Seattle Slew always had a sense of timing.

Winner of the 1977 Triple Crown and sire of more than 100 stakes winners, the big black stallion died Tuesday 25 years to the day after his victory in the Kentucky Derby.

For the first time since Sir Barton won the Derby, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 1919, there is no living Triple Crown winner stabled anywhere in the world.

A big gangly yearling who turned into a muscular colt with “blinding speed and burning determination,” Seattle Slew died in his stall at the advanced age of 28. He was buried an hour later, beneath a statue in a courtyard at Hill ‘n’ Dale, a 319-acre farm near Lexington, Ky.

Slew, as he was affectionately known, was the only horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated and his three-year racing career produced 14 wins in 17 races and earnings of $1,208,726.

“He was the most complete thoroughbred the industry has seen,” owner Mickey Taylor said. “He just kept raising the bar with every record he broke.”

Bought for a bargain-basement $17,500 by Taylor, a former lumberman from Washington, and former partner Jim Hill, Slew sired 102 stakes winners. They include 1984 Kentucky Derby winner Swale, A.P. Indy, Capote and Slew o’ Gold, and have earned more than $75 million in purses.

Affirmed, who became the 11th and last Triple Crown winner in 1978, died in January 2001 at 26.

Battling the ravages of arthritis, Slew had two spinal fusion operations the past two years, the most recent in March. He was moved from Three Chimneys in Midway, Ky., his home for nearly 17 years, to the quieter Hill ‘n’ Dale on April 1. Taylor said the change was made because Slew was too close to the breeding shed and it caused him to become agitated when mares arrived.

In his final months, the stallion was a bit wobbly because of the second operation. The first one, the owner said, “saved his life.”

As word spread of Slew’s death, floral arrangements began arriving at Hill ‘n’ Dale, with cards reading: “For Slew” and “For the Taylors.”

“He had the greatest heart. He was a fighter to the end,” Taylor’s wife, Karen, said.