Kentucky Derby Winner Lil E. Tee a Breed Apart : Horse racing: Many Triple Crown race winners end their 3-year-old seasons in retirement. But colt’s undistinguished family history convinces owners to let the injured horse try a comeback on the track.

For a variety of reasons, all of which involve big bucks, a number of Triple Crown race winners from recent years have been retired to breeding by the end of their 3-year-old seasons.

Not so with Lil E. Tee, this year’s Kentucky Derby victor. After surgery to remove bone chips from two ankles, the colt slowly is getting ready to race again. In mid-December, he’s scheduled to move from Churchill Downs in Louisville to the Fair Grounds, where Lynn Whiting has about 10 horses in training.

Why risk it?

“This horse doesn’t have the pedigree to demand top dollar at stud,” Whiting said. “He’s going to have to establish that at the race track.”

Lil E. Tee, owned by W. Cal Partee, is a son of the undistinguished sire, At the Threshold, out of Eileen’s Moment and was purchased originally for a mere $3,000.

Lil E. Tee’s injury was discovered after the Preakness, in which Lil E. Tee ran fifth, far behind winner Pine Bluff. He missed the Belmont Stakes, won by A.P. Indy, and was in the barn at Churchill Downs when A.P. Indy won the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

A horse with a superior pedigree like A.P. Indy is better off in the barn--at least from the owner’s point of view, Whiting said. The risk of injury remains high, insurance costs go up and lucrative stud fees await the owner.

“After you’ve won the Belmont Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup, there’s not much more you can do,” Whiting said.

Louisiana’s best-known colt, Risen Star, was retired after victories in the 1988 Preakness and the Belmont Stakes because of an injury before he could compete in the Breeders’ Cup. Then again, Risen Star was a son of Secretariat.

“There’s so much money that’s involved in breeding,” Whiting said. “To bring them back the next year is at best a break-even proposition.”

Whiting says Lil E. Tee’s future is at the track--and he could race for two more seasons. For now, he’s galloping at Churchill Downs. The colt is scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on Dec. 15.

“I plan to breeze this horse once or twice before Christmas. Then, we’ll let him progress at his own rate,” Whiting said.

Whiting said he didn’t know if Lil E. Tee would race at the Fair Grounds. He said the track was selected for because of its even surface.

“The Fair Grounds surface is renowned for its quality,” Witting said. “That’s critical to us.”

Whiting said he expected Lil E. Tee to have no more than nine starts in 1993 with the ultimate goal being the Breeders’ Cup in November at Santa Anita.