Ruffian (horse) - Legacy

Legacy

Ruffian is buried near a flag pole in the infield of Belmont Park, with her nose pointed toward the finish line.

Ruffian posthumously earned the 1975 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Three-Year-Old Filly. In 1976, she was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The Blood-Horse ranked her 35th in its list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century; she is the highest rated filly (or mare) on the list, and the only female horse on both lists (best female, best horse). By virtue of that ranking, she lays claim to the title of American "Filly of the Century." Sports Illustrated included her as the only non-human on their list of the top 100 female athletes of the century, ranking her 53rd.

Since 1976, the Ruffian Handicap has been run in Ruffian's honor. Until 2009, the race was held at Belmont Park but was moved to Saratoga Race Course in 2010.

The Ruffian Equine Medical Center was opened on May 26, 2009. It cost $18 million and is located outside Gate 8 of Belmont Park. Inside the facility, specialists work to solve problems before they become major issues, such as a colt showing lameness that can be diagnosed and cured before he makes the track, perhaps providing such an animal a chance to do his job and even have a good life beyond the track.

The trainer of Secretariat, Lucien Laurin, said to the press, "As God as my witness, she may even be better than Secretariat."

Ruffian has many titles, such as: "Queen Of The Fillies", "Queen Of The Century", "Queen Of Racing", "Queen Of The Track", "Filly Of The Century", "The Super Filly" and so on, all implying that she is the greatest female racehorse. Several books about Ruffian have been published, such as "Ruffian, Burning From The Start", "Ruffian, A racetrack romance", "Ruffian", "The Licorice Daughter, My year with Ruffian".