Whatever currently ails horse racing could be quickly cured by a dose of what took place 30 years ago today.
On Sept. 16, 1978, in an era when racing thrived and there seemed to be an assembly line of Triple Crown winners, something extraordinary happened. And it happened again 28 days later.
Two Triple Crown winners raced against each other. Seattle Slew, the '77 winner, took on Affirmed, the '78 winner. It had never happened before, may never happen again.
There have been only 11 Triple Crown winners in history and only once did they come in consecutive years. But Secretariat had won in '73, and Seattle Slew and Affirmed had made it three in six years.
Now, if there were Triple Crown winners close enough in time to be able to compete on the track, it still wouldn't happen. One or both horses would be in the breeding shed, filling the pockets of syndication owners with stud-fee cash.
In the late '70s, breeding greed hadn't yet overtaken the industry. While Affirmed polished off Alydar in probably the greatest Triple Crown series ever, the Taylors of Seattle, Mickey and Karen, and their partner, Jim Hill, kept campaigning their horse Seattle Slew as a 4-year-old.
Slew would eventually turn out to be a great sire, fathering, among others, 1984 Kentucky Derby winner Swale and 1992 horse of the year A.P. Indy. But at age 4, there was still racing in his, and his owners', blood.
And so, on that day at Belmont Park, in the Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap, two Triple Crown winners loaded in the same gate for the first time.
Affirmed had battled Alydar for the Triple Crown and kept right on racing, losing only once that season, on a disqualification to Alydar. Seattle Slew had missed much of his '77 winter season because of a life-threatening ailment but had battled back and was pointed for this race. Affirmed owners Lou and Patrice Wolfson and trainer Laz Barrera were just as eager.
Affirmed's classic duels with Alydar probably influenced the betting line and made him the 1-5 favorite over Slew. Also, Affirmed would carry 124 pounds, four less than the older Slew, horse racing's weight-for-age tradition.
Also, there was more intrigue -- and the perception of less stability -- in the Seattle Slew camp going into the race.
