Retired Racehorse Still a Successful Sire
April 30 -- Deep in the rolling bluegrass pasture land of Kentucky, content in his comfortable stall, lives a Thoroughbred champion of champions.
Seattle Slew, the only surviving Triple Crown winner, is 28 years old now — ancient for a horse. He's a tad swaybacked, and far removed from his glorious racing years.
The 1970s saw three Triple Crown winners — Secretariat in 1973, Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978. No horse has mastered all three jewels — the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes — since then.
"Slew," as he is affectionately known, is the only horse in history to have won the Triple Crown as an undefeated 3-year-old. And he proved his prowess surpassed that of the other racing elites by easily defeating Affirmed in the 1978 Marlboro Cup.
"He's done it all," said his owner Mickey Taylor. "He's truly amazing."
Jean Cruguet, a wiry former French army bartender, was aboard Seattle Slew during the Triple Crown races. Today he trains horses at Lexington's Keeneland Racetrack.
Slew "was easy to ride," Cruguet recalled last week. "He was a machine."
Judged, Sold by His Eye
Mickey and Karen Taylor were new to racing when they bought Slew at auction in 1975 for what seems now to be the ridiculously low price of $17,500. Even back then it was a lot less than a promising Thoroughbred would fetch.
The Taylors recall the whole transaction taking no more than 90 seconds.
"He had a really great, terrifically clear, eye," said Karen. "You can always judge him by his eyes."
Mickey wasn't all that interested in paying even that much, but Karen persisted.
It would be an understatement to say that the risk paid off — a colossal understatement.
Slew started racing in 1976, and won the Taylors and their fellow investors more than $1 million in his three racing seasons.
Slew's Progeny Earned $75 Million
But the best was yet to come. Because it was as a stallion that Seattle Slew really proved his worth.
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