Ruffian: Queen of The Track Trivia Quiz

Answer: Claiborne Farm

The daughter of Shenanigans and Reviewer, I was born at Claiborne Farm at 9:50 PM on April 17, 1972, in Paris, Kentucky. During my first year, I ran and played with the other yearlings on the farm.

When I was a year old, my breeders and owners, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Janney, sent me to their Locust Hill Farm, and there I was trained to be a racehorse. I was placed in the care of Frank Whiteley, Jr. and, under his care and training, I flourished.

Answer: 15 lengths

Under the care and attention that Mr. Whitely gave me, I came into my own. I knew I was a racehorse, and I knew that I had what it took to win. During 1973, I grew tall, 17 hands high, and I gained a lot of weight. When I came out for my maiden race, people laughed at me and said I was too fat to race! I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Just because my girth measured 75 and a half inches didn't mean I couldn't run fast. I decided to show those non-believers.

My maiden race was set for May 22, 1974, at the Belmont racetrack. It was called the Maiden Special and was five and half furlongs. I broke out from the gate and bounded into the lead...no other filly could catch me! I easily won the race by 15 lengths and tied the track record for five and a half furlongs, and I did it in one minute and three seconds flat! I was told no other two-year-old had ever done what I did in his or her maiden race. I guess I showed those non-believers!

Answer: Sorority Stakes

After winning my maiden race, Mr. Whiteley decided that I was good enough to race in stakes. My first stakes race, which was held on June 12, 1974 at Belmont, was the Fashion Stakes and was five and half furlongs. I won that race by 6 and 3/4 lengths and tied my maiden race time of one minute and three seconds. My rider, Jacinto Vasquez, was very proud of me and called me "his girl". I loved that because it made me feel special!

My second stakes race was the Astoria Stakes and was held on July 10, 1974, at the Aqueduct racetrack in Jamaica, New York, and was also five and half furlongs. My jockey this time was Vince Bracciale, Jr., as my favorite rider, Jacinto, was grounded. I won the Astoria Stakes by nine lengths, and it took me one minute and two seconds to run the race!

After two stakes victories, Mr. Whiteley decided to enter me in the Sorority Stakes. It was held on July 27, 1974, in Oceanport, New Jersey, at the Monmouth racetrack. This was my first six-furlong race and my fiercest competitor for this race was Hot N Nasty. Riding me was Jacinto Vasquez, my favorite jockey. When the bell sounded, I shot through the starting gate and took the lead. Hot N Nasty gave me a good race, but in the end I won the race by 2 and 1/4 lengths in one minute and nine seconds, which was a new stakes record! Mr. Whiteley was so proud of me. I held my head up high and cantered to the winner's circle.

Answer: Eclipse Award

My fourth stakes race was the Spinaway Stakes over six furlongs. It was held on August 23, 1974, at the Saratoga racetrack in Saratoga Springs, New York. My regular rider, Jacinto Vasquez, was once again grounded for reckless riding; so my jockey for this race was Vince Bracciale, Jr. I set a new racing record when I won the Spinaway Stakes by 13 lengths in one minute and eight seconds! I couldn't believe I set another record! I was so fast that racing fans began calling me "Superfilly". They said no other horse was as fast as I was!

Mr. Whiteley, who was always proud of me, entered me in two more races, the Frizette Stakes and the Champagne Stakes. I was exercised off and on until the morning of the Frizette. That morning I didn't feel too well, and didn't feel like eating all of my food. Mr. Whiteley took my temperature and discovered I was running a fever. He had me checked out and it was discovered that I had a hairline fracture in my right hind leg. The veterinarians put a hard cast on my leg, but I hated that thing! It impeded my movement and made me walk funny; I protested big time. Mr. Whiteley and the veterinarians decided to put a soft pillow cast on my leg. I had to keep the cast on for eight weeks, but because of my injury I never raced in the Frizette Stakes or the Champagne Stakes.

In January 1975, Mr. Whiteley flew to San Francisco because I was awarded the Eclipse Award for best two-year-old filly. I was so happy! I couldn't believe I was considered the best! Then I heard that if I had finished my season, I would have won the award for Horse of The Year. I didn't care about that, I was just so happy that I won an award!

Answer: Yates Kennedy

On April 13, 1975, I was breezed for the first time. What this means is that I was worked at a moderate speed, with less effort than I normally would have been worked. Under the guidance of Yates Kennedy, the man who was responsible for breezing me, I ran three furlongs in 33-4/5 seconds! Mr. Whiteley was so impressed that he decided to enter me in an Allowance race, which was set for the next day.

The Allowance race was held on April 14, 1975, at the Aqueduct racetrack, and it was six furlongs. My rider was Jacinto, my favorite. I didn't set a new racing record, but I won the race by 4 and 3/4 lengths in one minute and nine seconds. It was said that if the trainers of the other fillies knew I was going to race, they wouldn't have entered their fillies!

Answer: A jockey rode up behind me and let out a shriek.

After I won the Allowance race, Mr. Whiteley entered me in the Comely Stakes. The race was held at the Aqueduct racetrack on April 30, 1975, and it was seven furlongs...my longest race yet! My rider, Jacinto, led me to victory, despite the fact that another jockey by the name of Angel Cordero, Jr., decided he was going to try to beat me. Cordero went so far as to ride his horse behind me and let out a shriek that was so loud it startled me! He got what he wanted...he scared me so much that I ran even faster, and set a new racing record when I won the race in one minute and twenty-one seconds; but even though I won the race I continued to run for another mile...but I never broke a sweat!

I learned later, though, that I accomplished something at the Comely Stakes that no other horse, including Secretariat (the half brother of my father Reviewer), has never been able to do...I created a minus win pool at both the track and off track betting. My fans bet so much money on me to win, that the track was forced to pay out more than it received. Wow, did I feel special!

Answer: 8 and 1/4 lengths

After I won the Comely Stakes, Mr. Whiteley decided to enter me in the NYRA Filly Triple Crown, also known as the "Triple Tiara". The Acorn Stakes was held at the Aqueduct racetrack on May 10, 1975, and it was one mile long. Some people didn't think I would be able to win, but win I did! I set a new racing record when I won the race by 8 and 1/4 lengths, and did it in one minute and thirty-four seconds!

After winning the Kentucky Derby riding Foolish Pleasure, Jacinto, the jockey for both Foolish Pleasure and me, was asked by a reporter how soon he would be back in New York. Jacinto said that he would be back at the barn on Monday morning. The reporter asked him which barn, and Jacinto replied, "What barn? Mr. Whiteley's barn! I don't never like to stay too far away from Ruffian!" When I heard that, my heart raced, for I knew he really did love me!

Answer: Jacinto Vasquez

After I won the Acorn Stakes, I went on to race in the second leg of NYRA Filly Triple Crown. The Mother Goose Stakes was held at the Aqueduct racetrack on May 31, 1975. It was 1 and 1/8 mile long, and my rider was Jacinto. I was led to victory without breaking a sweat and set a new racing record, when I won the race by 13 and 1/2 lengths in one minute and forty-seven seconds!

On June 21, 1975, I was entered in the Coaching Club American Oaks, the third leg of the Filly Triple Crown. It was held at Belmont and was 1 and 1/2 miles long; Jacinto was told by Mr. Whitely to rate me in this race, and he did! I won the race by 2 and 3/4 lengths in two minutes and twenty-seven seconds. I didn't set a new racing record, but I equaled it!

I was told that I followed Dark Mirage, who won the crown in 1968, Shuvee, who won in 1969, and Chris Evert, who won in 1974. I was the fourth filly to ever win the Filly Triple Crown...and it was said that I would go down in racing history as the greatest filly ever to step foot on the track. Looking back, I can't believe how prophetic those words were.

Answer: Pressure from news magazines, who were writing columns stating that unless the colts were measured against me, that the colts didn't have a claim to the title of three-year champion.

After I won the NYRA Filly Triple Crown, Mr. Whiteley came to my stall and told me how proud he was of me. A few days later, it was announced that the New York Racing Association was going to hold a "Race of Champions" at Belmont, which was tentatively set for June 31, 1975, and was to include the champions from the three American classics, Avatar, Master Derby and Foolish Pleasure. The Racing Association didn't include me, as I was only a filly. This hurt my feelings very much, as I was every bit the champion that those colts were!

When the American people discovered that I wasn't going to be in the race, news magazines began writing editorials. One such editorial by "Blood-Horse" magazine stated, "Until these colts are measured against Ruffian, none of them has much of a claim on the title of three-year-old champion. Right now we do not believe that - even to escape a swarm of Brazil's hybrid African honeybees - any of these could catch up with Stuart Janney's big filly." With the pressure mounting and all of the editorials being written, the New York Racing Association decided to invite me to race. Of course, this happened after Avatar was sent back to California. Mr. Whiteley didn't want me to race, he said I would be under too much strain racing against the boys; he finally relented after my owners asked him to let me race.

The race was to include me, Master Derby and Foolish Pleasure; however, a few days before the race, Master Derby dropped out and the race became a match race. Mr. Whiteley didn't like this, and neither did Jacinto, who was forced to choose between Foolish Pleasure and me. Jacinto picked me. The Match Race, which had an angle of "boy versus girl", was set for July 6, 1975, at Belmont, and was to be 1 and a 1/4 miles long. The morning of the Match Race, I felt a little frisky, something I never felt before a race. I ate all of my food and enjoyed a good rub down. I was exercised that day and thoroughly checked over. Mr. Whiteley said I was in perfect condition, and I agreed with him! I was eager to get to the track and race.

Shortly before the race began, I was given my colors and the number one. With Jacinto sitting on me, I broke through the gate when the bell sounded. Foolish Pleasure was ahead...the first time anyone was ever ahead of me! I bore down and caught up with him. At first I was even with him, then I started to pass him, first by a nose, then by a half length. Just as I was ready to pass him by a length, I felt the most agonizing pain shoot up my right front leg! It felt like someone was severing my hoof. The pain was so unbearable that all I could think of was to run! I ran for 50 more yards, grinding my hoof into the dirt and exposing my bone, before I let Jacinto pull me up. The crowd was silent and when I looked down, all I saw was blood; it was everywhere...on me, the ground and on Jacinto. The pain was so bad that I tried to rear when the horse ambulance came and the veterinarians loaded me in the ambulance.

Answer: Shortly after 2:00 AM

After I was loaded into the ambulance, I was taken across the street to the horse hospital. There, the veterinarians worked all through the night to repair the broken sesamoid bones in my right front leg. During the operation, my heart stopped twice and I was able to see the magical colors of the rainbow, and see all the animals that had passed on. Just as I was headed to the bridge, I was pulled back.

Upon awakening from the anesthesia, I was so disoriented and thought I was still racing. I thrashed around violently and tore the cast off my leg, and in the process I broke my right front leg again and also broke my left front leg. It was decided that I was in too much pain and that I wouldn't be able to survive another operation. I was put to sleep shortly after 2:00 AM on July 7, 1975.

I was buried that same day in the infield at Belmont, with my nose pointing toward the finish line. It has been said that I "died on the lead". I really didn't have to run in the Match Race to prove myself, as I was already a champion.

Looking back here at Rainbows Bridge, the place where all the animals that have died await the arrival of their owners, I know that if I hadn't broken down I would have won that race...I know...I just know.