“Horse Racing Royalty”: Allison Janney, Ruffian, and a Ride on Secretariat

By Tobi Lopez Taylor

Just after Finest City won the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita Park, NBC’s racing commentator Laffit Pincay—son of Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay Jr.— made some remarks that “won” him a Turkey Award courtesy of racing’s Paulick Report. It all started when actress Allison Janney arrived in the winner’s circle to present the trophy to Finest City’s connections. Pincay accidentally introduced Janney as “Elizabeth Janney,” and then compounded his mistake by calling her an Academy Award winner—which she was not. That is, not until last week, when she received an Oscar for her supporting role in I, Tonya.

If you happened to notice Allison Janney in the winner’s circle that day, you may have wondered if she had any particular interest in horses or horse racing. Indeed she does, and she comes by it naturally.  In fact, Allison is not the only statuesque, talented, award-winning female member of the Janney family: her great-uncle, Stuart Janney Jr., and his wife Barbara Phipps Janney, were the breeders and owners of the incredible filly Ruffian, the highest-ranked female runner on the Blood-Horse’s list of the top 100 racehorses of the twentieth century and a member of the Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Although Janney appears to be more of a dog person than an equestrian, she did say, during an October 2013 appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, that she is “horse racing royalty,” and that in addition to her uncle having owned Ruffian, her cousin Stuart Janney III had bred and raced that year’s Kentucky Derby winner, Orb, who descends from the same female family as Ruffian. Then the future Academy Award winner ended the episode by climbing aboard a pantomime horse called Secretariat that was a fixture on Ferguson’s program. Tally-ho and congratulations, “Elizabeth Janney”!