Oaklawn Park Race Track
Flat Out's three-year-old season consisted of three races at Oaklawn Park at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas in all of which he was ridden by Julio Garcia. On January 19 he was stepped up in class and distance for the second running of the one mile Smarty Jones Stakes and won by three and a half length after taking the lead on the final turn. Four weeks later he moved up to Grade III level and finished fourth in the Southwest Stakes after failing to recover fully from a poor start. In the Grade II Arkansas Derby in April he raced behind the leaders for most of the way but made no impression in the straight, finishing sixth behind Papa Clem, with the future Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird in third.