SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/othersports/105168_little21ww.shtml

Little Current, oldest living horse to win Triple Crown race, dies 
Tuesday, January 21, 2003

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONROE -- Little Current, who at 32 had been the oldest living winner of a Triple Crown race, has died.

The horse was euthanized early Sunday in Monroe, about 25 miles northeast of Seattle, by veterinarian Ann Hansen. Hansen and her husband, Mark, also a veterinarian, had cared for Little Current the past eight years.

Ridden by Miguel Rivera, Little Current won the 1974 Preakness and Belmont, both by 7 lengths. The Darby Dan Farms horse, trained by Lou Rondinello, finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby that year behind winner Cannonade.

Little Current began showing signs of abdominal distress late Saturday, and the Hansens treated him overnight in their clinic.

"The good news is it happened very quickly, and he was feeling good, doing well, up to when he got sick," Ann Hansen said. "My husband's comment was, 'Dignified unto death.'"

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