Have You Ever Named a Horse?

So far you’ve come up with great names for a puppy and some wonderful names for a cat, but now we’re going in a new direction. So how about naming a horse or two? The Kentucky Derby is this Saturday so horses are in the news.

Have you ever thought about how many horses have official names? Registered names. It’s not that easy a task naming your horse if you plan to enter him in a race someday. I’m not a big racing fan although I did research racehorses once for one of my young adult books. I titled it The Look of Eagles because that’s a look a horse can have that lets some horse people know the horse has the makings of a champion. I don’t remember what I named the horse in the book, but I’m guessing it was a good horse name. I’ll look it up before Sunday’s post.

Naming a Horse

So how do you come up with a good horse name for a racing champion? The favorite for this Saturday’s race is Justify. A nice simple name. But I suppose the horse’s owners followed the rules and came up with that good simple name that the Jockey Club said okay on. Horses to be registered with the Jockey Club have to be named within a year after the colt or filly is born. You may or may not know that all race horses have their first birthday on New Year’s Day after they are born. That makes it easier to sort out the horses for three-year-old races such as the Kentucky Derby. That’s why most thoroughbred horse breeders want their mares to foal early in the year since even if the foal comes in July or later, it would still be considered one year old the fist day of the next year.

To name a horse you have to follow a number of rules. First, you can submit a list of six names for each colt or filly. The name cannot be longer that eighteen letters and spaces combined. That might be the easy part. Here are a few of things you cannot do when naming a horse.

• • No initials such as C.O.D., F.O.B., I.O.U., etc.
  • No names ending in “filly,” “colt,” “stud,” “mare,” “stallion,” or any similar horse-related term
  • No names consisting entirely of numbers, except numbers above thirty, may be used if they are spelled out
  • No names ending with a numerical designation such as “2nd” or “3rd,” whether or not such a designation is spelled out
  • No names of actual persons unless written permission to use their name is on file with The Jockey Club
  • No names of race tracks or graded stakes races
  • No names clearly having commercial significance, such as trade names
  • No 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
  • No names from a restricted list (Hall of Fame members, Eclipse Awards winners, Kentucky Derby winners, etc.)

(Listed information from https://www.thoughtco.com/naming-a-thoroughbred-horse-1880228)

So as you can see, it’s not easy to come up with names like Secretariat or Whirlaway. The horses in the picture up top aren’t going to be running in any races although the brown one is a thoroughbred turned out to pasture. So think up some good names. Name one or both and that will get your name in my drawing hat for the chance to win a couple of books – one of mine and an extra grab bag book. Deadline to enter is May 12 at midnight EST and you have to be at least 18 years old to enter.

Cat Names

You all came up with some fun names for my sister’s cat. Several of you thought he looked regal. He is a very handsome cat and seems to realize that. I thought someone would suggest Boots or Socks and Megan said Socks. A couple of you thought a girl because he was posing so nicely for my camera. Margaret said the cat told her Buster and that name fits, let me tell you. This cat can be a Buster. I had a collie/shepherd mix named Buster. A very good dog, but he did like to defend his territory which he thought was the whole road. This cat is just as feisty.

My sister’s granddaughter named the cat several years ago. She must have been a Sesame Street fan at the time because she did a take off Mr. Snuffleupagus (Big Bird’s friend no one saw but him) and called the cat Fluffleupagus. The name never really stuck for this particular cat that has an interesting personality. This one is a character. If he starts waving his tail, you best be on guard even if he’s been being sweet as sugar up until then. So my sister generally simply calls him “Cat.” Usually with an exclamation point after it!

So have you ever named a horse? How about two horses? 

Thanks for reading and playing my Name the Pet game.