Seattle Slew - Full Documentary

hello I'm Chris Fowler for sports century he was gangling and splay lagged and looked better suited for pulling a plow and even the bargain basement price that bought him seemed outrageous but the ugly duckling grew into a swan with afterburners and when Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown in 1977 he captured the love and loyalty of all those rail birds for whom answered prayers are forever just one race away one of the great things about thoroughbred racing is that all the four million-dollar yearlings don't turn out to be the champions sometimes there's a quality inside them that you can't measure or no is there a competitiveness and ability to win races that you couldn't predict you'll otherwise in July of 1975 a lumberman a former flight attendant and a veterinarian went to the annual yearling sale in Lexington Kentucky with a combined stake that amounted sabar change for most thoroughbred owners the three shared an almost impossible dream raining cats and dogs and he walked out in the mud and wouldn't really stand still I mean he had energy and his whole right front leg and it turned out and you know he looks like an athlete 15-thousand was kind of what we could spend on this horse and so when I knew it was gonna be over that I just had to give him a little elbow you know I mean I really I really wanted him because there was something special about him I've been 1415 Bruce you're at 15 15 16 16 to 16 and I got an elbow from Karen and then I went to 16 five and in any went to 17 D Bobby Dean doesn't mean Bobby Dean done no outfits and Dean Bob bill 17 five boy when he walked out of there he just looked like he just never quit coming he was just so big and strong and magnificent and I said to make you I said Nick if this ignore a source my name's not Jim he'll phone rang very late that night I think it was around 11:00 11:30 Jim woke up and answered the phone and he turned to me and he said we just bought a champion but whatever they saw in the yearling it was not evident much less visible to more experienced horse people who thought the Colt was a dud he was one of those horses it was really backward when he was a gyro and if they called him baby Huey sloppy and dumb it couldn't figure it out he has a slight resemblance to a mule he was a great horse but not quite what you want in a hero you know 10 or 11 o'clock at night and jimson we've got to go see the yearlings and buy the cars headlights we drove up to the field and they all took off running except one and he just stood there and Jim went right up to him and he said isn't he beautiful and I looked at him and I said Jim that's got to be the ugliest horse I've ever seen legs were going everywhere its head was going everybody's mouth was right open he just wanted to run but didn't know how to do it but he would learn led by trainer Billy Turner the crew began the involved process of teaching the youngster the disciplines of racing and in the summer of 1976 the two-year-old turned heads working out at Saratoga the first time he lets sail slew breeze and company will another horse he put a real nice filly on the track with him and he said in his own words suddenly Seattle Slew got competitive he all of a sudden realized this was a competitive situation and he was on his ways and that's all I had to see he showed us right there that he could really run Leroy jolly had a two-year-old name for the moment that he was thinking was the best two-year-old in America he sees Seattle Slew and he goes to the telephone and he calls his owners and he said to him we've got a problem Seattle Slew and front by two and a half lengths through the stretch Seattle Slew going easily in front at Belmont Seattle Slew with Jean Krug a up won his first two races setting the stage for his first big test the prestigious Champaign stakes we knew one thing that if you win the champagne you're the favorite for the Kentucky Derby and I thought well he probably can't get him out on the 16th you know this now we're going into a distance race there was a lot of interest for this race after Seattle Slew had won those two races the way he did it was just a beautiful fall day and there was a big crowd and we got in the paddock and all the horses came in except for Seattle Slew and all of a sudden out of the tunnel and up the path comes Seattle Slew only extremely aside cruise on in going for the lead for the moment ranging up on the inside and there goes Seattle Slew quickly taking the lead the one thing that defines him was his speed when you see a horse was like blazingly fast who just always goes to the lead and runs as far and fast as he can I mean you know that's the kind of horse it are that gives every racing fan goosebumps it's Seattle snow in front by a length and a half for them only a second back and here comes for the moment around the turn and all of a sudden we'll just put it into that overdrive Seattle soon as you lead by five Seattle Slew in front by eight links yellow smooth doing easily he drew all from one laughing you know and now everybody's serious about this horse this horse is the real deal he ran the fastest mile ever run by a two-year-old at Belmont Park this was the dominant two-year-old of the year no question about it Seattle Slew climbed the charts when he was voted top two-year-old owners who hadn't given him a second glance at auction in 1975 could no longer ignore him one who praised the cult was noted trainer leroy jolly leroy called me and asked me if we'd sell Seattle Slew he said he'd be willing to pay us a million dollars for the horse and I just told him Leroy I don't think we're interested in doing that and then Jim hung up the phone and I said what was that and he said that someone wanted to buy the cold him and I said well what did he offer and he said a million dollars so I said couldn't we have even discussed it and Jim said don't even think about it you know we'll never look back at that not with a 16th of a mile ago it's the idle sluice showing the way of by 4 lengths Seattle Slew and they say here's the time what he announced for all the world that anybody had any aspirations for the Triple Crown they'd better just head elsewhere go to the Illinois derby go to the New Jersey Derby but go anywhere with the Kentucky Derby dominating the competition at Hialeah in March of 1977 the three-year-old had gained an intimidating presence you'd look at SLU install he'd looked like an ordinary horse but when you've got him in the paddock the muscles would just keep building building building building and then he turned his head a little bit like this and he didn't he looked very determined at what God can glare we have him under control he would just draw himself up into a kind of a ball just a real tight frame Ducky's head down in plants and boy the fire was coming out of his nose he was a bully he would knock his way through horses here that he would do anything that he had to to win you had a sin city if he had been a teenager he'd have been quite a thug he looked like the divine tailor had made his coat one size too small because he popped out of it this horse had muscles on his eyebrows he had muscles bulging all over the place see how sue is a tough horse he was all boy all the time 24 hours a day he was almost the antihero he was like Mike Tyson with the the dark trunks no socks just a gladiator he embodied all of the traits that you would need was strong and he was tough he was quickening in reactions he was really conceited arrogant and cocky and one of the hallmarks of this is that I'm going to the lead if anybody can keep up with me good luck but more than mere physical appeal it was his low purchase price and middle class ownership that endeared Seattle Slew to millions he was every man's horse living proof that anyone had a chance to be a player in this game once considered the sport of kings many people dismissed him because he wasn't a classic horse he came cheaply his owners were not aristocrats from Kentucky Seattle Slew was peoples who are support people source most of the $2 betters probably look at themselves as people who have to earn their way in life much like he did many many people said my god I had $17,500 I had saved that I could have had that horse it put it on a level that a lot of people could understand it just wasn't the traditional racing story of some very aloof wealthy people with a fine horse these were kind of regular people you might see across the street from the track at the diner the press loved this because we were different and all we knew if we could take good care of that we'd do well keeping Seattle Slew healthy happy and motivated was former steeplechase jockey and man-of-the-people Billy Turner he used to hang out in Esposito's bar right across the street from Belmont Park and his nickname was Turnpike Turner because even though he might be in the bar well on his way with a few beers under his belt somebody might need a jockey in a pinch they would call Esposito's turned up in his car going on the turnpike and show up in time and ride the race Billy Turner was a very likable very young horseman he wasn't your prototypical Triple Crown trainer gray beard crusty old wise man a lot of trainers probably would have just pressed and pressed and pressed but Billy was very very patient with a horse on the surface he appeared to be a happy-go-lucky guy but I think he also felt a lot more pressure and handling that horse than probably people realized if there's so many details that could go along with paining a horse like this it's much more time-consuming than diet day possible Billy was not used to the limelight and he was very nervous he said to me I'm really scared about this horse because he's so great I can't possibly make him better the only thing I can do is screw him up having run five flawless races in his young career Seattle Slew faced one last trial before the 1977 Kentucky Derby on the day of the Wood Memorial and aqueduct his trainer had a strong reservation I thought well if there ever they can beat him today because he's going to come up a little short for this race furlong to the finish Seattle so has delayed by five lengths that sin had been on the outside now second path below day and Catalan past the 70 yard mark and it's Seattle Slew in front still unbeaten and unchallenged the sensational auction purchase arrived at Churchill Downs as the odds-on favorite to win the Kentucky Derby Churchill Downs the familiar scene of the twin spires here in Louisville Kentucky for the hundred third running of the Kentucky Derby but is Jean Krug a Rotom out of the paddock it appeared something was wrong with Seattle Slew I wasn't really a hot day at all here the other horses were sweating but slowest winning first because he hated to panic and buy time he got the gate he was almost insane Seattle Slew has broke out and he's lathering all over his neck is lathering he's really that's not a good sign the Derby could be get between Howard it was very congested people were actually reaching through and pulling hair on his tail and water was pouring off of him and Karen and I are standing there telling ourselves to breathe and I looked at Billie and the only person who sweating more than Sleuth Billie you think he's gonna run his race before he ever gets to the starting gate but that was what he was like ready on gun is the batteries were like overcharged all you do is point him in the right direction and off you go slowly breaking on the lead in swamps dusty on the for the moment showing speed on the outside gets bullied and the very first thing I heard the track announcer say Seattle Slew brakes poorly but he did and he was sort of trapped behind most of the horses in that field Crewe VA was lucky he didn't go off when he came out of the gate a wall of horses appeared in front of him and little hole appears boom he goes right through it just sort of barged his way through he just went it was like a bowling ball and bowling pins he just said look get out of my way I'm going coming vias more than before they pass the wire the first time Krug a crush three horses aside and took second behind the pace level or the moment is along Liam and horses don't run the first quarter of a mile in the Kentucky Derby that way and get away with it and I thought he's fatally compromised I'm thinking to myself that had to take its toll on Seattle Slew so this has to be a tired horse now well he just kept running himself Lou right next to me wow this was coming quick not look and nearly work like that like looking at me never never noticed no more that can looked at it for him dr. Michelle us no you kept looking at me past me and took every other challenge from behind and I said to my said the horse is champion get the Apple smooth however the picture once he swung and astride there was going to be any stopping him I mean he was clearly the class of that field and you knew that it was going to be sloughs day she also had terrible luck in that race a very good horse might overcome trouble and win any one of the number of races but it really really takes a special animal to have so much trouble in the Kentucky Derby and still win he did overcome adversity he did stumble at the start he did have to fight his way through but at the end there he was and there was no denying the fact that he was the best horse on the track that day there was no feeling of gratification having won the Derby because there's still two more I could not enjoy the Derby because I had the horse to win it all and if I didn't win it all I didn't do my job despite the character he showed in winning the Derby Seattle slews muzzle was still pressed against the window of that realm occupied by owners who not only live by the dictum the thoroughbred blood is thicker than water but the bloomer it is the better most people kept thinking this yellow sloop was a fluke that he doesn't have what it takes he doesn't have the pedigree to be a great horse much less a Triple Crown where and then the buyer picked cormorant to beating in a Preakness and there was a there were a lot of people that comer I might beat him I was not all that impressed I think her case could have made that he he really was somewhat overrated this was gonna be the one time in the Triple Crown series that another horse like walk Seattle Slew in the eye and you know they build a raced head and head journey Knight Rises Seattle Slew was just as a the boss he acted like it from the start to the finish anytime he wanted them I got you that extra overtime is Seattle Slew has taken during the Preakness take in 50 4 and 2/5 2/5 of the record sent by tanya narrow the second best of the Preakness which he dominated more people became believers after lead in two of the three so you had to take him seriously now and I think the public did standing tall on two legs of the Triple Crown the horse continued to gain popularity at the fair Mutual's and even won over a few of racing's old guard but the owners were starting to annoy some members of the media we're besieged by the media they duck under the rail and when run up to the horse and everything so we kind of got Stern about keeping people out we certainly didn't want them disrupting the normal flow of the training regimen for Seattle Slew and the rest of the barn they were extremely arrogant and they said of course we knew how to build we chose this horse we we are something special which set them up as targets for the racing community and so they allows resentment in the racing community any words come to your mind care Oh fantastic micki it was beautiful we didn't have to smooth this trip but it was great these were new kids on the block and a lot of the hard boots in Kentucky resented the fact that first of all they were making a lot of money or with a cheaply bought horse and I think there was a lot of strong wolf sentiment against the horse for that reason as the Belmont Stakes approached Seattle slews detractors shifted their handicapping spells and hexes from the horse to its french-born jockey Jean Krug a will not be record in history as a great jockey matter of fact there were a lot of people who thought it was amazing that he would have this mount on this great horse I didn't have much confidence in him as a judge of pace and that sort of thing maybe I was a little unfair with him I never regard him as a top writer there was pressure to replace Krug a as the jockey and get somebody it would had more experience and a much more distinguished record in the Triple Crown races but they were very reluctant to break up the team all you had to do was sit a little guy on Seattle Slew and let him hold the reins right as it turns out that Krug a was the ideal rider for that particular horse he was absolutely fearless and by showing absolutely no emotion to it whatsoever made the horse easier to handle a crowd of more than 70,000 built at Belmont Park on June 11th 1977 causing Billy Turner concern that his horse would react to the fans that were sure to mob the grandstand rail as they did at Churchill Downs Slough is a very temperamental headstrong horse and and Billy wanted him to be the last one into the paddock he won the sadly very quickly and get him out on the track so he wouldn't be exposed to that crowd Slough saw all these cars and the different atmosphere and I mean at Belmont and he was very curious he would stop and look we've had a record crowd there parking cars in the stable area and the place was jammed everywhere the owners are getting nervous about Fern Hill as Turner in the horse well maybe a hundred people came up and said where's your horse where's your horse Chris fourth he's had some bad paddock experiences in the early part of his career and obviously Billy Turner does not want a repeat of that Billy was like Napoleon plotting his strategy here and who knows the longer lures in the paddock the more problems might arise if you even coughed near Seattle Slew he bites up to this guy I've been preparing for this all my life I thought if I ever had the chance I didn't want to make mistake if I was getting nervous and I went up to him finally and I said Billy acid don't you think you better get over there and he can't looked at me and he winked he said you don't think they'll start without us do you now coming through the crowd comes the star of the day arriving about 20 minutes late at the paddock Seattle Slew will be fine $200 but once the bell rang and the gates open the great horse moved with purpose staying within the field and in those days I remember the first fractions were unbelievably slow I said ah is there anything wrong with this horse then on the backstretch Seattle Slew picked up the pace his legs gathering ground with the steadiness of a locomotive leaving town he was moving so easy that Jane never even tapped him and man he opened up five or six around the quarter Pole is over third I mean you'd have that airplane to catch I looked up and I said it's all over because he can sprint home from there when Jean Krug a raised his stick before he crosses the finish line my first thought was don't fall off my second was yes winning the mile and a half race by 4 lengths Seattle Slew indelibly imprinted himself on American turf history the 10th Triple Crown winner he was the only horse to have won the honor without suffering a single loss like Secretariat four years earlier the powerful dark Bey captured the imagination of a nation I was a little boy who was infatuated with the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley and I remember maybe Walter Farley and he told me he said all my life I've looked for the black staff and Sam shoots my black staff you the Belmont Stakes move everything to Seattle Slew it wasn't the end of the story of Seattle Slew by any means at a time when marketing and promotion techniques had taken a quantum leap Seattle slews celebrity rivaled that of Secretariat's at least in the short run I think they felt something akin to an obligation to share this horse and I think they had a sense of really understanding that this horse belongs to the public not just me they ended up doing a lot of merchandising television commercials they were on TV all the time but I don't think they really thought that this would hurt the horse I thought that they thought that the horse was capable of handling it they had Seattle suit glasses Seattle suits Lou t-shirts he became a frico curiosity a sales piece all of a sudden this horse was a commercial commodity he wasn't geared in for that and didn't understand because it was all new it was all new to everyone as we've seen many times in different sports people that have a lot of success very quickly I think sometimes it kind of goes to your head and and maybe you think you're a little bit smarter than you really are we want the world to see this horse but I think that you just have to have the horse tell you and if the horse is ready to go someplace we you know we would have gone if it was in his best interest they just caught up in the emotion of it they thought the horse was invincible they thought the ride would never end perhaps there's an element of greed in it who could blame them it was fun it was exciting but we also wanted to keep on running that horse so that the job wasn't over in the frenetic aftermath of Belmont sloughs owners broke with tradition and shipped him to the west coast to run on the swaps stakes you could see at the time it was a terrible decision a horse who's been through the rigors of the Triple Crown should not then be taken out on a national circus tour he is supposed to be given the summer off Billy turn felt the horse really deserved a rest but the owners came enamored with the idea of going to California and running in the Swap stakes he'd done everything you could ask of in five figure abuse and natural to give you break the day he was going to ship to California my husband said to Billy Turner and they will not get on the airplane if you have any doubts whatsoever and there were not Seattle Slew was the most famous horse in the world at the time Hollywood Park the wind whole-hog to try to get the slough crew to bring the horse West when you have a good horse that does things like Slough did you do get feeling invincible they believed that it was going to be an easy spot head on out there remain unbeaten win the race and go on with his three-year-old campaign but they were in for a rude awakening using his best body language Seattle Slew tried to speak up slow is telling us guys I'm a little bit tired SLU told us we just didn't listen I was known when I was in California I tried not to think about it I just never had a good feeling about it we should have just scratched right down of course it had been pretty tough to scratch with all hoopla that was going on there were fans on the back stretch of Hollywood Park in the stable area lining the road where Seattle Slew would walk around the corner of the clubhouse turn and into the receiving area for the swap steaks I'd never seen anything like that before we resembled one of those Clydesdales out there that closed the bud wagons between the races and Seattle Slew is dropping back Seattle Slew miss well-beaten as they were turning into the stretch and Jo Tobin was drawing off but I remember just my jaw dropping but like oh my god he's gonna get beat I had a minute that's long as men if you were going to spend your life day out open exciting tanks and children thank finishing out-of-the-money for the only time in his career Seattle Slew struggled home 16 lengths off the pace set by winner Jo Tobin it was a colossal blunder and it erased some of the greatness of this course and achieved I think sometimes people you know start to think that the horses are completely invincible and they are flesh and bones and you can't do the sort of things to them I was forbidden to talk to the press after the race I was taken to the airport and get on my plane to go back to New York he could have beaten jail tobin probably 99 out of a hundred times but that was the one time that he should admit of the race against Jo told her or maybe anybody else and he wasn't up to it and was one of the biggest upsets of all time drew on one of my old favorite characters Don Quixote and I said we carried the impossible dream one step too far Hollywood Park had put up some appearance money for the horse to come out there so there was some incentive for him was devastating for the tailors and Hills knowing that the decision to even go out there was being questioned by virtually everybody in the sport it certainly soiled the image of the hills and the tailors in the eyes of the press they felt that Billy Turner had been badly used and they came out like these greedy people who went out to California to win a pot of money with a horse who deserved better they thought the horse was invincible and when something went wrong somebody had to be blamed and it was Billy that was the beginning of the ended you know of Billy Turner in Seattle Slew now suddenly his decisions are being second-guessed but Turner was drinking heavily in those days he was very irresponsible his life was totally disorganized everybody knew Billy was drinking hot you know and when you have an investment like that you can't show up in the morning and had a train of short drug kiddo and my husband said you know go off and get yourself straight now get some help and he just wouldn't do it and finally they said you know if you if you can't straighten this out Billy we're gonna have to take the horse away from you he was making some errors in the management of his horses we tried to help him with his problems the Billy was not receptive to the milk so we just had to pick up a move late in 1977 the trainer was turned loose businesses saying it had been made and I'm an employee but that was the first time that I was ever questioned on anything that I did with horse anything how many times have you seen it happen where success spoils all the fun in some ways it's inevitable when you go in with modest means and low expectations and suddenly you have a monster on your hands now they look great standing at the top of the world everybody looked like couples on a wedding cake and in one fell swoop that was all gone suddenly these people were in retreat the honeymoon was not only over it was crashing ly over hoping to redeem themselves in their own eyes and those of the entire racing world the Seattle Slew crew with new trainer Doug Peterson faced a crisis more serious than embarrassment Mike Kennedy took his temperature and was normal at five o'clock and Doug put his hand on Slough just Mike take his temperature again and he says my squad they took his temperature and it was 101 doc out there about an hour later she was a hundred and four by that evening his fever still hadn't broken and the next day he had inflammation in the vein that we'd use to administer the drugs to him he went from and the toughest stud to being just kind like you know I got to get through this help me out people somebody's got to help me and uh it was a tough time after Seattle Slew survived a near-fatal viral infection his owners sold half interest in his future to a syndicate for six million dollars in February of 1978 but the skeptics who attempted to devalue his accomplishments of a year earlier once more raised their voices within a year's time this horse went from being a Triple Crown winner to almost being the butt of jokes and his career practically disintegrated in may of 1978 the four-year-old began a comeback after winning impressively in two Allowance races his owners considered matching him against the most recent Triple Crown winner affirmed but before they could meet Seattle Slew suffered a setback at the Patterson handicap dr. patches on the outside on the rail at Seattle silver and then struck first ride dr. patches on the outside Seattle soon stood over there I went back in the jockey room to interview Kure and Krug a made some comments which I didn't say Lou was short and I knew at the time the COO gaeda scientist dismissal certificate Jean Krug a was replaced by the hard riding angel Cordero later that September his mission brings Seattle Slew home first against affirmed in the marlboro cup the meeting between Seattle Sloan affirmed really captivated the public imagination and it was one of those rare races that engage the imagination of the average sports fan and not just the racing fan there was also a feeling that affirmed was absolutely the crowd favorite everyone's saying affirmed affirmed affirmed was the first time ever but he's not the favorite the wheels that come off or Scott be the trainer got changed the horse was sick there were accusations that they were not really wanting to running that they changed riders he even looked all that stunned me that some of the crowd booed flu when he came into the paddock and a lot of Seattle Slew fans were just licking their chops at the opportunity to say hey wait a second don't forget about Seattle Slew he happened to walk into the one always use a fund stop and as soon you got close to the story stop bouncing around and I don't know if intimidation works in animal but evasive a friend was this care of these are swapping around maintain that angel and I and Doug talked about Rizzoli's gonna sperms gonna see us lose big black but I knew that he was a great horse always I knew he had the heart I knew he had the speed I knew he had the intelligence all the lead a firm brakes sharply on the inside Seattle Slew on the outside cell so just took over from the beginning and it was a wonderful exhibition of greatness by both horses as they move for the main track the leader is Seattle Slew earned a second by one leg I don't think that I gave him too much rope or let him get too away from me the fact was that he was not gonna be beaten on that day in absolutely turned his career and his reputation around if Seattle Slew had been beaten five lanes that day by affirmed I think Seattle Slew would be thought of now as some kind of accidental Triple Crown winner who came along and got lucky to further underline Seattle slews greatness he was entered against affirmed again in the jockey club Gold Cup I think American race bands like a noble loser just as much as they do as protector winner firmed and Seattle Slew went through six furlongs and 109 and change it was just an unbelievable speed doh between these two all of a sudden firm saddle slipped he drops out of it Seattle slews in front but he's got to be dead tired and bill shoemaker who wrote excel Minh was just sitting back off of that suicidal speed duel knowing he was gonna pick up the pieces something that easy that time to give my horse a chance to bleed since something from the tenner on and I turn around and he was Excel for life I shop on the inside before he knew right and he tried to pinch me already we came down the stretch Edna and she'll soon is coming back at me again I've never seen a horse so in noble buy defeat because that was one of the rare times when when Slough was kind of put to a character test and he certainly passed and even though he lost that I think that race as much as anything really showed the breeders and showed horse people that Seattle Slew is indeed a truly great horse and aqueducts in November of 1978 Seattle Slew ran his last race before a blue-collar following that had stayed strong through his career it was the perfect ending to Seattle slews career to have his last appearance be at Aqueduct and it was really like letting him lead the post parade one more time the whip Stillman is caught out here to the finish line a mile in 34 and to going for that record with 1/16 to go Seattle Slew ladies and gentlemen here in the end of the world Seattle see all of a sudden realize that you're not going to be able to walk out there on a Saturday afternoon and see Seattle Slew run I feel your heart do what it does when that horse does his thing it was certainly an emotional time for us but we've planned for it we knew there was a time to run and there's a time to go to the in direct contradiction to what Racing's old guard thought of him Seattle Slew proved that winning was in his genes time and again he forged greatness into his offspring Seattle Slew has turned out to be a tremendously important sire people at first thought well maybe we couldn't beat him on the race track but when he gets to the breeding shed we'll finally expose him blue-collar frontrunner that he really was he sired swale who won the Derby in 84 I just went on to have an improbable but a spectacular impact on the game as a bridging state and yet it seemed like he somehow managed to maintain his youth you could go out there years after he left the track and he looked like he was ready to go out and run again he'd be so full of himself and he'd be happy and it's almost like he look around and say did you see me out there juicy I can still do this by 2000 Seattle slews magnificent body was slowing down we found out who had a neurological problem and they thought well he might work out of it might be a little arthritic might be you know cold day but he didn't work out of it and he would go from side to side 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew one of the world's leading science underwent successful surgery this past Sunday once more the black stallion recovered and at 27 was returned to the breeding shed in 2001 as the only living Triple Crown winner yet history viewed his career in the shadow of another he didn't have a long time to bask in the glory it had been 25 years before Secretariat won his Triple Crown and Slough came back four years later and one year later here we have another one if affirmed Nellie dur hadn't had their great rivalry the very next year perhaps his Triple Crown legacy would have lasted a little longer bang it was the very next year but I don't think he's a forgotten horse I think people in racing and general sports fans very much remember nobody before and nobody since has made it through the Triple Crown undefeated and that's an achievement that just looks bigger and bigger with the passage of years he was a wonderful horse going into the Triple Crown he was a wonderful horse in the Triple Crown and he was a wonderful horse after the triple crown and maybe some people are knocking him around the first Saturday in May and through the Belmont but by the end of his career he left no doubts while he was revered as the people source Seattle Slew was taunted about his humble beginnings but he more than had his Redemption and his revenge first the commoner beat the Kings on the racetrack and then he repeated his triumph in the breeding barns when his progeny were identified as offspring of the great Slough the response was invariably the same sold for sports century and Chris Fowler

Channel: Horse Racing

Views: 1,413,495

Keywords: seattle slew, horse racing, tripe crown, kentucky derby, 1977, preakness stakes, belmont stakes, 1978 jockey club gold cup, bold reasoning, taylor, turner, peterson, 1970s, great, fast, sire, champion, triple crown

Id: zwOImSrzmCg

Length: 42min 7sec (2527 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 09 2013

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

I wish a video game existed where i could race every legendary horse against each other.

[u/AwsiDooger]

Slew was my favorite. I was the first one to have all of his races on YouTube, until my channel got zapped due to copyright complaints from the IOC and NFL. I saved all the videos but haven't had the energy or motivation to upload them

[u/[deleted]]

$17,500 for Slew. Won $1.2M in career earnings. No famous horse farm owner or group of rich people; just logging families. Slew was great and he was beautiful.