Ruhlmann (April 22, 1985 – December 24, 2008) was an American millionaire

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who holds the track record of 1:33.4 for one mile on dirt set on March 5, 1989 at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of th ...

Racing career

First raced in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as a two-year-old for trainer

André Fabre André Fabre (born 9 December 1945) is a French thoroughbred horse racing trainer. The son of a diplomat, Fabre graduated from university with a law degree but then decided to pursue a career in thoroughbred horse racing. He began by working in t ...

, Ruhlmann was a difficult horse to handle. In three starts, he ran second in his debut at

Chantilly Racecourse Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the country's main hors ...

then finished seventh in his next two outings. Sent to the United States, his training was taken over by Robert Frankel for owners, Ann & Jerry. As a three-year-old, Ruhlmann set a new stakes record time of 1:39 2/5 for 1¹/16 miles on dirt in winning the 1988

El Camino Real Derby The El Camino Real Derby is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race held in February at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California. The race is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on Tapeta, a synthetic ra ...

Bay Meadows Racetrack Bay Meadows was a horse racing track in San Mateo, California from 1934 until 2008, in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States. History Built on the site of an old airfield, Bay Meadows Racecourse was the longest continually operating t ...

. His winning time was nearly two seconds faster than the previous record set by

Tank's Prospect Tank's Prospect (May 2, 1982 – March 2, 1995) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, the Preakness Stakes. Background Bred by Edward A. Seltzer, he was purchased for $625, ...

in 1985. He was then made the

betting Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...

favorite for the

Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturd ...

but Ruhlmann bled from the lungs during the race. He was put on

Lasix Furosemide is a loop diuretic medication used to treat edema, fluid build-up due to heart failure, hepatic cirrhosis, liver scarring, or kidney disease. It may also be used for the treatment of hypertension, high blood pressure. It can be take ...

for the

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is on ...

but finished eighth and then in the April 23

California Derby The California Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses held early in the year at Golden Gate Fields. An ungraded stakes, it is open to three-year-olds at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on a Tapeta surface. The Derby offers a purs ...

Golden Gate Fields Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the closing of t ...

, he clipped heels with another horse and went down. Ruhlmann's injuries forced him to miss the 1988 U. S. Triple Crown series and kept him out of racing until September. In November, Ruhlmann finished ninth in the

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt Corrected grade for Santa Anita sprintover a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually si ...

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

and his owner transferred him to trainer

Charlie Whittingham Charles Edward Whittingham (April 13, 1913 – April 20, 1999) was an American Thoroughbred race horse trainer who is one of the most acclaimed trainers in U.S. racing history. Early career Born in Chula Vista, California, Whittingham began w ...

. As a four-year-old under Whittingham's handling, Ruhlmann won his first start of the year on March 5, taking the Viking Spirit Stakes at Santa Anita Park in track record time for one mile on dirt. He went on to win the first of his two consecutive editions of the

San Bernardino Handicap The Tokyo City Cup Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the beginning of April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Grade III event raced on dirt at a distance of miles (12 furlongs), it is open to horses aged f ...

plus the

Mervyn Leroy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. In his youth he played juvenile roles in vaudeville and silent film comedies. During the 1930s, LeRoy was one of the two great practitioners of ...

and

Native Diver Handicap The Native Diver Stakes is a Grade III American thoroughbred horse race for three-years-old and older over a distance of one and one eighth miles on the dirt held annually in late November at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The event of ...

s. In 1990, Ruhlmann won the most important race of his career when he defeated

Criminal Type Criminal Type (1985–2005) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He won two Eclipse Awards in 1990. Background A descendant of Nearco, he was bred at the famed Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky and owned in partnership with Jurge ...

to win the

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for old ...

. He then followed up with another win over Criminal Type for his second straight victory in the San Bernardino Handicap.

Stud career

Retired to

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...

duty, the still high-strung Ruhlmann met with modest success as a sire of 121 race winners, including five stakes race winners. He stood at Fox Hollow Farm in Texas until being pensioned in December, 2004 then was sent to

Old Friends Equine Old Friends is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) equine retirement facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). The organization started with one leased paddock and two horses, but now owns 136 acres, Dreamchase ...

, Dream Chase Farm in

Georgetown, Kentucky Georgetown is a home rule-class city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 37,086 at the 2020 census. It is the 6th-largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the seat of its county. It was originall ...

in 2005. He died there from an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (s ...

at age twenty-three on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

2008.http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/breeding-news/2008/December/26/Old-Friends-resident-Ruhlmann-dies-at-age-23.aspx December 26, 2008 ''Thoroughbred Times'' article titled "''Old Friends resident Ruhlmann dies at age 23''"

References

{{reflist 1985 racehorse births 2008 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 23 Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in France Racehorses trained in the United States Old Friends Equine Retirement