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Where Do They Get Those Names?

by chiron99

Secretariat. Man O'War. Affirmed. Barbarino. Whirlaway.
Where, you may have wondered once or twice over the years, do
racehorses get those crazy names?

The rules for naming and registering a racehorse are actually
quite complicated. It starts with the Jockey Club, the
organization responsible for overseeing all Thoroughbred horse
racing in the United States. The Club gives all racehorses
registered in a particular year an "official" birthdate of
January 1 (thus keeping things simple for race organizers) - and
any all horses must be registered within a year of the actual
date of birth. Not only that, they must have their DNA typed;
both parents' DNA must also be on file with the Jockey Club.
Twins must be registered separately, and the Club's rules go into
ickily graphic detail in stipulating that only foals created by
"intromission" are eligible - horses bred through artificial
insemination or embryo transfer need not apply. In this way the
Jockey Club ensures that all Thoroughbreds really are
Thoroughbred - that is, they're descendants either of horses
recorded in the Club's official record, The American Stud Book,
or of those horses recorded in other countries' Stud Books (which
must in turn have been accepted by the Jockey Club). Only by such
stringent regulations can the Jockey Club keep the Thoroughbred
racing "club" as exclusive as is a European royal family.

(The Club's rules also say, somewhat superfluously, that "A dead
horse is not eligible for registration." Nothing like covering
all the bases.)

Of course, there are fees - at this writing, anywhere from
$200-2000 depending on circumstances, with separate naming fees
running from $75-100. (If you name and register your foal at the
same time, you don't have to pay the naming fee.)

Speaking of naming, the Club has rules covering that too. Many
rules. No name already issued to a living Thoroughbred under ten
years of age is available, so you must list six options; the
first available name will be assigned to your horse. (Thank
goodness we don't name children like this.) The Club also
maintains a "restricted list," which includes Hall of Fame
members, Eclipse Awards winners, Kentucky Derby winners, and
other Thoroughbred luminaries. Like Michael Jordan's jersey
number, names like Seabiscuit and Secretariat are too special to
give to rookies.

It gets more complicated from here. "An explanation," the Club's
rules stipulate, "must accompany "coined" or "made-up" names that
have no apparent meaning," and if you'd like to name your horse
after a foreign phrase (like C'est la vie or Mutatis mutandis),
you must provide a translation. The name must contain fewer than
18 characters, and they can't all be numbers. Names cannot end in
"filly," "colt," "stud," "mare," "stallion" or other horsey
terms, or with numbers: "the second," "the third," etc. You can't
use the names of famous persons, "notorious" persons, or initials
- so no naming your horse "Abe Lincoln," "John Dillinger," or
"TCB." In fact, you can't use a person's name for your horse at
all, unless the Jockey Club receives written permission from the
name's human "owner." Racetrack names, trade names, book, film
and song titles, and other copyrighted material are all verboten,
as are names that too closely resemble any of the above.
(Apparently Star Warz or Mikki Maus won't be winning Preakness
next year.) Finally, the Jockey Club proscribes names that are
"suggestive or have a vulgar or obscene meaning; names considered
in poor taste; or names that may be offensive to religious,
political or ethnic groups."

With all these restrictions, coming up with a good horse name
requires a certain creativity. To make matters worse, nearly
60,000 name requests are submitted to the Club every year,
according to a recent item by T.D. Thornton in the online
magazine Slate. (Thornton also lists some examples of obscene
names that somehow squeaked through; Menage a Trois and Sexual
Harrassment are two of the more printable.) Luckily, the Jockey
Club lists some currently-unavailable names at their web site.

So where do horse names come from? Some famous horses have
family surnames (Barbarino); some names are designed to suggest
speed (Whirlaway) or confidence (Affirmed). History can be a rich
source, and so can personal biography - the name Secretariat was
suggested by Meadow Stables secretary Elizabeth Ham after the
first ten names she submitted were denied. Like many rock bands,
horses are often named for reasons that in the end are both
personal and arcane - Seabiscuit was named after his father, Hard
Tack, a type of cracker often eaten by sailors, Seabiscuit being
another name for, well, hardtack.

<a href="http://www.trpservices.com">TRP Services</a> offers
Thoroughbred horse racing and horse racing tips online for horse
racing handicapping and those who love thoroughbred horses for
the horse racing tracks.

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