masun
08-05-2002, 09:33
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Seattle Slew, the last of the living Triple Crown winners and one of thoroughbred racing's greatest sires, died today.
The beloved, champion race horse, who won the Kentucky Derby 25 years ago, died in his stall while sleeping, said a spokeswoman at Hill 'n' Dale Farm, where Slew recently had moved. He was 28.
The death came 25 years to the day after Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby-- a race the horse followed with stirring victories in the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, the two other legs of racing's most prestigious series since then.
"He was the most complete thoroughbred the industry has seen. He just kept raising the bar with every record he broke," owner Mickey Taylor said.
Slew was the last living Triple Crown winner. Affirmed, who won the last Triple Crown in 1978, died in January 2001.
A big, black horse, Slew won 14 of 17 lifetime starts and earned $1,208,726, was in failing health the past two years and underwent two delicate spinal fusion operations.
Last month, Slew was a bit wobbly after the second surgery, which was to "normalize," him, owner Mickey Taylor said. The first one, Taylor said last month during an interview, "saved his life."
Bought for a bargain-basement $17,500 by Taylor, a former lumberman from Washington, and former partner, Jim Hill, Slew sired 101 stakes winners. They include 1984 Kentucky Derby winner Swale, A.P. Indy, Capote and Slew o' Gold, and have earned more than $75 million in purses.
Slew will be buried beneath a statue in a courtyard at Hill 'n' Dale, a lush 319-acre farm not far from Keeneland.
"He had the greatest heart. He was a fighter to the end," Taylor's wife, Karen, said.
The beloved, champion race horse, who won the Kentucky Derby 25 years ago, died in his stall while sleeping, said a spokeswoman at Hill 'n' Dale Farm, where Slew recently had moved. He was 28.
The death came 25 years to the day after Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby-- a race the horse followed with stirring victories in the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, the two other legs of racing's most prestigious series since then.
"He was the most complete thoroughbred the industry has seen. He just kept raising the bar with every record he broke," owner Mickey Taylor said.
Slew was the last living Triple Crown winner. Affirmed, who won the last Triple Crown in 1978, died in January 2001.
A big, black horse, Slew won 14 of 17 lifetime starts and earned $1,208,726, was in failing health the past two years and underwent two delicate spinal fusion operations.
Last month, Slew was a bit wobbly after the second surgery, which was to "normalize," him, owner Mickey Taylor said. The first one, Taylor said last month during an interview, "saved his life."
Bought for a bargain-basement $17,500 by Taylor, a former lumberman from Washington, and former partner, Jim Hill, Slew sired 101 stakes winners. They include 1984 Kentucky Derby winner Swale, A.P. Indy, Capote and Slew o' Gold, and have earned more than $75 million in purses.
Slew will be buried beneath a statue in a courtyard at Hill 'n' Dale, a lush 319-acre farm not far from Keeneland.
"He had the greatest heart. He was a fighter to the end," Taylor's wife, Karen, said.