Ruffian: A Racetrack Romance by William Nack (Four out of five sugar cubes!!!)
and The Ruffian Movie, ESPN (Two sugar cubes!!)

William Nack is first and foremost a fantastic writer. He humanizes the horses he writes about, and obviously has a deep love of the racetrack. He isn’t a gambling man, and doesn’t portray himself to be an expert handicapper. What he lacks in handicapping abilities, he more than makes up for in writing abilities. His novel on Secretariat and his endless works for Sports Illustrated leave nothing to be desired.

According to him, his book on the great filly was the hardest 35,000 words he has ever written. Her death shook him to the core and it is evident in this book, he is still not over it. Apparently he walked away from a full time career in the sport because of the accident, and it is still very much with him today. Her ghost haunts the pages of his book, which is painfully short, but it does bring some new information to the table. His theory on breakdowns is a solid one, and it is hard to ignore the role pedigree plays in unsound horses. He also has a conversation with Andrew Beyer on the filly which is most insightful into just how fantastic this horse really was. Was she in the league of the mighty Secretariat? According to Beyer (and anyone who knows anything about horse racing knows who he is and what his speed figures mean) she absolutely was.

The ending is painful as only it could be, and the reader’s heart will break right along with Nack’s in the final pages. It is no Seabiscuit by Hillenbrand, but nonetheless deserves a spot on the shelf of most horse racing afficinados’ bookcases. Nack aptly wears his heart on his sleeve and brings this gallant champion to life once more. If you want a more detailed account of her life, however look for Jane Schwartz’s Ruffian: Burning From the Start.

The fact that William Nack was involved certainly added to the hype and gave the movie some desperately needed credibility, but sadly, it just did not live up to that hype. The movie was short and it could have been a lot longer. It glossed over much of the filly’s life and the people who surrounded her were not nearly as explored as they could have been. If they wanted to throw around some quotes about the filly, there were so many to choose, and they left out some big ones.

Nack was all over the place, and apparently even Frank Whiteley had a problem with that stating he would never be that forthcoming with the press. The movie needed a narrator, and Nack, the reporter, filled that spot nicely, so one would think the viewer could overlook that, and Whiteley could just look the other way. The movie really didn’t show Whiteley talking to anyone much, let alone the press. Jacinto Vacquez also could have been played with more gusto as this was a tough talking, little jock who made it across the ocean to ride the greatest horses in the land. He had about ten lines, and mumbled them all. The filly wasn’t nearly as beautiful as she should have been. Ruffian looked like a giant horse with legs of a water spider, and the five geldings that played her didn’t look like they could move fast at all, let alone rival the best colts in the land. Frank Whaley and Sam Shephard did a good job with what they were given, as did Belford and Pryor.

Ruffian deserved a movie, but unfortunately thirty two years was apparently not enough time to make one. And contrary to the writers and the folks at ESPN’s belief that Ruffian is the only horse buried at Belmont infield, Nostalgic Horse, of course knows better. It is the final insult to any horse racing fan, that Timely Writer (another hard luck speedball) was completely forgotten. He lies not far from the grave of this ill-fated filly. One would think, since some scenes were shot at Belmont Park, that someone may have noticed another headstone in the infield.

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