Seattle Slew: The $17,500 Yearling Who Became a Racing Legend

Last updated: September 25, 2026

By: Miles HenryFact Checked

Most horsemen know the feeling of looking at a young horse and wondering whether there’s something there that other people missed. Seattle Slew’s story is one of racing’s best reminders that a sale price and a catalog page don’t always reveal what a horse can become. The $17,500 yearling Keeneland passed on went on to win the 1977 Triple Crown and become an important stallion in American Thoroughbred breeding.

As a racehorse owner, I’ve always found his story especially compelling. It’s about a talented horse, of course, but it’s also about patient evaluation, development, management, and the fact that good horses sometimes look very different once they mature and go into training.

Seattle Slew: Career at a Glance

The $17,500 Yearling Keeneland Passed On

Seattle Slew was bred in Kentucky by Ben Castleman. He was by Bold Reasoning and out of the Poker mare My Charmer. Bold Reasoning had shown ability, but he died young after producing only three crops. That left him commercially unproven when Seattle Slew went through the yearling sales.

Keeneland rejected Seattle Slew from its Select Yearling Sale because of his pedigree and appearance. Reports also noted an awkward way of moving and a right front foot that turned out. He went instead to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale, where Karen and Mickey Taylor partnered with Dr. Jim and Sally Hill to buy him for $17,500.

The group had planned to spend less, but they liked the colt enough to keep bidding. Trainer Billy Turner later called him “Baby Huey” because he looked big, gangly, and awkward. That’s something every horseman eventually learns: the horse you see standing in a stall as a yearling is not always the horse you see six months later, after growth, maturity, and training start to come together.

Seattle Slew’s name came from his owners. “Seattle” honored Mickey Taylor’s Washington roots, while “Slew” played off a slough, the waterway loggers historically used to move timber.

The Road to the 1977 Triple Crown

Seattle Slew showed ability quickly. He won all three starts at two, including the Champagne Stakes by 9¾ lengths, and earned the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male. At three, he won the Flamingo Stakes and Wood Memorial before heading to Churchill Downs unbeaten in nine starts.

What stands out to me about his early career isn’t only that he won. It’s how quickly he proved he belonged when the competition got tougher. Good horses usually separate themselves when the pressure rises, and Seattle Slew did that at every step before the classics.

Jean Cruguet rode Seattle Slew in all three classics. The Belmont was the capstone: Seattle Slew became the 10th Triple Crown winner and the first horse to enter and complete the series without a prior defeat. Justify later matched that accomplishment in 2018.

First Loss and the 1978 Comeback

Seattle Slew’s first loss came in the 1977 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park, where he finished fourth after the Triple Crown. The race also brought an existing disagreement between trainer Billy Turner and the owners into the open. Turner believed the horse needed more rest, while the owners wanted to run.

He later dealt with a serious illness that interrupted his four-year-old season. Under trainer Doug Peterson, Seattle Slew returned in 1978 and won the Woodward Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Marlboro Cup Championship, and Stuyvesant Handicap. That season made it clear that he was not simply a brilliant three-year-old who had peaked in the classics.

Seattle Slew vs. Affirmed

The 1978 Marlboro Cup brought Seattle Slew together with Affirmed, the newly crowned Triple Crown winner. It was the only time two Triple Crown winners met in a race.

Seattle Slew won by three lengths. One race will never settle every argument about which champion was better, but this is why the Marlboro Cup still gets discussed decades later. Two horses who had already done the rarest thing in American racing met in open company, and Seattle Slew was best that day.

What Horse Owners Can Learn From Seattle Slew

Seattle Slew’s story is more than a Triple Crown recap. There are practical lessons in it for owners, buyers, and anybody trying to assess a young horse.

• Don’t judge a young horse only by sale price. Price reflects the market’s opinion on a particular day. It does not guarantee ability or limit what a horse can become.
• Development changes horses. A gangly yearling may mature into a different athlete once his body fills out and he learns how to use himself.
• Pedigree is part of the picture, not the whole picture. When I look at a young horse, I want to see athleticism, balance, movement, attitude, and soundness. The paper can open the door, but the horse still has to walk through it.
• Talent still needs management. Seattle Slew’s career had setbacks, training disagreements, and illness. Even an exceptional horse needs the right people, timing, and day-to-day care around him.
• A champion’s value can keep growing after retirement. The racing career makes the headline, but a horse’s influence can continue through breeding for generations.

Legacy as a Sire

For breeders and owners, a champion’s story doesn’t end when the racing career ends. The next question is always: what does he leave behind?

Seattle Slew’s influence after racing may be just as important as what he accomplished on the track. His best-known offspring included A.P. Indy, the 1992 Horse of the Year and later a leading sire; Swale, winner of the 1984 Kentucky Derby; and champion filly Landaluce.

His male line continued through A.P. Indy, Pulpit, and Tapit, keeping Seattle Slew close to the center of modern American pedigrees. He entered the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1981 and died in 2002 at age 28, on the 25th anniversary of his Kentucky Derby victory.

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