Do registered thoroughbred horses have to have unique names? Also, dogs.

[R.P.McMurphy]

When a thoroughbred horse is registered does it have to have a unique name? Could someone name their colt Man-O-War, Northern Dancer or Secretariat? Same for dogs. The names that dogs are known by aren’t necessarily the same as what they are registered as. For instance, Uno, the beagle that won the Westminster, is actually registered with the AKC as “Park Me In First”.

So what’s the Straight Dope?

[RealityChuck]

In the US, thoroughbred horses are named using certain restrictions on length and punctuation (only apostrophes are allowed). It cannot be a horse that’s currently in competition, but older names can be reused after a certain amount of time has gone by. The exception is for a long list of champion horses (basically, any horse the casual fan might have heard of). Thus, no Secretariat, Kelso, Chris Evert (a triple-crown-winning champion filly), Ruffian, etc. You can use a living person’s name with their written permission.

You send an ordered list of names to the Jockey Club when you register the horse. They’ll tell you if a name is available. You may not get your first choice.

[DesertDog]

Broadly speaking, the answer is “yes.” Thoroughbreds in the U S are registered by the Jockey Club.

@Jockey Club Rule 6(F)

The following classes of names are not eligible for use:

* 1. Names consisting of more than 18 letters (spaces and punctuation marks count as letters);
* 2. Names consisting entirely of initials such as C.O.D., F.O.B., etc.;
* 3. Names ending in "filly," "colt," "stud," "mare," "stallion," or any similar horse-related term;
* 4. Names consisting entirely of numbers. Numbers above thirty may be used if they are spelled out;
* 5. Names ending with a numerical designation such as "2nd" or "3rd," whether or not such a designation is spelled out;
* 6. Names of living persons unless written permission to use their name is on file with The Jockey Club;
* 7. Names of persons no longer living unless approval is granted by The Jockey Club based upon a satisfactory written explanation submitted to the Registrar;
* 8. Names of racetracks or graded stakes races;
* 9. Names clearly having commercial, artistic or creative significance;
* 10. 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;
* 11. Names that appear to be designed to harass, humiliate or disparage a specific individual, group of individuals or entity;
* 12. **Names that are currently active either in racing or breeding** (see Rule6(E));
* 13. Names of winners in the past 25 years of grade one stakes races;
* 14. **Permanent names**. The list of criteria to establish a permanent name is as follows:
      o a. Horses in racing's Hall of Fame;
      o b. Horses that have been voted Horse of the Year;
      o c. Horses that have won an Eclipse Award;
      o d. Horses that have won a Sovereign Award (Canadian Champions);
      o e. Annual leading sire and broodmare sire by progeny earnings;
      o f. Cumulative money winners of $2 million or more;
      o g. Horses that have won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes, The Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Breeders' Cup Classic or the Breeders' Cup Turf; and
      o h. Horses included in the International List of Protected Names. 
* 15. Names similar in spelling or pronunciation to the classes of names listed in Rule 6(F) 6 - 14 above.

As a final stopper, 6(G) states “In addition to the provisions of this Rule 6, the Registrar of The Jockey Club reserves the right of approval on all name requests.” The 6(E) provision alluded to above says the name of a horse or mare more than ten years old may be used if said horse has not been raced or bred in the past five years.

As you can imagine, that means a lot of names you can’t use and all of the ones you asked about are stopped by 6(F)(14). Even a generation ago, picking a name could be a challenge. “Secretariat” was the third or fourth name on the second list sent by The Meadows for example, the first list being rejected in its entirety. Currently there are over 400,000 names in the Names Book, and fortunately you can peruse it online. Good luck in naming your foal.

[elmwood]

If you register a dog with the AKC, and the name you choose is already taken within the breed, the AKC will add a suffix to create a unique name.

For instance, one of my PWDs is registered as “Del Sur’s Dock of the Bay”. Del Sur is the kennel, Dock of the Bay the name. If another PWD owner who got their dog from the same or another kennel decides to use the same name, for instance “Sharmink’s Dock of the Bay”, the papers will be issued as “Sharmink’s Dock of the Bay II”. If a Labrador Retriever and it’s the first Lab with that name, the AKC won’t apply a suffix.

[UncleFred]

I believe #9 or #10 is intended to stop names like “Hoof Hearted” (say it fast). There’s a video clip on You Tube and, if its not fake, there was such a horse and that name is now on a list of 'inappropriate" names.

[RealityChuck]

There was a horse was named “Cunning Stunt” in the early 70s (ask the Reverend Spooner) that snuck past. I also remember “Brett’s Best Bet,” who got a track announcer (either Dave Johnson or Marshall Cassidy) to say, “Breast <pause> Bet Bet.”

[Cheshire_Human]

One clarification to the previous post on the Jockey Club rules. You can name your horse anything you damn well please, but if the name wasn’t approved by the JC, you can’t race it or breed it for racing under that name. You don’t have to get an official name immediately, but you can’t race it officially until you do, and any offspring it produces prior to getting the name will probably be difficult, if not impossible to register.

[Annie-Xmas]

Previous thread on subect.

Unfortunately, the Staff Report written by EddyTeddYFreddy seems to have been deleted.

[Tim_T-Bonham.net]

@UncleFred

I believe #9 or #10 is intended to stop names like “Hoof Hearted” (say it fast). There’s a video clip on You Tube and, if its not fake, there was such a horse and that name is now on a list of 'inappropriate" names.

There are also a few registered where the name means something ‘inappropriate’ in a foreign language, most often Spanish or French. So now the Jockey Club is watching for that, too.

[DesertDog]

@t-bonham@scc.net

There are also a few registered where the name means something ‘inappropriate’ in a foreign language, most often Spanish or French. So now the Jockey Club is watching for that, too.

Yup. Rule 6(A) says in part, When a foreign language name is submitted, an English translation must be furnished to The Jockey Club. An explanation must accompany “coined” or “made-up” names that have no apparent meaning.

Forgot to mention that if a foreign horse with a name identical to a U S horse is imported, (s)he gets a ‘II’ after the name. Probably the most famous example is the 1971 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Canonero II, bred in the U S but named in Venezuela then brought back.