Career
An officially black filly of 17 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 by 15 lengths. She was on the 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. 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." Ruffian 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 won the Spinaway in a track record time of 1:08.03. The morning after the race, a stable hand found that she had left a lot of her food untouched. Whiteley examined the filly and noticed that her right hind leg was sensitive. He decided to have a veterinarian perform scans on her leg. It was discovered that she had a hairline fracture on her hind leg.
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 remain unbroken. The only exception is her Mother Goose Stakes record, which she raced in 1:47.80 and won by 131⁄2 lengths. Her record was beaten by Rachel Alexandra in 2009, who finished in 1:46.33 with a winning margin of 191⁄2 lengths.
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