When it comes to discussing thoroughbred race horses there is a number of ways of going about it. For those new to the world of horseracing it can seem an esoteric language but with some research and learning the ‘veil can be lifted’. Over the coming series of ‘Talking Race Horses’ posts I hope to provide some starting points for those looking to deepen their knowledge.
A Horse By Any Other Name
An obvious starting point when talking about a horse is its name. The naming of horses is controlled by an organisation called Weatherbys, which undertakes a number of roles – financial and administrative – in British horseracing.
The Names Team at Weatherbys is responsible for the registration of horses’ names and states:
“Your name choice can be up to 18 characters, including spaces. All names are registered subject to approval by the British Horseracing Authority [BHA].”
So 2012 Grand National runner Shakalakaboomboom, at 17 characters is permitted, if a bit of a mouthful for commentators.
A horse’s name cannot include elements such as hyphens, various punctuation marks, numbers, or initials. But owners can spell out initials or punctuation, such as Edmo Yewkay (‘UK’) or Justbookie Dot Com.
It is not possible to give two horses the same name, at least if they are registered in the same country and new names should be checked against the current register. There is also a list of domestic and international names that are protected and cannot be reused to name another horse. One purpose of this protected list is to prevent the name and reputation of great horses of the past being tarnished by being attached to a lesser horse of the current era.
The full regulations for horse naming as set out by the BHA are here.
One common convention for naming a horse is to derive a name based on its father (sire) and mother (dam).
Sometimes the derivation is obvious, sometimes the owner shows a bit of wit and lateral thinking to create a clever name for their charge. Some examples:
Docofthebay: sired by Docksider out of the dam Baize
Dubai Hills: sired by Dubai Destination out of the dam Hill Welcome
Genzy: sired by Gentlewave out of the dam Zycia
Verse Of Love: sired by Byron out of the dam Lovellian
Naming themes can also pass down the generations to horses from certain sires or dams. For example:
Lady Cricket was sired by Cricket Ball out of the dam Lady Mariza.
Lady Cricket has finished her racing career and is now producing offspring of her own. One such offspring is the mare Swing Bowler, continuing the cricketing theme in her name.
