On Sunday at Emerald Downs, the $50,000 Seattle Slew Handicap will be run for the 38th straight season. It was first presented in 1977, and if the year rings a bell, it should. Seattle Slew was very much in the news that summer as the 10th winner of the American Triple Crown. It seemed only right that Seattle Slew’s adopted city of Seattle celebrated the event. Longacres Racetrack – the precursor of Emerald Downs – was home base for Seattle Slew’s co-owners Mickey and Karen Taylor. Not since the unveiling of the Boeing 747 had the city received so much attention, and all because of Seattle Slew. The only thing that could top what the colt had already done for the Northwest was for him to put in a personal appearance. So, he did. With the promise of a $100,000 donation to veterinary research by Longacres management, the Taylors and partners Jim and Sally Hill agreed to bring Mohammed to the mountain. Seattle Slew was fresh off the first loss of his life in the July 2 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park. But that did nothing to discourage huge crowds from showing up at Longacres on July 8 and 9. Then, on July 10, the first running of the Seattle Slew Handicap was split into two divisions won by Eagle Ki and Mr. Farr. Now that American Pharoah has provided living proof that the Triple Crown still can be won, it will be up to the sport to enshrine his memory as permanently as possible. Pharoah will do his part by running a few more times, if the fates allow, and beyond that, his sons and daughters will carry the flame. Still, there will be any number of ways in which to honor his achievement, and not simply by putting his face on a Wheaties box. Okay, that would be cool. Naming a significant race for a Triple Crown winner would seem to be a no-brainer. At one time or another there were Citation Handicaps run at Washington Park, Hollywood Park, and Golden Gate Fields. The Secretariat Stakes has been a mainstay at Arlington Park since 1974, the year after Big Red retired. At Pimlico, the Sir Barton Stakes was a regular feature of the Preakness Day card but then dropped off the map, only to be resurrected as the Barbaro. Gulfstream runs an Affirmed Stakes as part of the Florida Sire Stakes, while Hollywood Park’s Affirmed was snapped up by Santa Anita and won this year by American Pharoah’s stablemate Gimme Da Lute. New York once had a corner on naming races for Triple Crown winners. This is only fitting since a win in the Belmont Stakes is required for canonization. There was the Gallant Fox, the Assault, the Whirlaway, and the Count Fleet, but now they are all gone, victims of a modern racing-department culture to imprint more current whims upon traditional races. (To be fair, there is an Alydar Stakes run at Saratoga, celebrating the ability of a horse to finish second in all three Triple Crown races.) War Admiral, Secretariat, Affirmed, Seattle Slew, Citation, and Whirlaway all had collectible Breyer horses issued in honor of their Triple Crown status, while Gallant Fox and Sir Barton have been immortalized with Breyer Christmas tree ornaments. Count Fleet, Assault, and Omaha for some reason did not make the Breyer bandwagon, but at least all 11 Triple Crown winners prior to American Pharoah can be found enshrined in the Thoroughbred Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. If you prefer something more substantial – other than a street called Sir Barton Way running through the Hamburg Place shopping complex in Lexington, Ky., not far from where he was foaled – there is, in fact, a statue of Sir Barton at Audley Farm, where he spent time as a stallion before he was dispatched to the U.S. Army’s remount division in Kansas. When it comes to immortalization in bronze, the John Skeaping statue of Secretariat in the Belmont paddock sets the standard. The Citation statue by Thomas Famiglietti at Hialeah Park has been a beloved icon since its unveiling in 1965, and with its recent restoration, it is being appreciated anew. Other monuments adorn the grave sites of Triple Crown winners, including statues of Affirmed at Darley (formerly Jonabell) in Lexington and Seattle Slew at Hill n’ Dale Farm, just down the road. Sir Barton ended up in Douglas, Wyo., where his remains were buried beneath a life-size bronze in Washington Park. Assault was taken home to his birthplace at King Ranch in Texas. Citation and Whirlaway are buried at Calumet Farm. Count Fleet is at Stoner Farm in Lexington, not far from War Admiral, who is at the Kentucky Horse Park beside his sire, Man o’ War. Secretariat and Gallant Fox are among the notables in the Claiborne Farm cemetery, while Omaha, a son of Gallant Fox, is in Omaha, Neb., reportedly beneath a parking lot at what was once Ak-Sar-Ben Racetrack. He is more appropriately remembered with a bust and monument in a nearby park. In the end, when it comes to the Triple Crown, there is nothing better than living memories, which is why on Sunday at Emerald Downs, the Taylors will be on hand, as is their custom, to serve as honorary stewards for the Seattle Slew Handicap and then present the winning trophy. Three of the entrants – Fire the Trainer, John’s Not Bluffin and Gloria’s Angel – trace directly to Seattle Slew through his sons A.P. Indy and Avenue of Flags. This does not exactly give them a head-start, but having a Triple Crown winner in the blood never hurts.