Ruffian (April 17, 1972 – July 7, 1975) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won ten consecutive races, including the Acorn, Mother Goose and Coaching Club American Oaks, then known as the American Triple Tiara. She was in the lead at every point of call in every race she ever ran and set new stakes records in each of the eight stakes races she won. Her dominating wins resulted in her being voted the American Champion filly at both ages two and three. In July 1975, she entered a highly anticipated match race with Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure, in which she broke down with two broken bones in her right foreleg. Surgery was attempted but Ruffian reacted poorly and exacerbated the injuries while coming out of anesthesia. As a result, she had to be euthanized.
Ruffian was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1976. The Blood-Horse magazine ranked her as the top filly or mare of the twentieth century in their list of the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century, and number 35 overall. Her story was told in the 2007 film Ruffian and numerous books.
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Background
Ruffian was foaled on April 17, 1972, at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky. She was bred by Stuart S. Janney Jr. and Barbara Phipps Janney, owners of Locust Hill Farm in Glyndon, Maryland. Barbara Janney was a cousin of prominent horseman Ogden Mills Phipps. Ruffian was sired by Reviewer, a son of the Phipps family's great sire Bold Ruler, and out of the Native Dancer mare Shenanigans. She was trained by Frank Y. Whiteley Jr.
Ruffian was a dark bay filly, often described as black or near-black. She stood 16.2 hands (66 inches, 168 cm) high, then considered quite large for a filly. Sportswriter Joe Hirsch called her the most imposing juvenile filly he'd ever seen. William Nack, author of Ruffian: A Racetrack Romance, wrote, "She looked like an outside linebacker." Ruffian used her early speed, size and strength to intimidate competition.
Racing career
Two-year-old season
Ruffian made her debut at Belmont Park on May 22, 1974, in a 5+1⁄2-furlong maiden special weight race, going off at odds of 4–1 in a field of ten. Breaking from post position nine, she went straight to the front while running the first quarter-mile in 221⁄5 seconds. She continued to open up her lead while rounding the turn, completing the half-mile in 45 seconds flat. She eventually won by 15 lengths and tied the track record in a time of 1:03 flat.
On June 12, Ruffian faced stiffer company in the 5+1⁄2-furlong Fashion Stakes, including two other undefeated fillies, Copernica and Jan Verzel. Despite the step up in class, Ruffian went off as the 2-5 favorite based on her earlier win. She again went to the lead with an opening quarter of 221⁄5 seconds with Copernica 1+1⁄2 lengths back. The margin remained the same through the half mile, run in 0:451⁄5, but Ruffian started to open up in the stretch. The final margin was 6+3⁄4 lengths to Copernica, with Jan Verzel a further 13 lengths back in third. Ruffian equaled her own track record of 1:03.
Ruffian made her third start on July 10 at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Astoria Stakes over a distance of 5+1⁄2 furlongs. Facing only three rivals, she went off as the 1-10 favorite with no show betting allowed. She established an early lead while running the first quarter in 0:214⁄5. Despite being eased in the final strides, she won by nine lengths in a time of 1:024⁄5, setting a new stakes record. She was just one-fifth of a second off the track record set by Raise A Native.
Her next start at Monmouth Park on July 27 in the Grade I Sorority Stakes would prove a greater challenge as she faced another top class filly called Hot n Nasty who, like Ruffian, had already earned multiple stakes wins. Ruffian went off as the 3-10 favorite with Hot n Nasty at 2–1. Ruffian broke a step slow but soon took the early lead, setting a "brutally fast" pace of 0:213⁄5 for the first quarter and 0:441⁄5 for the half. Hot n Nasty stayed in touch though and actually got a head in front near the top of the stretch. For the first time, jockey Jacinto Vásquez hit Ruffian with the whip. Ruffian responded by inching back into the lead, then finally drew away to win in a stakes record time of 1:09 for six furlongs. Hot n Nasty was 2+1⁄2 lengths back in second and the third place horse was 22 lengths behind.
The day after the race, Ruffian came down with a heavy cough. Vásquez also believed she had popped a splint in the race, which, although not a serious injury, was painful enough to take the edge off of most horses.
Three-year-old season
Ruffian started her three-year-old campaign on April 14 in a six-furlong allowance race at Aqueduct. Despite the long layoff, she was the prohibitive 1-10 favorite in a field of five. She took the lead after a few strides, then ran the opening quarter-mile in 23 seconds flat and the half in 0:454⁄5. She won by 4+3⁄4 lengths in a time of 1:09
2⁄5.
She followed up with a victory in the Comely Stakes at Aqueduct on April 30, winning despite a poor start by 7+3⁄4 lengths. Her time of 1:211⁄5 for 7 furlongs set a new stakes record and was just a second off Dr. Fager's track record. Going off at odds of 1-20 (the legal minimum), she created a minus pool of $36,064.
Ruffian was then targeted at the so-called Triple Tiara, the filly equivalent of the American Triple Crown. At the time, the series consisted of the Acorn Stakes, Mother Goose Stakes and Coaching Club American Oaks. In the Acorn Stakes on May 10 at Aqueduct, Ruffian was the 1-10 favorite. She was expected to face eight other fillies, but her two main rivals scratched before the race. Ruffian quickly went to the lead and won by 8+1⁄2 lengths in a stakes record time of 1:342⁄5 for one mile. "What can you say?" asked Vásquez. "She's just great and runs so easy. She had no competition."
On May 31, Ruffian entered the Mother Goose Stakes at Aqueduct as the 1-10 favorite in a field of seven. The start was marred when the filly to Ruffian's right, Dan's Commander, threw her rider. Ruffian was not disturbed and took the lead, running the first quarter-mile in a relatively slow 0:241⁄5. Running at her own pace, she completed the half in 0:473⁄5 while leading by 1+1⁄2 lengths then completed three-quarters in 1:113⁄5 with a two-length lead. Turning into the stretch, she started to draw away and eventually won by 13+1⁄2 lengths while setting a new stakes record of 1:474⁄5 for nine furlongs. "I didn't do anything but ride", said Vásquez.
In the Coaching Club American Oaks on June 21 at Belmont Park, she was again made the 1-10 favorite despite racing for the first time at a distance of 1+1⁄2 miles. She opened up a 6-length lead on the backstretch but the field closed on her during the far turn, getting as close as 1 length. In the stretch, Ruffian again pulled away to win by 2+3⁄4 lengths over Equal Change, with the third place horse a further nine lengths back. Her time of 2:274⁄5 tied the stakes record.
Racing statistics
An asterisk after the odds means Ruffian was the post-time favorite.
Aftermath
Ruffian's breakdown and death led to a public outcry for more humane treatment of racehorses. As it is natural for horses to thrash and kick when coming out of anesthesia, a "recovery pool" was developed so that they awaken suspended in warm water and don't re-injure themselves. Medications such as corticosteroids for inflammation and pain management came into common use. However, while helping the horses in the short term, the increased use of medications at the track had a disadvantage, as many more horses were raced while injured. The average number of starts per year steadily declined, though this may also be attributable to economic factors.
Ruffian's breeding may be considered at least partly to blame for her broken leg; her sire, Reviewer, suffered three breakdowns in his racing career. After his fourth and last breakdown, which occurred while in his paddock, he had to be euthanized after surgery. Shenanigans, Ruffian's dam, was euthanized following intestinal surgery on May 21, 1977, when she broke two legs while recovering from anesthetic. Ruffian's damsire, Native Dancer, is considered by some to be the purveyor of "soft boned" genetics, primarily through his brilliant but unsound son Raise a Native. Inbreeding to Raise a Native may have been a factor in the later breakdown of Eight Belles.
Later research by Susan Stover showed that catastrophic breakdowns were most often preceded by smaller stress fractures, though the fracture Ruffian experienced as a two-year-old was in a different leg. To help prevent similar tragedies, the industry has directed research into improved early detection, surgical techniques and rehabilitation methods.
Legacy
Ruffian posthumously earned the 1975 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Three-Year-Old Filly. In 1976, she was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The Blood-Horse magazine ranked her 35th in its list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century; she is the highest-rated filly (or mare) on the list. Sports Illustrated included her as the only non-human on their list of the top 100 female athletes of the century, ranking her 53rd.
In the summer of 1975, folk singer Joan Baez dedicated a version of the song "Stewball" to Ruffian.
Since 1976, the Ruffian Handicap has been run in Ruffian's honor. Until 2009, the race had been held at Belmont Park (on Long Island, New York), but it was moved upstate to Saratoga Race Course in 2010. In 2014, the Ruffian Handicap was moved back to Belmont Park.
The Ruffian Equine Medical Center, now known as Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists, opened on May 26, 2009. It cost $18 million to build and is located outside Gate 8 of Belmont Park. The facility offers a wide range of services ranging from acute care for race related injuries to preventative care and farrier consultations.
Ruffian has many nicknames, such as "Queen of the Fillies", "Queen of the Century", "Queen of Racing", "Queen of the Track", "Filly of the Century", "The Super Filly", the "Black Terror" and more. Several books about her have been published, including Ruffian, Burning from the Start, Ruffian, A Racetrack Romance, Ruffian: Horse Racing's Black Beauty, and The Licorice Daughter, My Year with Ruffian.
In Lexington, Kentucky, the road into the Masterson Station Park is named "Ruffian Way" and a monument in her honor can be found inside the park. It reads, "This memorial erected in memory of Ruffian, dark bay thoroughbred filly. We were young when she died, too young to remember her with the greats of other eras. Yet to love grace and perfection is ours because we are human and none felt her loss more painfully than we. The Children of Lexington – 1975"
In Japan, the horse owner club Thoroughbred Club Ruffian is named after the horse, as the founder, Shigeyuki Okada, is said to have met the horse when he was training in the United States.
Pedigree
Ruffian was by Reviewer, a talented racehorse who was injured in each of the three seasons he raced. In a short career at stud, he sired two outstanding fillies, Ruffian and Revidere, but failed to sire a son capable of continuing his line.
Shenanigans had three wins in 22 starts for the Janneys and later became a broodmare. In addition to Ruffian, Shenanigans produced graded stakes winner and sire Icecapade, the filly Laughter, who produced several stakes winners, and Buckfinder, a stakes winner and sire. Shenanigans was named the 1975 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year.