The $17,500 'Mule' Nobody Wanted Who Became an Undefeated Triple Crown Legend: Seattle Slew

In July 1975, Kentucky's wealthiest bloodstock agents laughed at Hip No. 190 at the Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale—a nearly-black colt with a coarse head, long ears, and a right front foot twisted noticeably outward. Dismissed as 'The $17,500 Mule' and later nicknamed 'Baby Huey', he was purchased for just $17,500 by Washington logging couple Mickey and Karen Taylor and New York veterinarian Dr. Jim Hill. This 22-minute archival Thoroughbred documentary traces Seattle Slew's complete two-act saga: how former steeplechase rider Billy Turner and French jockey Jean Cruguet unlocked his biomechanical paradox to shatter the Champagne Stakes record (1:34 2/5) and survive a violent 1977 Kentucky Derby gate crash to become the first undefeated Triple Crown winner in history (9-for-9); how a disastrous cross-country trip to Hollywood Park for the July 1977 Swaps Stakes led to a 16-length defeat, the firing of Billy Turner, and a January 1978 viral infection and collapsed jugular vein that left Slew hours from death; and how he rose from his sickbed under Angel Cordero Jr. to crush 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed in the Marlboro Cup (1:45 4/5), wage the greatest stretch war in Belmont history against Exceller in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and unite with Secretariat's daughter Weekend Surprise to sire A.P. Indy. 00:00 July 1975: Cold Open & Hip No. 190 at Fasig-Tipton 00:36 White Horse Acres, Keeneland Rejection & Hidden Royal Blood 01:12 Mickey & Karen Taylor, Dr. Jim Hill & 'Built Like a Locomotive' 01:48 19 Bids in 90 Seconds: The $17,500 Hammer Price 02:24 Naming Seattle Slew & The Undefeated Triple Crown Thesis 03:00 Autumn 1975: Billy & Paula Turner Christen 'Baby Huey' 03:45 The Biomechanical Paradox: How the Crooked Foot Landed Straight 04:30 Enter Jean Cruguet & The Pre-Race Paddock 'War Dance' 05:15 Sept–Oct 1976: Belmont Debut & The 1:20 3/5 Track Record 06:00 October 16, 1976: The 1:34 2/5 Champagne Stakes Massacre 06:45 1976 Champion Two-Year-Old Colt (23 3/4 Lengths in 3 Starts) 07:30 Spring 1977: Hialeah Record, Flamingo Stakes & Wood Memorial 08:17 May 7, 1977: 124,038 Fans & The 'Washy' Derby Paddock Meltdown 09:04 Gate 4 Collision & The Suicidal Half-Mile Speed Duel 09:51 Tearing Through the Wall: Winning the 103rd Kentucky Derby (2:02 1/5) 10:38 May 21, 1977: Destroying Cormorant in the 1:54 2/5 Preakness Stakes 11:25 June 11, 1977: Rain, Mud & The 109th Belmont Stakes Test 12:12 Jean Cruguet's Stirrup Salute & 9-for-9 Undefeated Immortality 13:00 The $400,000 Temptation: 6 Races in 14 Weeks & Hollywood Park 13:45 Billy Turner's Warning vs. The 2,500-Mile Flight West 14:30 July 3, 1977: J.O. Tobin & The 16-Length Swaps Stakes Defeat 15:15 December 1977: The Firing of Billy Turner & Arrival of Douglas Peterson 16:00 January 1978: 103.5°F Fever, Thrombophlebitis & Collapsed Jugular Vein 16:45 Dr. Jim Hill's Vigil & Karen Taylor's Hand-Fed Geranium Leaves 17:30 Autumn 1978: Angel Cordero Jr. & The Clash with 1978 Triple Crown King Affirmed 18:15 September 16, 1978: Crushing Affirmed in the Marlboro Cup (1:45 4/5) 19:00 October 14, 1978: Jockey Club Gold Cup, Affirmed's Slipped Saddle & 1:09 2/5 War 19:45 Exceller Passes by 2 Lengths & Seattle Slew's Legendary Inside Re-Rally 20:30 $12 Million Syndication, Three Chimneys Farm, Swale & A.P. Indy 21:15 The Secretariat Convergence (Weekend Surprise) & May 7, 2002 Passing KEY FORENSIC FIGURES: • 1975 Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale (Hip 190): $17,500 after 19 bids in 90 seconds (Sale top: $475,000) • 1976 Juvenile Campaign: 3-for-3 | Belmont 7f Track Record (1:20 3/5) | Champagne Stakes Record (1:34 2/5 by 9 3/4 lengths) • 1977 Undefeated Triple Crown (9-for-9): Kentucky Derby (2:02 1/5) | Preakness Stakes (1:54 2/5, 1:34 4/5 mile) | Belmont Stakes (2:29 3/5 by 4 lengths) • 1978 Comeback Classics: Marlboro Cup vs. Affirmed (Won by 3 lengths in 1:45 4/5) | Woodward Stakes (Won by 4 lengths in 2:00 flat) | Jockey Club Gold Cup vs. Exceller & Affirmed (:22 3/5, :45 1/5, 1:09 2/5 splits; 2nd by a nose in 2:27 1/5) • Stud Dynasty (1979–2002): $12M syndication | 102 stakes winners | $84M progeny earnings | Sired Swale, Slew o' Gold, Landaluce & A.P. Indy (out of Secretariat's daughter Weekend Surprise) DISCUSSION QUESTION: Which performance defines Seattle Slew's greatness for you—his violent recovery from the Gate 4 crash in the 1977 Kentucky Derby, his 3-length demolition of Affirmed in the 1978 Marlboro Cup, or his gutsy re-rally along the rail against Exceller in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup? Share your thoughts in the comments below and subscribe to @EquineOdyssey for archival Thoroughbred history. #SeattleSlew #HorseRacing #TripleCrown #KentuckyDerby #BelmontStakes #Documentary