Lil E. Tee

Lil E. Tee (March 29, 1989 – March 18, 2009) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who in 1992 scored one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Kentucky Derby.

Background

A bay colt, Lil E. Tee was bred in Pennsylvania by Lawrence I. Littman. Many sportswriters have described his pedigree as being unimpressive. Although his sire, At The Threshold, was a Grade I stakes winner, he produced only eight stakes winners during his stud career. Lil E. Tee's dam, Eileen's Moment, never won a race and had career earnings of $570. However, At The Threshold was sired by Norcliffe, who was a son of 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, he was North America's leading juvenile sire by number of wins and was second in earnings in 1981.

As a weanling, Lil E. Tee nearly died but was saved by emergency stomach surgery. Considered to have little racing potential, he was sold for $2,000 as a yearling. When he was two, his owner tried to sell him again but was rejected by an auction company that deemed the horse unsaleable. Lil E. Tee ended up in the hands of a Florida owner and was stabled at Calder Race Course in Miami, Florida.