In 1991, Hansel began his three-year-old campaign at the end of March when he won the Grade II Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, in track record time. In April, he finished third in the Grade I Florida Derby behind the 1990 U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old Fly So Free and second-place finisher Strike the Gold. Two weeks prior to the Derby, Hansel won the grade twoLexington Stakes at Keeneland Racecourse. In the 1991 Kentucky Derby, Hansel was the betting favorite but after a mile tired badly and finished tenth. As a result of his poor performance, trainer Frank Brothers initially decided to skip the Preakness Stakes. However, after a good workout by Hansel and encouragement from Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg, for whom he had worked as an assistant, Brothers changed his mind and shipped the colt to Pimlico Race Course. Hansel beat the Preakness field of eight by seven lengths. He finished ahead of place runners Corporate Report and Mane Minister with Best Pal and Strike the Gold finishing fifth and sixth respectively. In the Belmont Stakes, Hansel had to race without Lasix, a drug used to control bleeding that the NYRA had banned at the time. As a result, bettors made Strike the Gold their first choice. However, Hansel held off a late charge by Strike the Gold to win the Belmont Stakes by a head, with Mane Minister finishing third as he had in the Derby and Preakness. Hansel became the first "Dual Classic Winner" to win the last two jewels of the Triple Crown since Risen Star in 1988. He was awarded the fifth $1,000,000 Chrysler Triple Crown Bonus. Hansel also finished second to Corporate Report in the 1991 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. He was then named American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse winning the Eclipse Award by a comfortable margin over the other finalists.
Retirement
In early September 1991, Hansel was sold to Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum and was retired at the end of the racing season to stand at stud at the Sheik's Gainsborough Stud. Under the terms of the sale, Joe Lewis Allbritton retained breeding interest in him. During the 1998 and 1999 breeding seasons, Hansel was sent to stand at Questroyal Stud, LLC. in Claverack, New York, after which he was sent to breeders in Japan, where he remained until 2006. He returned home to stand at Allbritton's Lazy Lane Farm in Upperville, Virginia, and stood there until he was pensioned in 2012. Hansel was euthanized on June 13, 2017 due to infirmities of old age at his home farm. Hansel sired five graded stakes winners, most notably the French Gr.I winner Loving Claim and multiple graded stakes winner Guided Tour, who earned more than $1.9 million. Hansel is the broodmare sire of five graded stakes winners, including Sharp Humor, who won the Gr.II Swale Stakes. Prior to his death, Hansel was the oldest living winner of the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
