What's in a Name?

Each year owners face the challenging task of finding and assigning appropriate names for their younger stock. Stud farms, in particular, are often keen to find 'marketable' names for colts that have potential stallion profiles. TDN's Gary King chatted with The Jockey Club's Shannon Luce to find out more about the naming process.

GK: Have you made any changes to the naming process over the last few years?

SL: No. The naming rules have remained steady for the past decade. However, while the rules have remained the same, we make better use of available technology such as Google searches and Dictionary.com to ensure that name selections adhere to established rules.

GK: How have you integrated technology in this process?

SL: Technology plays a big role in the process. About 90% of the names are submitted via our website or through The Jockey Club's Naming App. Internally, we use software written by The Jockey Club Technology Services to rank the phonetic score of every name submitted versus the 313,000 that are currently unavailable to avoid names that sound alike. The reason for this is to avoid confusion in the industry. You don't want two horses at the racetrack, or even two broodmares, with similar-sounding names.

GK: Sometimes names are not permitted for 'commercial reasons'. What does that mean?

SL: Names that have clear commercial significance are not available for use in naming a Thoroughbred. Thus, you will not see Pepsi Cola racing against Coca Cola at your local Thoroughbred track.

GK: When it comes to the names of places, historical figures, celebrities, etc., do you have to get certain permission in advance?

SL: Names of places such as cities or states are generally available unless already taken. If naming the horse after a living person, written permission from that person is required. This is true if it is a famous person, but also if the horse is being named after a favorite teacher, coach, neighbor, or even a relative.

GK: What names are simply not allowed?

SL: There are rules that pertain to horses being marked as historically important, such as horses in racing's Hall of Fame or Eclipse Award winners. Once marked, those names are permanently unavailable, so names such as Northern Dancer, Secretariat, Personal Ensign, and Justify will never be allowed again.

GK: A lot of farms and organizations reserve names. Can these names be reserved indefinitely, or do they have to be used in a certain period of time?

SL: Names are generally reserved for a year and most people apply the reserved name to a horse within that first year. However, name reservations can be extended for an additional year(s) if the owner pays an additional fee to keep the name(s) reserved. Some breeders spend a good deal of time and effort to reserve names that work well with their broodmares or stallions, and they sometimes wait for years for just the right foal to come along to match that perfect name.