/3, he was restrained in the early stages by Joseph O'Brien (his trainer's son) before taking the lead in the final furlong and winning "easily" by two lengths from All Approved.

"[4] On 2 June, Camelot started the 8/13 favourite for the Epsom Derby in front of a crowd of 130,000, which included Queen Elizabeth II, who was beginning the celebrations for her Diamond Jubilee.

Other contenders in the field of nine (the smallest since 1907[16]) included Main Sequence, the winner of the Lingfield Derby Trial, and Camelot's stable companion Astrology, who had won the Dee Stakes by eleven lengths.

[18] After the race, Joseph O'Brien explained that the horse had struggled to cope with the descent to the turn into the straight, saying that Camelot "had only run three times before and never on a track like this, so he was looking where to put his feet round Tattenham Corner".

O'Brien moved Camelot up to lead on the outside two furlongs from the finish and held off the late challenge of Born to Sea to win by two lengths despite hanging to the left in the closing stages.

[23] After the race, Aidan O'Brien said that he had been very worried by the state of the ground before praising the colt's determination and indicating that he would be rested to prepare for an autumn campaign.

[24] After the Irish Derby, Camelot was rested until the St Leger at Doncaster Racecourse on 15 September, making him the first horse to attempt to win the Triple Crown since Nijinsky in 1970.

Camelot made up ground throughout the final quarter-mile but was unable to run down Encke, who had gained a decisive break on the field, and finished second by three-quarters of a length.

(In May 2013 Encke tested positive for a banned steroid and there were calls for his disqualification from the 2012 St Leger, which would have made Camelot a Triple Crown winner.)

The colt was set to carry a weight of 123 pounds, too low for Joseph O'Brien, so the ride on Camelot was given to Frankie Dettori, a jockey usually associated with Coolmore's rival Godolphin.

[26] Camelot started second favourite at odds of 3.75/1 but although he made some progress in the straight he never challenged the leaders and finished seventh of the eighteen runners behind Solemia.

[27] After the race, O'Brien explained that the effects of a long season and the extremely soft ground had contributed to Camelot's run and announced that the colt would stay in training in 2013.

On 20 June, the colt started the 5/2 favourite for the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, but was beaten four lengths, into fourth by Al Kazeem.