The Ruffian Story

Between 1974 and '75, Ruffian competed ten times vs. fillies and dominated each race. Even at age 2, she broke track records and won two Eclipse Awards as the Outstanding Filly of her generation. At 3, she won the Acorn, Mother Goose and Coaching Club American Oaks, thus sweeping the Triple Crown for fillies, called the Triple Tiara.

She set stakes records and won 10 races - at the highest level of competition - by an astonishing 83 combined lengths. Veteran racegoers considered her the best they had ever seen. With no competition remaining in the filly division, a commercialized "match race" was set up against the best colt of the day, Kentucky Derby Winner Foolish Pleasure.

On July 6th, 1975, Ruffian's career, and indeed life, was to end just 35 seconds into the match race.   The 2 champions blazed head-and-head down the backstretch for almost three-eighth's of a mile when Ruffian began to assert herself, and steadily forged ahead.   This was a moment of critical importance.   In a match race, the horse which wrestles away the lead generally "breaks the will" of its competitor and races home to victory.  

But sadly, just steps after establishing her dominance, Ruffian took a bad step and broke down.   All efforts were made to save her that night, but failed.   She remains the only horse buried in the infield at Belmont Park racecourse in New York.

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