Venerable champion, classic winner Little Current euthanized at 32
Colic claims life of 1974 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner who lived his last 
years in Washington
by Tom Law and Ed DeRosa
THE UNITED Parcel Service carrier was not prepared for the greeting he received 
when he arrived at Mark 
and Ann Hansen's Maverick Farms near Monroe, Washington, about 40 miles north of 
Seattle, on a typical 
summer day in 2001.
He was immediately struck by the sight of the chestnut Little Current who, 
despite being nearly 30 years 
removed from his victories in the Preakness (Gl) and Belmont Stakes (Gl), was 
still a vibrant picture of 
health as he basked in the sun of his paddock. Then, the carrier became a little 
frightened when the son of 
*Sea-Bird displayed some of the same vigor that helped land him an Eclipse Award 
for champion three-
year-old male in 1974 when he ran along the fenceline, chasing the visitor.
Not knowing who the famous horse in the paddock was—or his age— the carrier 
asked, stunned, if he was 
headed to the races anytime soon.
Tales such as those were somewhat common during Little Current's tenure at 
Maverick Farms, which 
began in 1995 and ended when the oldest living American classic winner died from 
colic at the age of 32 
on January 19.
"He's not like any other horse, " Ann Hansen said in 2001. "Even non-horse 
people notice that. The UPS 
guy saw this horse, gasped, and backed up. The horse has a stunning presence, 
even though he's a lot older 
and less majestic than he was in his prime. "
Little Current was far from his best days when he arrived in Washington in 1995 
after standing two seasons 
at Good Guys Farm near Folsom, Louisiana. But he still remained a focal point of 
attention, particularly 
around the Triple Crown season each year when scores of articles documented his 
remarkable vitality and 
reminisced about his exciting closing style.
"He was an exceptional animal; he really was magnificent, and he knew he was, " 
Ann Hansen said. "He 
had a tremendouspresence about him. He had a lot of understanding. He carried 
himself with poise and 
dignity. "
Little Current was easily the oldest living classic winner at the time of his 
death, outliving a younger group 
of contemporaries that include such memorable stars as Triple Crown winners 
Seattle Slew and Affirmed, 
as well as Conquistador Cielo, Pleasant Colony, and Bold Forbes.
The distinction of oldest living classic winner now falls on the withers of the 
1979 Triple Crown race win-
ners: Kentucky Derby (Gl) and Preakness victor Spectacular Bid and Belmont 
Stakes winner Coastal.
Despite his classic wins and championship campaign, Little Current is remembered 
for his poor racing luck
in the Kentucky Derby. He got stuck behind a wall of horses for most of the 
race, which drew a field of 23, 
but passed 12 rivals in the final quarter-mile to finish fifth, &A lengths 
behind winner Cannonade.
"I was in the hospital having a kidney stone removed, so I couldn't saddle him 
for the Derby, " trainer Lou 
Rondinello recalled. "All I can remember is that the field was too big, and he 
had a lot of problems. Every-
one who knew anything about horse racing knew to bet him in the Preakness. "
After the 1974 Derby, Churchill Downs instituted a maximum field size of 20. 
Meanwhile, Little Current 
went on to win the Preakness by seven lengths at odds of 13. 10-to-l. He 
duplicated his Preakness feat by 
winning the Belmont by seven lengths as the 3-to-2 favorite. Cannonade finished 
third in both the 
Preakness and Belmont
Little Current's exciting closing style was honed by Rondinello, who refused to 
allow Little Current to be-
come a front-running type.
"The day he broke his maiden, [jockey] Angel [Cordero Jr. ] wanted to try 
sending him to the front, but I 
told him no because I wanted him to rate a bit" Rodinello said of the race at 
Aqueduct on December 5, 
1973. "Cordero took him way back, and then [Little Current] just ran down the 
field. " After registering his 
maiden win in his i fourth career start, Little Current began to compete 
exclusively in stakes company. He 
won the Everglades Stakes   (G2)   three starts before the Derby for his first 
career stakes win.
Following the Belmont, he posted runner-up finishes in the Monmouth Invitational 
Handicap (Gl) and the 
Travers Stakes (Gl) by a nose and a head, respectively, to Holding Pattern 
before retiring after a sixth-place 
finish on soft turf in the Lawrence Realization Stakes (G2).
Bred in Kentucky by John Gal-breath, Little Current raced under the colors of 
Galbreath's Darby Dan Farm 
and won four of 16 starts and earned $354, 704. He stood at Darby Dan until 
1988. Among the stakes 
winners Uttle Current sired are Grade 1 winners Current Hope and Prize Spot, 
Grade 2 winner Aspen Rose, 
and 22-time stakes winner Curribot
He eventually relocated to Doug Arnold's Arnold Farm near Lexing-ton, which has 
since been renamed 
Buck Pond Farm and will be Little Current's final resting place.
"I felt privileged to own a racehorse as classy and smart and as special as 
[Little Current], so when we sold 
him to Louisiana, we made a deal that when he died, he'd come back to Kentucky 
to be buried," Arnold 
said. "Having a monument to him is a testament to his great ability as a 
racehorse. It took every dime I had 
to buy him, and he was worth every penny."

Tom Law Is deputy news editor and Ed DeRosa is a staff writer for THOROUGHBRED 
TIMES.