Ruffian

Ruffian (April 17, 1972–July 7, 1975) was an American champion thoroughbred racehorse. Ruffian is considered by many to be the greatest female racehorse in history. Ruffian is among the greatest U.S. racehorses of all time. Her story was told in 2007 film Ruffian. An almost coal black filly of 17 and a half hands, Ruffian was foaled 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. Ruffian was sired by the Phipps family's Bold Ruler stallion, Reviewer, and out of the Native Dancer mare Shenanigans. As a yearling and 2-year old, Ruffian was trained by Frank Y. Whiteley, Jr..

She earned the nickname "Queen of the Fillies" after being voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Two-Year-Old Filly in 1974 and winning the Filly Triple Crown (now called the Triple Tiara) in 1975. Ruffian was undefeated in her first ten races, covering distances from 5.5 furlongs (1.1 km) to 1.5 miles (2.4 km) with an average winning margin of 81/3 lengths. She won her maiden race in record time and by 15 lengths. She was on lead at every point of call in every race she ever ran. She set a new stakes record in each of the eight stakes races which she won. She had also equaled two track records. If she didn't set track or stakes record, she equaled them. Ruffian's jockey Jacinto Vasquez was asked in an interview if it was hard to get in the lead at the beginning of races. He replied, "No, Ruffian sets her own pace and gets there on her own, even with other jockeys getting their fillies to try and push and knock her". That would explain why she always had such slow starts. Ruffian had won the Sorority Stakes (setting a new stakes record) on a freshly popped splint, which, although not a serious injury, was painful, and enough to take the edge off of most horses.

Ruffian had won the Spinaway by many lengths in a final time of 1:08.03, and in the process ran the fastest 6 furlongs ever run by any two year old filly or colt at Saratoga; her time is still unequaled. The next morning after the race, a stable hand found that Ruffian had left a lot of her food untouched. Whiteley, knowing that Ruffian would never leave so much food, checked her over, and found that her right hind leg was sensitive. He decided to have a veterinarian perform scans on her leg. It was discovered by the veterinarian that she had partially fractured her hind leg, a hair-line fracture. Whiteley knew then that it had happened when she was racing down the stretch, as he recalled her having an uneven stride not even 3 lengths off the finish line.

Whiteley was interviewed about the fracture and asked if it were true that it happened during the race. He answered, "It did happen during the race, she was just a couple of strides from the wire". When asked why he thought Ruffian was not showing any signs of being hurt until the next day, he replied, "She is a very tough filly, and doesn't like to show any weaknesses". All but one of Ruffian's records still stand untouched today. The only exception was her Mother Goose Stakes record, which she raced in 1:47.80 and won by 131/2 lengths. Her record has only been beaten by Rachel Alexandra in 2009, who finished in 1:46.33 with a winning margin of 191/2 lengths.

Ruffian's eleventh race was run at Belmont Park on July 6, 1975. It was a match race between Ruffian and that year's Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure. In the past, the two horses had shared the same jockey, Jacinto Vasquez. Vasquez chose to ride Ruffian in the match race, believing her to be the better of the two horses; Braulio Baeza rode Foolish Pleasure. The "equine battle of the sexes" was heavily anticipated and attended by more than 50,000 spectators, with an estimated television audience of 20 million.

As she left the starting gate she hit her shoulder hard, straightened herself, and they were off and running. The first quarter-mile (402 m) was run in a blazing 221/5 seconds, with Ruffian ahead by a nose. Little more than 1 furlong (201 m) later, Ruffian was in front by half a length when both sesamoid bones in her right foreleg snapped. Vasquez tried to pull her up, but the filly wouldn't stop. She went on running, pulverizing her sesamoids, ripping the skin of her fetlock, tearing her ligaments until her hoof was flopping uselessly.

Vasquez said it was impossible for him to stop her. She still tried to run and finish the race.

She was immediately attended to by a team of four veterinarians and an orthopedic surgeon, and underwent an emergency operation lasting three hours. When the anesthesia wore off after the surgery, she thrashed about wildly on the floor of a padded recovery stall as if still running in the race. Despite the efforts of numerous attendants, she began spinning in circles on the floor. As she flailed about with her legs, she repeatedly knocked the heavy plaster cast against her own elbow until the elbow, too, was smashed to bits. The vet that treated her said that her elbow was shattered and looked like a piece of ice after being smashed on the ground.[1] The cast slipped, and as it became dislodged it ripped open her foreleg all over again, undoing the surgery. The medical team, knowing that she would probably not survive more extensive surgery for the repair of her leg and elbow, euthanized her shortly afterward.

Even Foolish Pleasure's trainer, Leroy Jolley, said that he assumed Ruffian would win the match race before it was arranged; Ruffian's speed/time records and winning margins were by far better than Foolish Pleasure's. Even though Foolish Pleasure "won" the match race, almost everyone concedes that Ruffian would have won. Before she broke down, she always led the field by over half a length, and once there no one ever passed her; she would not allow it, as demonstrated in her Sorority race when she refused to let Hot n' Nasty by her, even though she suffered from a freshly popped splint.

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 awake 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 downside, as many more horses were raced while injured. It was argued within the sport that thoroughbreds became more delicate as a result of inbreeding, starting racing too young, and racing while injured

Ruffian's bloodline 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, obtained while in his paddock, he had to be euthanized after operation.[2][4][5] Shenanigans, Ruffian's dam, broke two legs during her life, and was euthanized following intestinal surgery May 21, 1977. Ruffian's damsire, Native Dancer is often considered to be the purveyor of "soft boned" genetics

Ruffian is buried near a flag pole in the infield of Belmont Park, with her nose pointed toward the finish line.

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 ranked Ruffian 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, and the only female horse on both lists (best female, best horse). By virtue of that ranking, she lays claim to the title "Filly of the Century." Sports Illustrated included her as the only non-human on their list of the top 100 female athletes of the century, ranking her 53rd.

Ruffian's ranking of #35 on the top 100 U.S racehorses of the 20th century, makes her the highest ranked female on the list, meaning she was the greatest female racehorse out of those 100 years.

Since 1976, the Ruffian Handicap has been run in Ruffian's honor. Until 2009, the race was held at Belmont Park but was moved to Saratoga Race Course in 2010.

The Ruffian Equine Medical Center was opened on May 26, 2009. It cost $18 million and is located outside Gate 8 of Belmont Park. Inside the facility, specialists work to solve problems before they become major issues, such as a colt showing lameness that can be diagnosed and cured before he makes the track, perhaps providing such an animal a chance to do his job and even have a good life beyond the track.

Ruffian is not just one of the greatest female thoroughbred racehorses in history but one of the greatest racehorses of either gender. The trainer of Secretariat, Lucien Laurin, said this to the press, "As God as my witness, she may even be better than Secretariat."

Ruffian has many titles, such as: "Queen Of The Fillies", "Queen Of The Century", "Queen Of Racing", "Queen Of The Track", "Filly Of The Century", "The Super Filly" and so on. Ruffian has gone down in history as not just the greatest female racehorse ever, but one of the greatest racehorses to have ever set four hooves on the track.