1977 Wood Memorial - Seattle Slew

[SWALE1984]

This is an excellent video. Thanks for posting. Check out GRIT AND VALOR: THE STORY OF SWALE, to read about one of SLEW'S greatest sons.

[DanielSong39]

Races like these make me wonder whether Seattle Slew was actually underrated as a racehorse.

Sure, his times may not have been that great, but just look at the track conditions and how the races play out... it's obvious that he is a very fast horse. He is consistent and seems to win so easily!

He may not have won the Belmont by 31 lengths while running on concrete but he did just about everything else. A champion for the ages!

[rscarbro100]

@DanielSong39 i hate to get on here & correct your mis-statements concerning Secretariat. Where in the hell do you get that Belmont was a concrete track when Secretariat ran it in 1973?? You make up shit without any proof whatsoever. Andrew Beyer, Steve Christ & Watchamaker figured his speed figure using a .08 to .09 variant. No 'ONE' during the race before or after ever stated that track was lightning fast. You really get my goat.

[rscarbro100]

@DanielSong39 For your information it is well documented that Cruguet make the statement that Slew probably was not the best horse ever & Angel Cordero said Secretariat was the best he ever seen. Secretariat ran a workout in 'MUD' much faster than Slew did here in this race in 1:47 4/5 'Pullin Up' the last furlong. Eddie Arcaro has seen Slew And as you know he said Secretariat was the fastest damm horse he ever seen. Sad But you Secretariat haters will not admit it.

[rscarbro100]

@DanielSong39 It is also a fact that Slew never left the experts shaking their heads like Secretariat did. Its the same with you guys withe the Marlboro Cup race where Whitney Tower Sportswriter for SI who was there said the track was 'Wet Fast' But you jonnycomelatelys want to make everyone think it was a lightning fast track. You were proven wrong once more. You just can't get by with it. How in the hell can a horse can impress you so much when he never could run a 1 1/4 mile under 2 minutes.

[horseluver4eva2]

OMG!! My friends horse Slew is related to him. I think He is her dad or somthin but so is Jayde Manly and Adora are all related to him!!

[jess4metoo]

When did Dave Johnson start saying ...And down the stretch they come!...? He didn't say it here and I noticed he doesn't say it on Slews Champagne either.

[4seaver1]

Check the 1972 Travers from Saratoga. His famous "down the stretch they come" call is there. :)

[jess4metoo]

Just curious. I thought it was his trademark.  Thanks!

[davemock]

He used it sparingly - and more as a mention rather than an oration - during his NYRA years from 1972 to 1977. It became more pronounced when he started doing more network gigs.

[Arps103]

He said it once in a while when he called at NYRA, but it he didint use it all the time until he joined abc in the late 1970s

[aftersh0ck]

I have Seattle Slew's book and after this race Cruguet said that Slew was really tired but he didnt want to let it out to the media because there will be more horses enter the derby if he said that.

[alan1199]

When did Dave Johnson join ABC?

[AwsiDooger]

I'll paste a section of his biography on IMBD:

"Johnson, who grew up in the St. Louis area, spent five years (1972-77) as the track announcer for Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga racetracks in New York State, also doing a local TV racing show with Charlsie Cantey and Frank Wright. Johnson and Cantey followed Wright (a CBS Sports mainstay) to the big time in 1978, with Johnson calling his first Derby for ABC-TV and Cantey reporting her first Belmont Stakes for CBS."

[alan1199]

Thanks! Alot of people don't know that he worked for NBC in the early 80's

[davemock]

I am unsure whether or not this 1977 Wood (which Johnson called for NYRA too) is his first national race call for a TV network.

I know there is a clip on YouTube of his 1976 Marlboro call ("Forego on the outside, Forego on the outside!), to which CBS had the national TV rights. But I don't know if that is the CBS-TV broadcast, or if that version aired on the Channel 9 NYRA replay show and CBS brought up their racing sportscaster Chic Anderson to Elmont, Long Island to call it.

[WaltGekko]

@AwsiDooger Exactly. Dave Johnson was the regular track announcer for the NYRA tracks at the time of the Wood before moving later that year to The Meadowlands, where he would become better known for.

[BE109]

When you let a horse like the Slew lope along in 1:12&change,you might as well pull your horse up. Because Mister you are NOT going to catch him. He got a nice easy race just before the Derby. That is what you want,no one remembers the Wood winner if he bombs in the Derby!

[SWALE1984]

AWESOME PERFORMANCE! Seattle Slew was the greatest!

[jumptheoxer]

Thanks for sharing the video. Does anyone know if ABC had a camera on the infield for the backstretch shots? If you watch the vid at about the 0:49 to about the 1:01 mark it clearly is not the typical long range camera shot from the grandstands.

[terjer01]

You can see the ABC camera clearly at 1:03, it's on a platform inside the inner dirt rail near that white circular 1/2 mile call when 1 Mile & 70 yd races are run, abt. 950 yds. to the finish wire.

[davemock]

Judging from the font each time the fractions were posted, the video comes from an ABC Sports broadcast. Great to see.

[cf1970]

Slew dominates again...as usual. I agree, Cruguet very obviously rode Slew much more conservatively and strategically here to prime him for the Derby. A fine job by his handlers.

Surprising to read the it was the only race on the main track that day and sixth of that year. Slew handled it like the champ he is.

5 Stars and straight to my favourites.

Thank you.

[WaltGekko]

@cf1970 That is true about it being the lone race on the main track that day. That winter (1976-'77) was the coldest on record and the first that NYRA had the inner track. From what I read, NYRA had many problems getting the main track ready then, and is was far from the first time they had problems with the main oval following a harsh winter (1982, '84, '93, and 2003 also come to mind), and why NYRA now stays on the inner at Aqueduct until the end of March.