Rodrigo Bentancur equalised for Tottenham in the first minute of the second half but the visitors could not find a winning goal
Ratcliffe, attending his first game since a proposed 25% purchase of his boyhood club was confirmed on Christmas Eve, said beforehand that he was "very excited" to be there.
And he saw Rasmus Hojlund drive United into a third-minute lead.
But Ratcliffe's pre-match assertion that United "normally do well against Spurs" wasn't quite borne out here.
Brazilian striker Richarlison levelled with his sixth goal in as many Premier League games for the visitors, who were without three players, including captain Son Heung-min - away with South Korea at the Asian Cup.
Marcus Rashford put the hosts ahead before the break, but Rodrigo Bentancur wiped out the advantage a minute after the restart with a blistering shot, his first goal since April, during which time he has recovered from a cruciate knee ligament injury and an ankle problem.
The rest of the game would have been an education for Ratcliffe, who sat next to Sir Alex Ferguson in the directors' box. United had less than 40% possession, nine shots against Tottenham's 16 and only a third of the visitors' six on target.
A draw was not enough to take Tottenham above rivals Arsenal and into the top four. But it did allow them to maintain an eight-point advantage over their hosts, who could drop to 10th before they are next in action against Wolves on 1 February.
-- Courtesy of BBC Sport