How tall was seattle slew

The first one, the owner said last month during an interview, "saved his life. They include Kentucky Derby winner Swale, A. Taylor, who moved to Lexington two years ago with his wife, Karen, to be near Slew, was with the horse when he was pronounced dead. Slew will be buried beneath a statue in a courtyard at Hill 'n' Dale, a acre farm near Keeneland.

He had a good life, he did everything a horse could do. Slew was moved to Hill 'n' Dale, a quieter farm, because he was too close to the breeding shed and it caused him to become agitated when mares arrived, Mickey Taylor said. In an interview last week with The Associated Press, Slew's trainer Billy Turner called the colt one of the toughest to hit the race track.

He was a good student with tremendous energy and phenomenal ability. He had gained the admiration of people all over and went into the race as the heavy favorite. He secured the win in the Run for the Roses, but appeared visibly upset afterward. Just two weeks later, Seattle Slew went on to win the Belmont Stakes and his popularity continued to grow. He went on to win the Belmont Stakes in stylish fashion with a four-length lead, securing his spot as a Triple Crown winner.

Also, read about the 13 Triple Crown winning horses. Seattle Slew finished the Belmont Stakes with a record of After the race, he was sedated three times as part of an advertising campaign for a new X-ray by Xerox. He was then sedated again for a fourth time during his flight to California for the Swaps Stakes, which was just three weeks after the Belmont.

At the Swaps Stakes, Seattle Slew had his first loss, coming in fourth place. Turner believes that between the multiple sedations and short time frame between races that the colt was not at his top game. Though Seattle came from the city, Slew was inspired by sloughs in which loggers once used to transport heavy logs. However, Karen thought that slough would be too hard for people to remember, so she changed it to Slew.

As an ode to her home state and logging business, the name Seattle Slew came to be. As his career as a stud, Seattle Slew sired the great A. Indy, who won the Belmont Stakes in Indy then went on to sire Rags to Riches, who won the Belmont Stakes. It is the only case where three generations in a row won the Belmont Stakes. During his career, Seattle Slew faced many challenges. They would race again a month later in the Gold Cup. Slew took second in a photo finish, with Affirmed well behind.

Home Privacy Terms. Even so, Turner was on his way out as Slew's trainer. He and the owners had disagreed several times during the year, especially over the decision to race the horse in California so soon after the Belmont.

As Slew was about to be shipped to Florida for winter racing, the owners replaced Turner with Doug Peterson It was a controversial move, Turner having successfully orchestrated the Triple Crown campaign. The owners said they wanted a trainer who would work exclusively for them -- unlike Turner, who also trained horses for other owners. Years later Mickey Taylor added that the decision was partly due to Turner's drinking, something Turner acknowledged.

He continued training horses, although he took a break in the early s to check himself into a rehab center. A serious viral infection kept Seattle Slew from racing during the winter season.

Mickey Taylor was syndicate manager. The owners could have put Slew out to stud then, but Taylor said he didn't want to deprive the public of the sport's biggest star: "Racing has been good to us. We would like to do something good for racing" Washington Thoroughbred , May Seattle Slew raced seven times as a four-year-old. Two of those races were especially noteworthy. It also was Slew's first race with a different jockey. His replacement was the winning rider in that race, Angel Cordero Jr.

Although Affirmed was the newer star and a slight betting favorite in the Marlboro Stakes, Seattle Slew took an early lead and held it all the way, winning by two lengths. Raring to go, Seattle Slew broke early from the starting gate and had to be reloaded. When the race started for real, Slew and Affirmed immediately shared the lead. Affirmed's jockey, Steve Cauthen b. Affirmed and his stablemate Life's Hope forced a will-sapping pace, but Slew stayed narrowly at the front of the threesome as they clocked blistering times for the first half mile.

Then Life's Hope dropped back and Affirmed started to fade, leaving Slew apparently in command. But while the leaders were battling, a horse named Exceller was making his move from far back. Suddenly, with a quarter mile to go, Exceller had a slight lead and all the momentum. Seattle Slew, caught by surprise and close to running on empty, could have sagged but somehow found new reserves. They pounded toward home together, Slew surging as they neared the finish. The thrilling stretch run ended in a photo finish.

The camera showed Exceller had won by a nose. Although Seattle Slew lost the race, he added to his glowing reputation. By first matching the frantic early pace and then showing his strength and determination at the finish, he displayed an extraordinary combination of speed, stamina, and fight.

Many consider it the best race of his career. Seattle Slew raced one more time, winning the Stuyvesant Handicap at Aqueduct on November 11, , and then was sent to stud at Spendthrift Farm near Lexington. He was honored in his home state with Governor Julian Carroll b. Affirmed narrowly beat him out for Horse of the Year, an honor never denied a reigning Triple Crown winner. For all his triumphs on the racetrack, Seattle Slew was nearly as successful in the breeding shed.

He was scheduled to be bred to 45 mares in his first season at stud, and the results of that crop and ones to follow only drove his value higher. That year his son Slew o' Gold won the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old. In another of his sons, Swale, won the Eclipse Award for top 3-year-old male after winning the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont, and Slew o' Gold added another as older male champion.

His offspring continued to command high prices and do well on the track. In , Slew sired A. Indy from a daughter of Triple Crown winner Secretariat; their foal went on to be Horse of the Year in The Hills and Taylors had formed several corporations over the years, starting with Wooden Horse Investments and later Tayhill Stables. But after nearly two decades together, their ties were frayed. In June , Jim Hill sued Mickey Taylor for mismanagement of Wooden Horse, claiming he was diverting some of its money to Pearson's Barn, the Yakima-based company that managed Wooden Horse's racing and breeding stock.

Hill also claimed Taylor was improperly compensating relatives. The case went to jury trial in Lexington in November By that time Wooden Horse was selling off some of its holdings and breeding stock, including 23 horses at a Keeneland auction during the trial. The Cinderella partnership was over. Early in , at the age of 26, Seattle Slew began losing coordination in his hindquarters while walking. The Taylors were living in Yakima and skiing in Idaho at the time, but they moved to Kentucky to be near their horse.

Slew was given injections to relieve pressure in arthritic neck joints, but relief was only temporary. On April 2, he underwent surgery to fuse the joints and reduce pressure on his spinal cord.

The procedure was performed in Lexington by Dr. Barrie Grant, a former Washington State University professor of equine surgery. He inserted a device called a Bagby Basket, developed for humans by Spokane orthopedic surgeon Dr.

The surgery was successful, and in Seattle Slew returned to stud service. His neurological problems returned early in , however.