Ruffian
It was 26 years ago on July 6, 1975, that the great filly Ruffian broke down in a match race against Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure. Until that point she was undefeated in 10 starts against the fillies, all of them wire to wire victories. She won at distances from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/2 miles running away from her competition easily by as much as 15 lengths. No other filly could even come close to challenging her as she powered away from them with speed to spare. Her undoing was in a much publicized match race with Foolish Pleasure which was given much hype and was broadcast live on TV. I remember watching it in horror as she broke down after the first half mile and crying when they had to put her down the next day after a failed attempt to repair the broken ankle. She was something special and most who saw her will never forget her.
On the 25th anniversary of the match race, ESPN Classic broadcast a special about Ruffian which was the first time since it happened that a replay of the the race with footage of the breakdown and injury was shown. It featured her entire career including the match race and the efforts to save her and included interviews with many of the people involved. The program will air again on September 5th and 6th of 2001 on ESPN Classic so set your VCR if you missed it the first time!
- September 5
- Sportscenter Flashbacks: Ruffian, 7:00-8:00pm EDT, ESPN Classic
- September 6
- Sportscenter Flashbacks: Ruffian, 3:00-4:00am EDT, ESPN Classic
- Sportscenter Flashbacks: Ruffian, 11:00am-12:00pm EDT, ESPN Classic
More Ruffian info:
- Her lifetime past performances from DRF
- ESPN article about the new TV special
- Fan site with TONS or photos (must use Internet Explorer for the photos to work)
- Fan site with lots of info, nicely done
- Her biography with photos and video from the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame
- Her biography from Thoroughbred Champions
- Biography from Equine Heroes
- Biography from CNNSI where she was selected #53 in the 100 greatest female athletes ever
- Her pedigree with a nice photo
- Quotes from various sources about Ruffian
- Photos for sale from Thoroughbred Memories
- Prints for sale by Jenness Cortez, 3 different pictures one of which is available on a t-shirt
- Ruffian items on Ebay - always a few there
- Ruffian: Burning from the Start by Jane Schwartz from Amazon.com, very nice book
