Little Current awaits his due recognition 
Hall of Fame honor for former champion? 
Thursday, June 8, 2000 
By JIM MOORE 
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER 

      He raced to the finish line with his familiar stretch run, dusting the 
competition, leaving the field and a legacy behind. 

      Now, 26 years after winning the Preakness and Belmont stakes, Little 
Current is hanging out in Monroe, still hoping to be recognized. 

      Kevin Grace, a racing fan who works at Pimlico Race Track in Baltimore, 
where the Preakness is held each May, is lobbying for Little Current to be 
selected to the Horse Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 

      "The more I learned about the horse, it was like, 'Wow, I had no idea,'" 
Grace said. 

      The Belmont Stakes, the third leg in horse racing's Triple Crown, will be 
run Saturday in Elmont, N.Y. 

      In 1974, Little Current displayed his endurance and dominance over the 1 
1/2-mile oval, duplicating his breeze in the Preakness, winning by seven 
lengths. 

      At the time, Little Current lived and trained at Darby Dan Farm near 
Lexington, Ky. He was the fastest 3-year-old horse in the country, spawning the 
interest of Mark Hansen, who eventually bought him in 1995. 

      Hansen and his wife, Ann, both veterinarians, brought the horse to 
Maverick Farm near their home in Monroe. 

      From all accounts, he is an exceptional thoroughbred, at 29 exceeding the 
usual lifespan. 

      "Anything over 20 is borrowed time," said Ann Hansen. 

      Little Current was the first classic winner to stand at stud in the state. 
Although he sired 35 stakes winners, none were as successful as Little Current. 

      As a 13-1 shot in the '74 Preakness, Little Current was next-to-last in 
the backstretch, ahead of only Buck's Bid, which lost his jockey after bolting 
from the starting gate. 

      At the top of the stretch, jockey Miguel Rivera found a slice of daylight 
along the rail and prodded Little Current to the front of the pack. 

      In the Belmont, Little Current produced as the 6-5 favorite. 

      Grace believes that Little Current could have been a Triple Crown winner 
were it not for an overcrowded field of 23 at the Kentucky Derby. With all of 
the congestion, Little Current could not generate his come-from-behind kick in 
Louisville. 

      After the Belmont, Little Current never won again. Because of a bone chip, 
he was sent to the breeding shed in the fall of '74. 

      Nonetheless, Grace maintains that Little Current, because of his 
sensational showings in the Preakness and Belmont, merits status as a Hall of 
Famer. Little Current ran the final quarter and half-mile of the Belmont faster 
than the legendary Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown champion. 

      Grace is attempting to get Little Current's name on a list of candidates 
for consideration by the Horse Racing Hall of Fame board of directors. 
Selections will be made in November. 



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P-I reporter Jim Moore can be reached at 206-448-8013 or jimmoore@seattle-pi.com

 

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