Ruffian's Breakdown Recalls Barbaro

When it was recently revealed Barbaro, this year's Kentucky Derby winner, had been euthanized because of leg problems, it put me in mind of the sensational 3-year-old filly, Ruffian, who sparkled in 1978.

She also had been put to sleep after shattering her right front ankle in a match race at Belmont Park. Unlike Barbaro, however, who fought it out for nine months before passing on, Ruffian was put to sleep after only an overnight battle.

That highly unusual filly, it may be remembered, was a 3-year-old unbeaten in all of her career starts. She sustained her tragic injury in a subsequent match race against Foolish Pleasure, that year's Kentucky Derby winner. Ruffian broke down after leading the first quarter-mile with a blazing 0:22 1/8 second run.

With a crack rider, Braulio Baeza, Foolish Pleasure, with no one to challenge him, went on to an easy-does-it win in the nationally televised race. In contrast, the injured Ruffian was carted off the tracks. She was euthanized the next morning. She had fought off handlers in coming out of surgery and re-injured her badly damaged underpinning.

The filly's tragic ending resulted in lagging interest by promoters to stage match races. Small tracks, as well as large ones, had played host to such dual clashes since 1822, when the first such contest was held on a long-gone track in the nation's capital.

The meeting between Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure was considered by Belmont Park officials as a made-to-order attraction. The filly had been unbeatable, always able to take the lead leaving the starting gate and retaining it to the finish line.

Both horses had top-of-the-line jockeys guiding them. Jacinto Vasquez, the regular rider of the two horses, had chosen to guide Ruffian. Highly experienced Baeza was aboard her rival. The event was nationally televised.

The race start was no different for Ruffian than all her past outings. She sped to the lead, leaving the starting gate and had no problem staying there as she raced down Belmont Park's chute. Moments after reaching the main part of the track, however, she staggered and limped to the outside.

Foolish Pleasure, who had won that year's Kentucky Derby by almost two lengths, continued to the finish. In contrast, Ruffian was anesthetized in the back stretch and moved by ambulance. She re-injured her left leg the next day after fighting off her handlers in coming out of surgery. She was put to sleep permanently that same day.

The match race that probably triggered the most interest of all racing history was between 5-year-old Seabiscuit and 4-year-old War Admiral. They clashed in Baltimore in 1938 in the two-horse Pimlico Special. Seabiscuit was the son of famed Man O' War, while War Admiral was the former's offspring.

Seabiscuit had not been impressive in his younger years, but as he grew older he improved dramatically. In contrast, War Admiral had been a Triple Crown winner as a 3-year-old and had triumphed 16 times in 17 starts. A record crowd of 40,000 at the Maryland track turned out to see the contest.

Although War Admiral was thought to be faster of the two in leaving the gate, Seabiscuit led all the way. His rival drew within a nose of him at one stage, but was a four-length loser at the end of the 1 3/16-mile match. Both thoroughbreds emerged from that contest in good health.

In contrast, Barbaro, who was injured in last year's Preakness, spent more than eight months at the University of Pennsylvania's hospital in Kennett Square. He never got over his leg injury. His owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who operate the Lael Stables, were honored at the annual Eclipse Award dinner held last month in Beverly Hills, Calif.