For the Thoroughbred horse racing community, naming a foal is a big deal. And the American Jockey Club have a fairly hefty set of rules and regulations. In the U.S., the registrar has to oversee the registration of approximately 37,000 horses per year. And ensure there are no repeats – and with around 450,000 active names – that’s not easy. Names can be reused, but only after certain criteria are met. According to the Jockey Club website “Names of horses over ten years old may be eligible for use if they…have not been used during the preceding five years either for breeding or racing. Names of horses that were never used for breeding or racing may be available for use five years from the date of their death as reported.”
There are other specifics, too, such as a limit of 18 characters. “And there are some special permissions that you have to get; for example, if you wanted to name a horse after a person, you would need to seek written permission from that person,” Rick Bailey, registrar of the Jockey Club explained during an interview on NPR. “One of the best ones that I remember in my 17 years here at the Jockey Club is, several years back, we had a filly named Barbara Bush when Mrs. Bush was still first lady at the time. We received a letter of permission on White House letterhead. So that was pretty exciting.”
There have been some hilarious names that have passed Bailey’s authority including Fiftyshadesofhay and Doremifasollatido to name but two. (Watch the video of the creative race call for the latter here.)