“Of all the horses I’ve sketched from life and painted in depth, the most memorable are:…Seattle Slew, at Belmont, at the Kentucky Derby, and again at Belmont. I sketched Seattle Slew outside the barn at Belmont Park’s stable area. He was standing in conformation (and Seattle Slew has great conformation), something that means more to the horseman than it does to me; I get the sense of form, grace, and beauty from the silhouette and the movement. When I draw a person, hairstyling is important to define the subject’s character and silhouette; the same holds true for horses. Seattle Slew’s mane begins with bangs over his forehead and his tail is almost as long as that of the great horse, Whirlaway. Solid in color, Seattle Slew’s dark coat flattens out his form when he stands still, but after running, when he glistens with sweat, his muscles are highlighted and his powerful form becomes evident. I had Seattle Slew affix his signature to this drawing. His hoofprint is in the lower right corner just over my signature.” — LeRoy Neiman, Horses, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1979. pg. 21 Seattle Slew embodies the American Dream — a $17,500 yearling purchase who became a Triple Crown winner and earner of more than $1,200,000. His story threads its way from his colorful Kentucky breeder Ben Castleman to the two young couples who owned and raced him — Mickey and Karen Taylor and Dr. Jim and Sally Hill — then finally to the stallion operations of Spendthrift and Three Chimneys farms, where he achieved renown as a major sire.