Prior to interning at the NSLM, I recognized about two horse names: Secretariat, the Virginia champion Thoroughbred racehorse who holds the fastest race time in all three American Triple Crown races; and Spirit, from the 2002 animated film Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron.
Secretariat, the focus of the National Sporting Library & Museum's (NSLM) spring 2023 exhibition Endurance: Secretariat's Triple Crown at 50, achieved notoriety after he won the Triple Crown in 1973, which had not been achieved since Citation 25 years earlier. Secretariat's continued popularity has spread via artists such as Richard Stone Reeves (American, 1919–2005), photographers like Bob Coglianese (American, 1934–2022), and even through DreamWorks Pictures, which produced the movie Secretariat in 2010, nearly 40 years after the Thoroughbred's career-defining feat.
Twenty-nine years after Secretariat's win, a film called Spirit helped fuel a new generation's love of horses. The animated movie is set in the Old West in the late 1800s and follows the fictional Spirit, a wild Kiger mustang stallion, that is captured by the U.S. Cavalry during the American Frontier Wars.
Image courtesy of Hulu.
With an opening scene of sweeping views of wild animals running free across the West, accompanied by a soaring score by Hans Zimmer and Bryan Adams' vocals, kids were taught to treasure the freedom that Spirit had as a young colt. The audience gets pulled in, rooting for Spirit as he defies human attempts to break him. A young Lakota boy helps free Spirit but they must brave yet another raid by the U.S. soldiers [1]. After Spirit's saddening re-capture and dramatic fight for freedom which includes tipping a locomotive and setting the forest ablaze, the feeling of relief when he finally returns to his herd is memorable for impressionable young kids, including myself.
Most people do not question a name like "Spirit" for a horse, which invokes ideas of freedom and speed. Secretariat, on the other hand, actually refers to an administrative office, particularly in international politics. Despite this, the name "Secretariat" now carries such symbolic capital because of his Triple Crown victory that it begs no suspicion.
I had these two horses in mind as I began assisting with the Patricia Williams MacVeagh Collection. In September 2018, the NSLM received a donation of over 17,000 photographs captured by local equestrienne and photographer Patricia W. MacVeagh. She took these images over the course of eight decades at various horse events between 1939 to 2014. Former George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Head Librarian John Connelly wrote about the collection shortly after the donation. Click here to re-read his article. The NSLM is in the process of uploading these photographs to the digital platform, Internet Archive, making these images available worldwide.
As we uploaded, we created profiles for each photo. We are grateful to Mrs. MacVeagh and her daughter Martha Williams MacVeagh for their meticulous records as, for most every image, we have a rider's name as well as the horse's name. It is important to note here that MacVeagh's photos feature primarily jumpers (not racehorses or wild stallions), but Secretariat and Spirit were my only frame of reference.
As someone who did not grow up with horses, I have been surprised by some of the light-hearted, humorous, and unexpected horse names that I have come across during my work on the MacVeagh Collection. Two of my favorites are Wing Ding and Popcorn Dan.
These names sparked my curiosity into the horse naming process, and the NSLM's George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Curator of Library Collections Dr. Colleen Yarger pointed me towards The Jockey Club which has clearly defined parameters for the naming of racehorses in particular.
Formally established in 1894,The Jockey Club's primary responsibility involves updating The American Stud Book [2]. As the main governing organization for the horse racing industry in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, the corporation has created 15 distinct criteria for naming a horse.
Under the Ruling Section of the Jockey Club Rules in Article 6, the following classes of names are prescribed as ineligible for use:
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 30 (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 that in the judgment and discretion of the registrar:
a. Have clear commercial, artistic or creative significance;
b. Contain profanity or suggest a vulgar or obscene meaning;
c. Are considered in poor taste;
d. Are likely to be offensive or threatening based upon factors including, but not limited to, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, politics, or sexual orientation;
e. Appear to be designed to harass, humiliate, or disparage a specific individual, group, or entity;
f. Are inflammatory or are likely to invoke controversy;
g.Are demeaning to the horse or Thoroughbred breeding or racing.
10. Names that are currently active either in racing or breeding (see Rule6(E));
11. Names of winners in the past 25 years of grade one stakes races;
12. Permanent names. The list of criteria to establish a permanent name is as follows:
a. Horses in racing's Hall of Fame;
b. Horses that have been voted Horse of the Year;
c. Horses that have won an Eclipse Award;
d. Horses that have won a Sovereign Award (Canadian champions);
e. Annual leading Sire and Broodmare Sire by progeny earnings;
f. Cumulative money winners of $2 million or more;
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
h. Horses included in the International List of Protected Names.
13. Names similar in spelling or pronunciation to the classes of names listed in Rule 6(F) 6 - 12 above;
14. Names of horses previously recorded in The American Stud Book by the same sire or out of the same dam as the foal for which the attempt is made; and
15. Names of horses appearing within the first five generations of the pedigree of the foal for which the attempt is made.
With these intricate and layered rules in mind, it is now less surprising that names such as "Popcorn Dan" or "Wing Ding" have made the cut in the equestrian world. Dr. Yarger taught me that though The Jockey Club Rules are intended for Thoroughbreds who flatrace, horses that fail in flat racing can often end up in events like steeplechasing. (Sidenote: thus, this means that Popcorn Dan and Wing Ding's owners may have had to follow The Jockey Club Rules, despite MacVeagh capturing the horses as steeplechasers/jumpers).
The driving force behind such strict rules is to reduce confusion during races and in record books. In a recent 2023 interview with NBC Los Angeles, The Jockey Club registrar Rick Bailey said the club rejects about 30% of the 60,000 submissions they receive each year, most commonly due to directly matching an "active" name or being too similar to an active name [3]. Many submissions are rejected for making sexual innuendos or covertly referencing a curse word.
Owners and trainers often have a discernible method in naming their horses, whether it is after family members or nearby towns. Names also commonly refer to a horse's lineage or pedigree, playing on the names of the horse's parents. Senior staff writer Jake Rossen at the online publication Mental Floss wrote, "A horse dubbed Money in the Bank, for example, might sire offspring named Direct Deposit" [4]. The Chronicle of the Horse notes that in lieu of these lengthy names, horses often have abbreviated barn names that are used during training [5].
While the rules may seem stringent or outdated, recent controversies over horse names indicate that the rules are important. In 2021, a horse whose name could be interpreted as a historically offensive term against African-Americans won at Aqueduct. The trainer's actions resulted in the New York Racing Association banning him from their stalls and races. While events like this are rare, it exemplifies the continuing importance of The Jockey Club Rules.
After conducting this research, I have greater appreciation for the creativity of the owners and trainers who have to find monikers that are unique to the 450,000 Thoroughbred names that are active at a given time!
Jensen Frey is a NSLM Curatorial Intern for the summer of 2023. She is a rising junior majoring in Art History at Fordham University.
Works Cited:
[1] Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
[2] The Jockey Club Rule Book
[3] NBC4: How Does A Racehorse Get Its Name?; LiveScience: Why Do Kentucky Derby Horses Have Such Crazy Names?
[4] Mental Floss: The Reason Racehorses Have Such Weird Names
[5] The Chronicle of the Horse: What's In A Name?
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