[3] Flush with over $16,000 in winnings from the race, owner Louis Tufano hired a private railcar to transport his horse to Louisville, Kentucky to run in the Derby.
[6] He won again a week later on February 29 and then finished off the board as the heavy favorite in the March 8th Widener Challenge Cup Handicap, the most important race for older horses during the Florida winter season.
In the Massachusetts Handicap in July, Market Wise carried top weight of 126 pounds and won with an "amazing last-minute burst" in a stakes record of 1:52.6 despite sustaining a "spread foot".
[8] Two months later in the Narragansett Special, he produced a powerful late run to catch Air Master in the closing stages, with Thumbs Up third and Shut Out fourth.
[9] In December, Market Wise, described as "Mr. Rags to Riches," topped the annual poll of writers and broadcasters conducted by Turf and Sports Digest magazine for the title of American Champion Older Male Horse with 176 points, ahead of Thumbs Up (171), Shut Out (154), and Devil Diver (138).