On August 23 at Saratoga Race Course, Ruffian won the Spinaway Stakes by lengths in a track record time of 1:08. The morning after the race, a stable hand found that she had left a lot of her food untouched. Whiteley examined the filly and noticed that her right hind leg was sensitive, so he had a veterinarian perform scans on her leg. It was discovered that she had a hairline fracture on her hind leg. Whiteley was interviewed about the fracture and asked if it were true that it happened during the race. He answered, "It did happen during the race, she was just a couple of strides from the wire." When asked why he thought Ruffian was not showing any signs of being hurt until the next day, he replied, "She is a very tough filly, and doesn't like to show any weaknesses."