Seattle Slew was a heck of a racehorse. He started only three times at 2 and had just six races prior to winning the 1977 Kentucky Derby (gr. I). He went on to win the Preakness (gr. I) and Belmont (gr. I) Stakes and remains, 31 years later, the only unbeaten horse to win the Triple Crown.

Big Brown tried…and failed.

We can look back and question the competition Seattle Slew ran against in his Triple Crown races, just as many are questioning the current crop of 3-year-olds. But we cannot question whether Seattle Slew was a good horse.

Triple Crown winners had never occurred in back-to-back years until Seattle Slew and Affirmed (1978), so it was an historic moment when the two met in the Marlboro Cup Handicap (gr. I) Sept. 16, 1978. Partly because of who Affirmed had beaten in his races, and mainly because he had won 10 straight, for the only time in Seattle Slew’s 17-race career, Slew was not the choice of the bettors. Affirmed was made the 1-2 favorite while Seattle Slew went off at more than 2-1. But in wire-to-wire fashion, as was his style, Seattle Slew controlled the pace and ran away from Affirmed to win by three lengths. And it was not a soft pace. Seattle Slew ran the nine furlongs in 1:45 4⁄5, just two-fifths off the American record for the distance, set by another Triple Crown winner in the first Marlboro Cup five years earlier, Secretariat.

Seasoning, or training, is an important part of preparation for any athlete, regardless of talent level. Though he had only been out six times prior to the Derby, Seattle Slew had run 46 furlongs, compared to three races totaling 25.5 furlongs for Big Brown. Every furlong previously run makes a big difference before having to traverse 31.5 furlongs in the course of the five-week Triple Crown period.

Seattle Slew is the exception among the 11 winners of the Triple Crown. His three races at 2 are the lowest number among the esteemed group, the next lowest being six; they averaged nine starts as juveniles. Triple Crown winners Sir Barton and War Admiral each made six starts as 2-year-olds; Gallant Fox made seven; Omaha, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, and Affirmed each made nine; Count Fleet made 15; and Whirlaway made 16.

By the time they ran in the Derby, the 11 Triple Crown winners averaged a dozen starts.

In comparison, the seven horses in recent years that have won the Derby and Preakness only to fall short in the Belmont—Smarty Jones, Funny Cide, Real Quiet, War Emblem, Silver Charm, Charismatic, and Big Brown—have averaged four starts at 2 and fewer than eight prior to the Derby.

Consider that of this year’s 20-horse Derby field, the average number of starts at 2 was 3.4 and the average number of starts prior to the first Saturday in May was 6.3. Compared to the 11 Triple Crown winners, those figures are 62% and 47.5% less, respectively.

Charismatic and Smarty Jones never raced after the Belmont, but Funny Cide, Real Quiet, War Emblem, and Silver Charm all came back to win a grade or group I race.

Big Brown needs to prove that he can do the same.

Star Parade

Those who bemoan the quick retirement of many of racing’s stars were smiling widely June 14, when three champions all won. The parade of stars was led by 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin, who took the Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) in his first start since a triumphant overseas trip to win the Dubai World Cup (UAE-I). Also at Churchill Downs that afternoon, Dreaming of Anna, the 2006 champion juvenile filly, was victorious in the Early Times Mint Julep Handicap (gr. IIIT), while at Belmont Park, Ginger Punch, last year’s champion older female, took the Ogden Phipps Handicap (gr. I).

Machu Picchu is translated to mean “Old Mountain” or “Old Peak.” Discovered on a mountain ridge in Peru in 1911, it is often called “The Lost City of the Incas.” Built around 1450 and abandoned 100 years later, Machu Picchu is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Visiting Machu Picchu affords a traveler a chance to journey back in time; a place to contemplate lost civilizations while also pausing to ponder what will happen to future generations.

With modern technology, one can even be visiting the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu, 8,000 feet above sea level, and communicate by satellite phone to Kentucky while negotiating a deal to stand the colt that had won the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and was the heavy favorite to capture the Preakness (gr. I).

During the week following the Derby, Robert Clay flew to New York to meet with Michael Iavarone of IEAH Stables, which races Big Brown in partnership with Paul Pompa Jr. Clay made his pitch to stand the unbeaten Boundary colt at his farm, in a stallion barn aside others such as Smarty Jones, Dynaformer, and Rahy. Big Brown could walk each day past the statue of Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, who ended his stallion career at the farm.

Feeling so good about the meeting, Clay saw no need to cancel his scheduled trip to Machu Picchu. He instructed his son, Case, age 34 and just a few months into his new role as farm president, to work out the details.

So, while Robert Clay studied a lost civilization of the past, Case Clay delivered the horse of the future, working with Iavarone and the attorneys on both sides on a contract that was finalized on Preakness day.

Robert Clay arrived back in the States after midnight, signed the agreement at noon, and arrived at Pimlico with his family in time for the race prior to the Preakness.

With the winning connections on the infield podium following the impressive performance by Big Brown, Robert Clay took off his hat and waved it toward the jubilant throng. Spotting him and his gesture, Iavarone removed his hat and waved it in the air as well.

Iavarone, his partners, trainer Rick Dutrow, and jockey Kent Desormeaux were smiling, but they were not smiling as broadly as Robert and Case Clay.

“It was a leap of faith,” Case Clay said, noting had Big Brown lost the Preakness, the luster would have been off, his value almost assuredly worth less than the price agreed to earlier that day.

In fact, when asked if the biggest detail to work out the past week was the purchase price, Clay hesitated, smiled, and said, “Yes, yes it was.”

Both Clays refused to answer questions regarding the specifics of the deal, though Robert Clay acknowledged he and a partnership group had purchased a minority interest in the colt. A total valuation of around $50 million has been widely mentioned.

Robert Clay noted how Iavarone and his group had total control of the racing career of Big Brown, but sadly Iavarone has already stated that the colt will not race beyond this year.

In today’s civilization, far removed from places such as Machu Picchu, once a stallion deal is signed with such a hefty value, business considerations begin to far outweigh racing options. Still, it would have been better to have left Big Brown’s impending retirement unsaid. The colt is gathering quite a cheering section, and his fans will be disappointed, as were many last year, to have another of their 3-year-old stars rushed off to stud.

But for now, for the next few weeks, Three Chimneys is the only farm that has the possibility of standing a Triple Crown winner.

Whether talking about the stallion business or the advancement of any civilization, it is always a leap of faith.