Horses were a passion throughout a well-lived life
Donald V. Little, the founder and chairman of Centennial Farms, died on February 29th from injuries sustained from a jumping accident during the Masters Classic in the International Arena at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mr. Little inherited a love of horses from his mother, the accomplished horsewoman Janice Snow. He shared this passion with his loving wife of 57 years, Judith Lewis Little, his two children, Andrea Little Eaton and Donald V. Little Jr., and anyone else he could convince to get on a horse or to learn about racing.
Mr. Little was a talented horseman who began his lifelong obsession with the sporting life while foxhunting and show jumping during his pre-teen years. As a teenager, he won several steeplechase races before, at age 16, he used $500 saved from jobs worked during high school to purchase his first thoroughbred, Gladhadagal. The goal was to compete at regional fairs in New England and it was with overflowing enthusiasm that Mr. Little prepared Gladhadagal for a start at the Topsfield Fair by galloping her around the polo fields at Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton, Massachusetts. Mr. Little’s hopes of equine success with Gladhadagal were quickly dashed when the filly reared up after hearing the ringing of the bell for the call of the post, dropped her rider, and retreated to the barn.
Despite that inauspicious beginning, Mr. Little’s passion for thoroughbreds only grew as he matured. He rarely retreated and always sought the means and people to move forward.
Following two years at the University of Pennsylvania studying to be a veterinarian, Mr. Little joined the Air Force, where he spent six years flying B-47 bombers. At the time, Mr. Little was the youngest aircraft commander of the select Strategic Air Command.
After ending his military service and returning to the North Shore of Boston, horses resumed their position as a true passion in Mr. Little’s life.
Mr. Little dabbled with some claiming horses at Suffolk Downs, but his desire was to enter the winner’s circle in the premier races. Combining his savvy business sense and expert horsemanship, Mr. Little, with the backing of two lifelong friends – Tony Woodruff and Judson Streicher – started Centennial Farms in 1982 with the goal of sharing his passion for horses with others and winning races at the highest levels of the sport.
Before purchasing any horses to race in the tan and red Centennial Farm’s colors, Mr. Little hired a pair of recent Harvard Business School graduates to conduct research on the thoroughbred markets. The result was one of the core philosophies of Centennial Farms: Purchase horses from the premier sales with both the bloodlines and conformation, and those horses will appeal to the leading breeding farms throughout the world if they are successful on the track.
To further improve Centennial’s odds for success, Mr. Little hired two seasoned experts of the thoroughbred business – Dr. Stephen Carr and Paula Parsons – to join the Centennial team. Dr. Carr, who Mr. Little met playing polo in Aiken, South Carolina, was a leading veterinarian at the premier thoroughbred tracks on the prestigious New York/ Florida circuit. Ms. Parsons was a thoroughbred trainer highly respected within the tight-knit racing community for her ability to spot talented young horses and to provide those colts and fillies the education and training needed before they ship to the racetrack to begin their careers.
In 1983, with five or six investors and the assistance of Carr and Parsons, Mr. Little purchased a colt from Danzig’s first crop and named him Nordance. That colt won the Pilgrim Stakes as a two-year-old before being retired to stud in Great Britain, returning a substantial profit for his partners. High class stakes-winning fillies Top Issue and Silent Account soon followed and Centennial quickly established itself as one of the premier stables in North American horse racing. Throughout the 1980s, Mr. Little and Centennial competed in the heady bloodstock markets of the time, bidding against the likes of the Maktoum family of Dubai, D. Wayne Lukas, and Allen Paulson for the most fashionable bloodstock at the leading thoroughbred auctions.
While Mr. Little was enjoying major success in the thoroughbred business, the entire equine world benefited from his passion for horses. In 1989 Mr. Little founded the Boston Jumper Classic, bringing Olympic Caliber International Show Jumping to the region. The event has grown into a top equine event in New England and one of the premier show jumping events in the country.
It was also during this period that he served as Captain of Polo at Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton Massachusetts, President of the United States Polo Association, and began his longtime post of Joint Master and then Master of the Hunt at the Myopia Hunt Club. Mr. Little continued as Master until his death.
While winners and success were on display throughout the 1980s – including total earnings of $873,732 in 1986 – Mr. Little and Centennial would make a major change in the early 1990s that would lead to some of his most memorable accomplishments in thoroughbred racing. In 1991, Mr. Little hired veteran trainer Scotty Schulhofer and they enjoyed a tour de force through the most prestigious races on the NYRA circuit. This included dominating the sprint division with Rubiano, who would be voted Champion Sprinter for 1992.
Just a year later, a late developing colt would provide Mr. Little with arguably his biggest victory of a lifetime filled with equine accomplishments. In a mild upset, Colonial Affair captured the 125 th running of the Belmont Stakes, the longest and third jewel of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown. Many remember the victory for the accomplishment of jockey Julie Krone, who at the time became the only female jockey to ever win a Triple Crown race.
Despite his own success, Mr. Little was always willing and actively looking to share his passion for horses with others. He served as an early adviser to billionaire Carl Ichan when the fellow investor decided to enter the thoroughbred business during the 1990s. At this time, Mr. Little raised a substantial portion of the millions of dollars needed to reopen and renovate Suffolk Downs after the Boston track was closed for two years.
Centennial Farms went through major changes in the late 1990’s, including the retirement of trainer Scotty Schulhofer and the transition as Donald V. Little, Jr., took over day-to-day operations. However, the company continued to enjoy considerable success and that success continues. King Cugat dominated the turf divisions throughout North America from 1999-2001, finishing on the board in 15 of 16 career races and earning over $1.2 million in purses.
Mr. Little could often be seen at the major races with Centennial throughout the last few years. He attended races all over the East Coast by flying the single engine Navion plane inherited from his stepfather. It was during this period that Mr. Little got to witness arguably the most memorable to date of the Centennial racehorses. In 2006, the talented but temperamental chestnut named Corinthian carried the Centennial colors to victory in some of the most prestigious races on the thoroughbred calendar. After establishing himself as a leading contender for the 2006 Triple Crown, Corinthian was sidelined until the beginning of 2007 with a minor injury. Centennial’s patience paid big dividends. Reappearing as a 4-year-old, Corinthian won two races impressively in Florida before capturing the Metropolitan Handicap and earning himself a future career as a stallion in Kentucky. Corinthian would end his career in the pouring rain at Monmouth Park in 2007, winning the inaugural running of the $1,000,000 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Monmouth Park. As with most victories, Mr. Little’s greatest thrill with Corinthian’s success was that he was able to enjoy it in the company of great friends, some of whom he introduced to thoroughbred ownership.
Mr. Little will always be remembered for his specific, tangible contributions to the world of horse racing, polo and fox hunting. However, these accomplishments only suggests his true impact on the equestrian community, which was to challenge, inspire and most of all encourage any horse enthusiast and rider who had the privilege to cross his path. We here at Centennial Farms will always appreciate and be thankful for the time we spent in Mr. Little’s company, and for the guidance and wisdom he provided. We look forward to Centennial Farm’s continued success in his honor.
A memorial service will be held at Noon on Thursday, March 8, 2012, at the Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church, 188 Elliott St , Danvers, Massachusetts. A reception will follow at the Myopia Hunt Club Hamilton, MA.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to: Fisher House Boston, 111 Rockville Pike, Suite 420, Rockville, MD 20850, Dana Farber Cancer Institute & Jimmy Fund, 10 Brookline Place West, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, PO Box 3387, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, or the Life Fund FBO, Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit, 125 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115.
