Seattle Slew

Background

Seattle Slew was a dark bay horse with a small white patch of hair by his left rear hoof. He was bred by Ben S. Castleman, a Kentucky racing commissioner, and was foaled at White Horse Acres near Lexington, Kentucky. Seattle Slew was the first foal out of My Charmer, a stakes-winning daughter of the otherwise obscure sire Poker. My Charmer went on to produce the 2000 Guineas winner Lomond and Seattle Dancer, and several of her daughters became outstanding producers. My Charmer descends from champion and noted "blue hen" Myrtlewood. Castleman originally intended to breed My Charmer to Jacinto but that stallion's book was full so Seth Hancock of Claiborne Farm recommended the mare be bred instead to Bold Reasoning, a first-crop sire who had won the Jersey Derby and Withers Stakes in 1971. Bold Reasoning was a grandson of Bold Ruler, whose descendants, including Secretariat, dominated the Kentucky Derby in the 1970s.

Seattle Slew was not considered particularly attractive as a foal, leading some to say he looked like a mule. He was so awkward that his first nickname was Baby Huey. As he matured though, he developed a graceful front-running style with an acceleration that was compared to "a falcon in a dive". At maturity, he stood 16 1⁄2 hands (64.5 inches, 164 cm) high at the withers with strong hind legs and a powerful shoulder. However, his right forefoot was noticeably turned out.

Seattle Slew was purchased for just $17,500 (equivalent to $105,000 in 2025) at the 1975 Fasig-Tipton yearling auction. His new owners, later known as "the Slew Crew", were Karen and Mickey Taylor and Jim and Sally Hill. Horse owners since the early 1970s, Karen Taylor was a former flight attendant, and her husband, Mickey Taylor, was a lumberman. They lived in White Swan, Washington. Jim Hill, a veterinarian, picked out Seattle Slew at the sale, though the original budget was only $12,000. Karen Taylor, liking the look of the colt, urged her husband to go higher. They named the colt for the city of Seattle and the sloughs which loggers once used to transport heavy logs. Karen felt that the pronunciation of slough — a slow-moving channel of the Pacific Northwest — would be too hard for people to remember, so the spelling was changed to Slew. A later co-owner was Glenn Rasmussen, the accountant for the equine partnerships.

Seattle Slew's owners sent the colt to Billy Turner, a friend and former steeplechase rider who had trained horses seasonally in Maryland since the early 1960s. Based at Belmont Park in the mid-1970s, Turner accepted Seattle Slew and another Taylor-Hill purchase and sent them to Andor Farm in Monkton, where his wife at the time, Paula, taught yearlings to be ridden.

Racing career

1976: two-year-old season

Seattle Slew's debut was delayed by his initial awkwardness, but he started to attract attention over the course of the summer at Saratoga with some fast workouts. Taylor later recalled that the colt had been timed in a brilliant time of 33+3⁄5 seconds for three-eighths of a mile, but the clocker instead recorded the time as 36 seconds because he felt people wouldn't believe the right figure. Slew was set to make his first start at the end of August but injured himself in his stall. He finally made his first start in a six-furlong maiden race on September 20, 1976, the fifth race at Belmont Park. The big, nearly black colt was bet down to the 5:2 favorite. He gave the public its first look at what was later called his "war dance" (his habit of tiptoeing on the track before his races) and won by five lengths. He followed up in seven-furlong allowance race on October 5, 1976, winning by 3+1⁄2 lengths.

On October 16, Taylor stepped the colt up in class to enter the Grade I Champagne Stakes, then the most important race for two-year-olds in the United States. His biggest rival was For the Moment, who had won four straight races including the Belmont Futurity and was a full-brother to champion Honest Pleasure. Nonetheless, Seattle Slew went off as the almost even-money favorite. Jockey Jean Cruguet sent him straight to the lead and opened up a lead down the backstretch. None of the other riders chose to challenge him, perhaps believing the colt would tire down the stretch. Instead Seattle Slew continued to draw away, eventually winning by 9+3⁄4 lengths in a time of 1:34+2⁄5 for one mile, then a stakes record.

Despite starting just three times, Seattle Slew was named Champion Two-Year-Old of 1976.

1977: three-year-old season

Turner scheduled three races for Seattle Slew leading up to the Kentucky Derby, which was then considered to be a light campaign. Turner felt that the main threat to Seattle Slew was his health, because the horse ran so fast and hard every time. Hill later said that Turner used the prep races as workouts and did as little as possible in between. Turner scheduled only 19 breezes for Seattle Slew before and during his Triple Crown campaign, instead trying to get the colt to relax.

Seattle Slew's first start came as a three-year-old in an allowance race on March 9, 1977, at Hialeah Park Race Track. Going off at odds of 1:10, he dueled with White Rammer for the early lead while completing the first quarter-mile in a swift 22+1⁄5 seconds. He kept up the pace, completing the half-mile in 44 seconds and six furlongs in 1:08 flat (which would have been a new track record). Eased in the final sixteenth of a mile, he still set a seven-furlong track record of 1:20+3⁄5 in winning by nine lengths. Despite the ease of the win, Turner was concerned, fearing the colt was using too much energy early in his races to withstand the challenge of the longer races to come.

On March 26, Seattle Slew entered the Flamingo Stakes, where he went off at odds of 1:5. He set his own pace and opened a large lead moving into the final turn. He was eased down the stretch but still won by four lengths in a time of 1:47+2⁄5 for 1+1⁄8 miles – the third-fastest time in the stakes' 51-year history.

He then shipped north to Aqueduct Racetrack in New York, where he became the subject of intense media scrutiny. His owners considered entering him in the Gotham Stakes on April 9 but Turner was against it because heavy rains had rendered the main track unusable, meaning the colt had not been able to properly work out. Instead, Seattle Slew made his third start of the year on April 23 in the Wood Memorial Stakes. Going off as the 1:10 favorite, he went to the early lead, challenged by Fratello Ed. Cruguet got the colt to relax and they set sensible fractions, then coasted to a 3+1⁄4 length win. The time of 1:49+3⁄5 was considered unimpressive, but his connections were pleased by the horse's demeanor. "He doesn't have to run the way he has before," said Cruguet. "He was never really pressed."

The "Slew Crew" then relocated to Churchill Downs where the Taylors set up a camper opposite the colt's stall in Barn 42, which traditionally houses the favorite for the Kentucky Derby. With Mickey Taylor's father acting as chief bodyguard for the colt, the connections dealt with a constant stream of visitors. Showing his growing maturity, Seattle Slew remained relaxed throughout the week leading up to the race. His training did not go entirely to expectations however when he posted an uncharacteristically slow workout the Sunday before the race. Turner planned to sharpen the colt with a five-furlong breeze on the Thursday before the race but the track came up muddy. Seattle Slew's final workout was a three-furlong breeze in 34+2⁄5 seconds the morning before the Derby was held.

1978

In early 1978, Seattle Slew was stabled at Hialeah and was expected to make three or four starts in Florida, followed by a full campaign in New York's major stakes races. He was scheduled to make the first start of his four-year-old campaign on January 16, 1978, in the Tallahassee Handicap. However, he was scratched from the race on January 14 when he lost his appetite and was found to have a fever of 102. His condition then went quickly downhill, marked by weakness, dehydration and a sharp decrease in his white blood cell count. It was later revealed that his jugular vein had collapsed when a pre-race injection of butazolidin missed the vein.

While Seattle Slew slowly recovered, his owners contemplated retiring him to stud. Instead, they kept him in training for 1978 while syndicating him for a then-record $12 million. The Taylor and Hill families retained 50% of the shares while Brownwell Combs of Spendthrift Farm headed the syndication group.

Seattle Slew eventually returned to training and was shipped north to Aqueduct, which held "Seattle Slew day" on April 29. A crowd of 25,931 cheered while Seattle Slew was led around the paddock and then taken on track for a six-furlong workout, completed handily in 1:10+1⁄5. On May 14, Seattle Slew returned to racing in a seven-furlong allowance race. Over an extremely muddy track, he settled in second place behind Gallant Bob for the first quarter-mile, then started to open up on the field, eventually winning by 8+1⁄4 lengths. Despite the adverse track conditions and never being urged by Cruguet, his time was a "brisk" 1:22+4⁄5.

Seattle Slew was being pointed to the Metropolitan Handicap at the end of May but suffered another setback when a filling in his left hind leg was discovered. The problem was thought to be minor, but it was not until August that he made his next start. This was in a seven-furlong allowance race at Saratoga Race Course, which he won by six lengths in 1:21+3⁄5 over a sloppy track.

In preparation for his fall campaign, Seattle Slew was sent to the Meadowlands on September 5 for a night race, the Paterson Handicap at a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles. He went off as the 1:5 favorite despite being assigned 128 pounds. His main rival was Dr. Patches, who had an excellent record at the Meadowlands and was carrying only 114 pounds. Seattle Slew went straight to the lead and set fast early fractions. Turning for home though, Dr. Patches made his move and slowly drew past. Seattle Slew tried to fight back but lost by a neck in a major upset. Jean Cruguet lost the mount after the race, after expressing doubt if the horse had been sufficiently trained.

Statistics

An asterisk before the odds means that Seattle Slew was the post-time favorite.

Source: Daily Racing Form

Stud career

Seattle Slew stood at stud at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington for seven years, before moving to Three Chimneys Farm in Midway in 1985. He was the leading sire of 1984, when his son Swale (who died later that year) won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. He is part of a unique three generation sequence of Belmont Stakes Winners: Seattle Slew (who won the race in 1977) sired A.P. Indy (1992) who in turn sired Rags to Riches. Rags to Riches was just the third filly to win the race, after Ruthless in 1867 and Tanya in 1905. The victory earned jockey John Velazquez and trainer Todd Pletcher their first wins in any Triple Crown race.

Seattle Slew sired 1,103 named foals, of which 537 (48.7%) were winners and 111 (10.1%) were stakes winners. Major winners by Seattle Slew include:

A.P. Indy – Belmont Stakes, Breeders' Cup Classic, 1992 Horse of the Year (USA) and champion three-year-old, Hall of Fame inductee

Adored – Santa Margarita, Delaware Handicap

Capote – Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Dantsu Seattle - Takarazuka Kinen

Fleet Renee – Ashland, Mother Goose

Flute – Kentucky Oaks

Hail Atlantis – Santa Anita Oaks

Lakeway – Santa Anita Oaks, Hollywood Oaks, Mother Goose

Landaluce – Oak Leaf Stakes, Champion two-year-old filly

Life at the Top – Mother Goose

Magic of Life – Coronation Stakes

Seattle Song – Prix de la Salamandre, Washington DC International

Legacy

Seattle Slew underwent spinal fusion surgery at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital for a neurological condition in 2000, followed by a second surgery in 2002. Upon recovery from the second surgery, he was moved to Hill 'n' Dale Farm to recover: his old stall at Three Chimney's was too close to the breeding shed, and he became agitated whenever mares arrived at the farm.

On May 7, 2002, 25 years to the day after he won the Kentucky Derby, Seattle Slew died in his sleep at age 28. He was buried whole at Hill 'n' Dale, the highest honor for a winning race horse, with his favorite blanket and a bag of peppermints. Three Chimneys Farm erected a statue of Seattle Slew near the stallion barn in his honor. Since fellow Triple Crown winner and rival Affirmed had died the year before, he had been the sole living Triple Crown winner. At the horse's death, there were no living Triple Crown winners for the first time since Sir Barton won the first Triple Crown in 1919. This phenomenon continued until American Pharoah's Triple Crown in 2015.

The Taylors remained close to Seattle Slew throughout his life and were with him at the time of his death. "He had the greatest heart," said Karen Taylor. "He was a fighter to the end." John Sikura of Hill 'n' Dale commented, "To be near greatness is what everyone in this business aspires to, and it happens so rarely. He was one in a million, and showed us there is that possibility in a game of impossibilities."

Seattle Slew was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1981. In the BloodHorse magazine's listing of the top 100 American thoroughbreds of the twentieth century, he was ranked ninth. A British publication, A Century of Champions, ranked him fourth among North American racehorses. In 2002, ESPN telecast a "SportsCentury" on Seattle Slew.

The book Seattle Slew, by Steve Cady and Barton Silverman, was released by Penguin Books in 1977. In 2000, the Eclipse Press released another book of the same title, written by Dan Mearns as part of the Thoroughbred Legends series.

In 2015, the state of Kentucky started issuing a license plate bearing Seattle Slew's image, based on a photograph by Tony Leonard. Proceeds benefit the Kentucky Equine Education Project Foundation (KEEP).

Pedigree

Seattle Slew was inbred 4s x 4d to the stallion Nasrullah, meaning that Nasrullah appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree, once on the sire side and once on the dam side.