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.