Disney sued over racehorse movie

Walt Disney Co. and its ABC and ESPN television networks were sued by a Racing Hall of Fame jockey and the trainer of the filly Ruffian to stop a movie about the horse’s career, cut short by a 1975 accident at Belmont Park.

The complaint alleges violations of trademarks held by Jacinto Vasquez, Ruffian’s jockey, and trainer Frank Whiteley. The movie, set for release Saturday, is falsely billed as a true story, according to the complaint. Ruffian’s caretakers also claim the movie purports to rely on their insider experience and intimate knowledge when they had nothing to do with the production.

“Defendants seek to give credibility to the film as a docudrama by falsely claiming actual knowledge of the details of what happened to Ruffian in her last race that led to her death,” the suit said. “The content can only be a fictionalized account because none of the still-living members of the Ruffian inner circle agreed to participate and/or cooperate in the production.”

The suit seeks an order to halt broadcast of the film and unspecified damages from Disney.

Ruffian broke a leg during a race at Belmont Park and was later euthanized. The horse, known as Queen of the Fillies, is buried near the flagpole at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

“The claims of the lawsuit are without merit,” said Keri Potts, an ESPN spokeswoman. The movie is an original ESPN production, she said.

Ruffian won 10 of 11 lifetime races, often by wide margins. The New York Racing Assn. paid $400,000 to secure Ruffian for what would be the horse’s final race July 6, 1975, against the colt Foolish Pleasure. The event was billed as a “battle of the sexes,” similar to the tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs held two years earlier in the Houston Astrodome.

Vasquez rode Ruffian in all except two starts, including her last race. Ruffian led the first quarter until breaking two bones in her right foreleg.

Ruffian immediately underwent surgery, which was successful. The horse awoke too soon, however, and further mangled the leg by thrashing around and breaking the cast. The horse’s owners, in consultation with Whiteley, Vasquez and assistant trainer Mike Bell, then decided to have her put down, according to the lawsuit.

Whiteley and Vasquez rejected offers to sell their life stories to ESPN and Orly Adelson Productions for $5,000 each and an additional $100,000 to be split among the pair and Bell if a film was made.