2012: Three-year-old season Paynter won his
maiden race on February 18, 2012, at
Santa Anita Park. Following Bodemeister's second-place finish in both the
Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, Paynter was entered into the
Belmont with Smith as a jockey. Paynter's biggest win and first graded stakes win Paynter went off as the even-money favorite. Ridden for the first time by jockey
Rafael Bejarano, he followed the leader through the backstretch, then took the lead at the far turn, beating five other horses to win by lengths. The victory was also Baffert's third win in a row at the Haskell and sixth Haskell win in his career. Paynter's winnings of $600,000 put him close to a lifetime earnings figure of $1 million, at $952,224, considered impressive for a three-year-old horse who did not race as a two-year-old. Paynter's next race was scheduled to be the
Travers Stakes on August 25.
Illness and surgery On July 29, 2012, two days after his Haskell win, Paynter developed a fever,
pneumonia, His care was supervised by Dr. Laura Javsicas, an equine internal medicine specialist. He lost weight, and suffering from fever, colitis, and diarrhea was given
plasma The staff had been using
cryotherapy on his lower legs as a precaution. After about three days, Against the odds, his hoof X-rays came back showing no separation of the
laminae, and no rotation or sinking of the
coffin bone in any of his feet. Although the cryotherapy had not prevented laminitis, it might have kept it from becoming worse. Paynter developed an increasing fan base as people followed the Zayat family's social media updates, drawing comparisons to the struggle of
Barbaro a few years earlier. Paynter received handmade posters from children and hundreds of get well cards. Because fevers and colitis were still a problem, Javsicas performed an
ultrasound and found a problem area in his colon, thus surgery was required. Paynter was very thin by this time, weighing less than 900 pounds, and surgery was considered high risk. Baffert commented, "I can't believe this horse is still alive."
Rehabilitation and awards Following surgery, Paynter started to regain his weight, putting on 35 pounds in the two weeks between his surgery and being sent to Fair Hill Training Center's Equine Therapy program on October 15 for rehabilitation. Nonetheless, he arrived at Fair Hill weighing only 912 pounds. On December 26, Paynter was selected as the winner of the 2012
Secretariat Vox Populi Award.
Penny Chenery, owner of
Secretariat, for whom the award was named, said "Paynter's popularity stems from his ability to battle and exceed expectations, making him the perfect choice as the recipient of this year's Vox Populi Award ... After seeing firsthand the devastating effects of this disease, I am even more convinced that the industry must continue to fight laminitis. The progress we have made to date clearly benefited Paynter—a beautiful colt with a tremendous spirit." In January 2013, Paynter's survival and recovery was voted the "Moment of the Year" by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) in a field of 12 nominees, and the horse's connections were given that honor at the annual
Eclipse Awards.
2013: Comeback On December 29, 2012, Paynter was shipped from Fair Hill back to California, where he resumed race training with Baffert. It was the horse's first start on a
synthetic surface. He started from
starting post position two at odds of 2–5. At six furlongs, he was lengths in front, running that distance in 1:06.56, and continued to increase his lead over the other horses. Justin Zayat said, "I thought I was winning the Kentucky Derby", and Baffert stated, "He is just an incredible, phenomenal horse, I can't believe he is back. He's just a great horse... His next race was the
San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on July 27, 2013. "He never seemed comfortable out there, I felt like I had plenty of horse, but he just wasn't liking what he was doing ... he didn't have enough at the end." Nonetheless, purse money for his placing put him over one million dollars in lifetime winnings. Five of the horses in the initial seven-horse field, including Paynter, were previous Grade I stakes winners. Paynter drew post position 5 and was the second favorite at 3-1 odds on the
morning line. However, following the scratch of a speed horse, the oddsmaker revised his figures to make front-running Paynter the 2-1 favorite. On race day, over a sloppy track, another horse,
Mucho Macho Man, scratched and only five horses went to the post. Paynter had a bad start, hitting the left side of the
starting gate. Although he ran second for part of the race, he finished last in the field. Baffert concurred, stating that the horse was "fine", but had been troubled by the poor break and by mud hitting his face. Paynter's next race was the Grade I
Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on September 28. He started from the seven post with his former rider, Martin Garcia up. After running in the middle of the pack and going five horses wide coming into the stretch, he finished second to Mucho Macho Man. Baffert said Paynter was still "a bit rusty", but the trainer was happy with Paynter's race. He was entered in the Breeders' Cup Classic, on November 2. Before the race, he had a very strong workout and Baffert said that Paynter was "a monster" and "back to top form", and Ahmed Zayat stated, "Paynter is a horse like no other ... The fact that he's even competing in the Breeders' Cup is miraculous." Though he finished 7th out of 11 horses, with Mucho Macho Man winning again, Paynter finished ahead of a fellow Awesome Again son, the stakes-winning favorite
Game On Dude. ==Retirement and stud career==