Lil E. Tee
Encyclopedia
Lil E. Tee was an American
-bred Thoroughbred
racehorse
who in 1992 scored one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Kentucky Derby
.
colt
, Lil E. Tee was bred in Pennsylvania
by Lawrence I. Littman. Much has been said about what many sportswriters
have described as Lil E. Tee's less than stellar pedigree. However, his grandsire was Norcliffe
who was a son of the U.S. Hall of Fame
Champion Buckpasser
. Norcliffe earned Horse of the Year
honours in Canada
and was elected to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
. At stud
, Norcliffe was North America's
leading juvenile sire by number of wins and second in earnings in 1981.
As a weanling, Lil E. Tee had nearly died but was saved by emergency stomach surgery. Considered to have little racing potential, he was sold for $2,000 as a yearling, and at age two his owner tried to sell him again but was rejected by an auction company who deemed the horse unsaleable. Lil E. Tee finally ended up in the hands of a Florida owner and was stabled at Calder Race Course
in Miami, Florida
.
where Lil E. Tee won a one mile allowance race. Of his four starts at age two, the horse won twice and finished second twice.
, at age three he won the Grade II
Jim Beam Stakes and finished second by a neck to Pine Bluff
in the Arkansas Derby
, results that led to his appearance in the 1992 Kentucky Derby.
who hadn't won a Derby in ten previous attempts. On a track rated as fast, Lil E. Tee was all but forgotten by a record crowd that had come to see European Horse of the Year, Arazi. The press had talked about little except Arazi since his dominating win in the previous October's Breeders' Cup Juvenile
. The New York Times called Arazi "mythical and almost mystical" and TIME
magazine said "Arazi is fast winning a reputation as the second coming of Secretariat
." Joe Hirsch
, a respected columnist with the New Jersey-based Daily Racing Form
wrote that Arazi was "such an extraordinary animal that he makes other great horses look like hacks" and Arazi's jockey Patrick Valenzuela, who had won the 1989 Derby aboard Sunday Silence
, assured reporters that "This race is over." Fifteen years after his Breeders' Cup win, a National Thoroughbred Racing Association
(NTRA) 2006 article said that: "Arazi turned in what many still consider to be the single-most spectacular performance in Breeders' Cup history." http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=other&id=19892 No wonder then that most Kentucky Derby observers felt Lil E. Tee had no business running in the most prestigious horse race in America. Bettors
agreed, and he went off at 18:1 odds.
television announcer Dave Johnson
exclaimed "Arazi is flying" as the colt went seven wide, sweeping past horse after horse to move into third place tightly bunched with the leaders. Lil E. Tee followed Arazi, moving into 5th place and as they approached the home stretch Arazi tired badly. Lil E. Tee made his own move and the once unwanted colt soon caught the front running Casual Lies to win the most prestigious race in America and $724,800.
, the second leg of the American Triple Crown
races. He finished 5th, five lengths behind winner Pine Bluff. Lil E. Tee then skipped the Belmont Stakes
after being diagnosed with a lung infection. On June 9, the colt's racing season ended when he underwent arthroscopic surgery
to remove bone chips from his front ankles. Recovered, in 1993, at age 4, Lil E. Tee's only significant win came in the Grade II Razorback Handicap and he had a 2nd place finish in the Oaklawn Handicap
. He was retired that year with a lifetime record of 7-4-1 from 13 starts and earnings of $1,437,506.
at Old Frankfort Stud near Lexington, Kentucky
until he was euthanized on March 18, 2009. Farm owner Jim Plemmons said the horse fell ill the month prior following an operation to repair an obstructed bowel. Lil E. Tee produced a live foal at Old Frankfort Stud in February 2009.
Lil E. Tee was euthanized on March 18, 2009, after the horse became ill in February following an operation to repair an obstructed bowel and struggled to recover.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-bred Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
who in 1992 scored one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
.
Background
A bayBay (color)
Bay is a hair coat color of horses, characterized by a reddish brown body color with a black mane, tail, ear edges, and lower legs. Bay is one of the most common coat colors in many horse breeds....
colt
Colt (horse)
A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age....
, Lil E. Tee was bred in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
by Lawrence I. Littman. Much has been said about what many sportswriters
Sports journalism
Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events.While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports...
have described as Lil E. Tee's less than stellar pedigree. However, his grandsire was Norcliffe
Norcliffe
Norcliffe was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by U.S. Hall of Fame Champion Buckpasser out of the mare Drama School by Northern Dancer.Owned by Charles Baker's Norcliffe Stable, he was trained by Roger Attfield...
who was a son of the U.S. Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Champion Buckpasser
Buckpasser
Buckpasser was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won he won nine of his eleven race starts for international record winnings for a two-year-old of $586,090. Buckpasser was leading broodmare sire in 1983, 1984 and 1989....
. Norcliffe earned Horse of the Year
Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year
The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honor in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing....
honours in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and was elected to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
. At stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
, Norcliffe was North America's
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
leading juvenile sire by number of wins and second in earnings in 1981.
As a weanling, Lil E. Tee had nearly died but was saved by emergency stomach surgery. Considered to have little racing potential, he was sold for $2,000 as a yearling, and at age two his owner tried to sell him again but was rejected by an auction company who deemed the horse unsaleable. Lil E. Tee finally ended up in the hands of a Florida owner and was stabled at Calder Race Course
Calder Race Course
Calder Casino & Race Course is a casino and horse racetrack in Miami Gardens, Florida in the United States.-History:In the mid-1960s, real estate developer Stephen A. Calder envisioned summertime racing in Florida; in 1965, on the advice of Mr. Calder, the Florida Legislature approved a bill...
in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
Florida: two-year-old season
In Florida where he showed some promise, winning a 7 furlong maiden race. He was then sold again, this time to W. Cal Partee who shipped him to trainer Lynn S. Whiting at Churchill DownsChurchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
where Lil E. Tee won a one mile allowance race. Of his four starts at age two, the horse won twice and finished second twice.
Arkansas: prep races
Racing in ArkansasArkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, at age three he won the Grade II
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
Jim Beam Stakes and finished second by a neck to Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff (horse)
Pine Bluff was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by John Ed Anthony's Loblolly Stable, he was a son of Danzig and grandson of the 20th Century's most important sire, Northern Dancer...
in the Arkansas Derby
Arkansas Derby
The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt....
, results that led to his appearance in the 1992 Kentucky Derby.
Kentucky Derby: the build-up
Lil E. Tee was ridden by jockey Pat DayPat Day
Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...
who hadn't won a Derby in ten previous attempts. On a track rated as fast, Lil E. Tee was all but forgotten by a record crowd that had come to see European Horse of the Year, Arazi. The press had talked about little except Arazi since his dominating win in the previous October's Breeders' Cup Juvenile
Breeders' Cup Juvenile
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....
. The New York Times called Arazi "mythical and almost mystical" and TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
magazine said "Arazi is fast winning a reputation as the second coming of Secretariat
Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series—the Kentucky Derby , and the Belmont Stakes —records that still stand today.Secretariat was sired by Bold...
." Joe Hirsch
Joe Hirsch
Joe Hirsch was an American horse racing columnist and the founding president of the National Turf Writers Association.-Biography:...
, a respected columnist with the New Jersey-based Daily Racing Form
Daily Racing Form
The Daily Racing Form is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of race horses as a statistical service for bettors on horse racing in the United States....
wrote that Arazi was "such an extraordinary animal that he makes other great horses look like hacks" and Arazi's jockey Patrick Valenzuela, who had won the 1989 Derby aboard Sunday Silence
Sunday Silence
Sunday Silence was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, earning distinction as 1989 American Horse of the Year over American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse Easy Goer. He was foaled in 1986, sired by Halo out of Wishing Well by Understanding. Though he was registered as a dark bay/brown, he was in...
, assured reporters that "This race is over." Fifteen years after his Breeders' Cup win, a National Thoroughbred Racing Association
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic...
(NTRA) 2006 article said that: "Arazi turned in what many still consider to be the single-most spectacular performance in Breeders' Cup history." http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=other&id=19892 No wonder then that most Kentucky Derby observers felt Lil E. Tee had no business running in the most prestigious horse race in America. Bettors
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
agreed, and he went off at 18:1 odds.
Kentucky Derby: the race
Starting in post position #10, Lil E. Tee got off to a clean start in the 1992 Kentucky Derby but was still in tenth place after half a mile. Arazi, who had started on the far outside in pole position #17, made the kind of explosive move he was famous for. ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television announcer Dave Johnson
Dave Johnson (announcer)
Dave Johnson is an American announcer and sportscaster, best known for his work in horse racing with ABC and NBC Sports and at various race tracks in New York and New Jersey...
exclaimed "Arazi is flying" as the colt went seven wide, sweeping past horse after horse to move into third place tightly bunched with the leaders. Lil E. Tee followed Arazi, moving into 5th place and as they approached the home stretch Arazi tired badly. Lil E. Tee made his own move and the once unwanted colt soon caught the front running Casual Lies to win the most prestigious race in America and $724,800.
Later career
After the Derby, Lil E. Tee was entered in the Preakness StakesPreakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
, the second leg of the American Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
races. He finished 5th, five lengths behind winner Pine Bluff. Lil E. Tee then skipped the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
after being diagnosed with a lung infection. On June 9, the colt's racing season ended when he underwent arthroscopic surgery
Arthroscopy
Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage of the interior of a joint is performed using an arthroscope, a type of endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision...
to remove bone chips from his front ankles. Recovered, in 1993, at age 4, Lil E. Tee's only significant win came in the Grade II Razorback Handicap and he had a 2nd place finish in the Oaklawn Handicap
Oaklawn Handicap
The Oaklawn Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of April at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas....
. He was retired that year with a lifetime record of 7-4-1 from 13 starts and earnings of $1,437,506.
Stud career
Lil E. Tee stood at studHorse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
at Old Frankfort Stud near Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
until he was euthanized on March 18, 2009. Farm owner Jim Plemmons said the horse fell ill the month prior following an operation to repair an obstructed bowel. Lil E. Tee produced a live foal at Old Frankfort Stud in February 2009.
Lil E. Tee was euthanized on March 18, 2009, after the horse became ill in February following an operation to repair an obstructed bowel and struggled to recover.