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Horse Racing: 1975 Great Match Race Program Signed by the Jockeys of Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:500.00 - 700.00 USD
Horse Racing: 1975 Great Match Race Program Signed by the Jockeys of Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure

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Auction Date:2021 Aug 11 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:15th Floor WeWork, Boston, Massachusetts, 02108, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Official program for the infamous ‰Û÷Great Match Race‰Ûª held at Belmont Park on July 6, 1975, which featured a two-horse race between the dominant filly Ruffian and that year‰Ûªs Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure, 16 pages, 4 x 9, signed inside on the ‰Û÷eighth race‰Ûª page in black and blue ballpoint by the race‰Ûªs two jockeys: Jacinto Vasquez and Braulio Baeza. In fine condition. Accompanied by four newspapers related to ‰Û÷The Great Race‰Ûª‰ÛÓthe July 6 and 8, 1975 issues of The Daily Racing Form; and the July 7 and 8, 1975 issues of The New York Daily News.

The showdown between Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure exists as one of the most highly anticipated matches in the history of racing. Ruffian was widely considered not only the best filly in racing, but perhaps the most talented horse overall, a sentiment shared by Vasquez, who, coincidentally, was the jockey for both Ruffian and the opposing stallion, Foolish Pleasure. When he was forced to select which to ride, Vasquez picked the filly, whom he believed to be the better horse.

When Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure broke from the starting gate, as usual, the filly took the lead, but just before the half-mile mark, something went terribly wrong: both sesamoid bones in her right foreleg snapped. Ruffian was placed in a cast and hastened to a hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for 12 hours. When the anesthesia wore off, Ruffian once more became disoriented. She thrashed about wildly and, in the process, caused even further damage to her leg. Sadly, the great filly was euthanized shortly thereafter.