On January 3, 1949, at age three, he broke his maiden at Tropical Park and then won two more races, but Jones still thought of him as a lesser contender for Calumet in the '49 Derby.
In their next encounter, the Peter Pan Stakes, the turns were wider and when Ponder got going from his usual slow start, he beat Capot by ten lengths.
In the Belmont Stakes, Ponder began it as he did in the Kentucky Derby, but by now Capot's jockey Ted Atkinson knew his rival.
Instead of forcing the pace, he kept it slow, allowing Capot to have just enough left to withstand Ponder's fast late charge.
Next Ponder came in second to the older Coaltown, both running a world record mile, and then he won the American Derby over Kentucky Colonel and John's Joy and came in third by a head and a neck in the Narragansett Special, with additional wins in the Lawrence Realization Stakes and the Jockey Club Gold Cup (ridden by Eddie Arcaro).
Because of his Belmont and Preakness victories, Capot edged out Ponder as American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse for 1949.
In an overnight prep, Ponder lost to Your Host but beat Hill Prince, who came in third and later won 1950 American Horse of the Year honors.