If you’re looking for the best racehorse names, you’re in the right place! We know how difficult it may be to find a unique name for your horse, so we’ve decided to help you with this.
Besides providing you with a list of top racehorse names, we’ve also prepared a guide on how to choose one. Keep on reading to find the answers you’re looking for! Read our article and find out Unique Japanese Horse Names – A Guide.
Naming Your Equine
Choosing a name for a racehorse might be highly challenging. First, you need to be extremely creative because you can’t choose a name that matches the name of another registered horse.
Then, you need to follow the name guidelines and rules provided by the registry that may include character limits or restricted words or phrases.
Checking other famous racehorse names can make the whole process much easier, as you can play with them to come up with a unique name!
Top Racehorse Names
Upon researching, we’ve selected the best racehorse names we could find! We’re sure you’ll like them or, at least, you’ll find them inspiring!
- A.P. Indy
- Affirmed
- Alydar
- American Pharoah
- Barbaro
- Black Caviar
- Bold Ruler
- Citation
- Count Fleet
- Dr. Fager
- Eclipse
- Holy Bull
- Justify
- Kelso
- Lost in the Fog
- Man o’ War
- Native Dancer
- Phar Lap
- Red Rum
- Ruffian
- Seabiscuit
- Seattle Slew
- Secretariat
- Smarty Jones
- Spectacular Bid
- Sunday Silence
- War Admiral
- Winx
- Zenyatta
More Racehorse Names
Because we know how difficult it is to come up with a racehorse name, we’ve thought you may still be in doubt, so we’ve selected some other popular racehorse names!
Read them attentively, because some are extremely funny! You’ll undoubtedly start wondering what the story behind the name is!
- Afleet Alex
- Animal Kingdom
- Arrogate
- Arrrrr
- Assault
- Bernardini
- Big Brown
- Blushing Groom
- Bofa Deez Nuts
- Bricks and Mortar
- Conquistador Cielo
- Covfefe
- Curlin
- Damascus
- Denman’s Call
- Doremifasollatido
- Dr. Fager
- Easy Goer
- Effinex
- Eight Belles
- Exterminator
- Ferdinand
- Fiftyshadesofhay
- First Dude
- Flat Drunk
- Flat Fleet Feet
- Foolish Pleasure
- Gallant Fox
- Game On Dude
- Genuine Risk
- Ghostzapper
- Giant’s Causeway
- Go For Wand
- Graydar
- Gun Runner
- Hail to Reason
- Harass
- Havre de Grace
- Hoof Hearted
- I’ll Have Another
- John Henry
- Key to the Mint
- Lady Eli
- Lady’s Secret
- Lava Man
- Lawyer Ron
- Lexington
- Luv Gov
- Mariah’s Storm
- Midnight Lute
- Mineshaft
- Mywifenosevrything
- Notacatbutallama
- Omaha Beach
- Onoitsmymothernlaw
- Painting the Sky
- Palace Malice
- Panty Raid
- Personal Ensign
- Point Given
- Pollard’s Vision
- Pulpit
- Rachel Alexandra
- Raise a Native
- Regret
- Riva Ridge
- Round Table
- Runhappy
- Seeking the Gold
- Serena’s Song
- Shanghai Bobby
- Silver Charm
- Sir Barton
- Skip Away
- Slew o’ Gold
- Stopchargingmaria
- Storm Cat
- Street Sense
- Tabasco Cat
- Thewifedoesntknow
- Thunder Gulch
- Tiznow
- Tonalist
- War Emblem
- Wise Dan
- Yakahickamickadola
Tips for Naming a Racehorse
If you think that there aren’t any more interesting racehorse names, we’re here to cheer you up because each racehorse name is unique, especially if it bears a personal touch! Keep on reading to find out why!
At first thought, naming a racehorse may sound fun – finding a creative, unique name with a personal touch that would always remind you of something or someone you care about.
It might be a fun activity for a while, probably until you start checking whether that name already exists in the racehorse names database. Unfortunately, your horse’s name must not match or even have similar pronunciation as another horse’s name. This makes the process much more difficult than expected.
No worries, though, because that’s why we’re here! These tips will certainly help you find a suitable name!
Choosing a Racehorse Name
The first thing you should do is to check the breed association’s name regulations. Each association has its own rules.
The Jockey Club has very specific rules. First, the name should consist of 18 characters, spaces and punctuation included. The name must not end in “colt,” “stud,” “stallion,” “mare,” or other words related to horses.
Moreover, you can’t add a numerical designation at the end as in Warrior 2nd. Another important rule is to avoid obscene and offensive words.
Another thing to consider is that the Jockey Club, for example, requires written permission if you want to name a Thoroughbred after a living person. However, the list does not end here!
Then, you can check out some other famous racehorse names. This will help you get an idea of where you should start from. Play with other names, write your ideas down, and start excluding from your list the names you think are unsuitable.
Another interesting idea is to check the names of your horse’s parents because you may want to include them in your horse’s name. This may also help recognize bloodlines.
What are Some Unique Names for Horses?
Many racehorse owners like to give the names a personal touch – something related to their family or something that would remind them of a specific person, thing, event, movie, or song. Others prefer to use funny, memorable names.
For example, Mike Repole had three horses called Stopchargingmaria, Stopshoppingmaria, and Stopspendingmaria.
These are funny names that make people wonder what the owner was thinking about when he came up with them, right? Well, Repole’s wife is called Maria, and apparently, he didn’t really like her spending habits!
In the end, all three horses were very good at running. Stopchargingmaria won more than $3 million over the years!
Another horse owned by Mike Repole is called Notacatbutallama. The owner supposedly got his inspiration from a Taboo game.
A curious and appealing racehorse name is I’ll Have Another. This could easily be among the best Kentucky Derby racehorse names list! J. Paul Reddam, the owner of the horse, found his inspiration in a conversation with his wife. When she asked him if he wanted another cookie, he said, “I’ll have another.” Easy and interesting!
As you can see, you can get as creative as you want as long as the name follows the guidelines!
However, don’t forget that your horse’s name must also represent its character, appearance, and qualities. Is it stubborn? Is it curious? Is it sensitive and energetic? Is it patient? What color is the horse? How does it look?
These are also important because people won’t know the story behind the name. They’ll just try to associate it with the racehorse.
Things to Avoid While Choosing a Racehorse Name
The fact that you can be creative in choosing your racehorse name is great! However, this may also lead to difficult words that don’t stick or are hard to pronounce.
Names with one or two syllables are the best because they’re easy to remember. But if you can’t find one, that’s fine because not all racehorse names are short. We recommend avoiding names that rhyme with horse commands, such as “whoa.”
Moreover, you should choose a name that’s easy to spell to avoid mispronunciations! Show ring announcers may find it challenging to pronounce tongue twisters, too!
If you still can’t find a name you like, you can ask Google for help! There are many random horse name generators that pick names for you.
These random name generators may ask you some personal questions, such as “What is your best trait?” or “What is your favorite color?”. Other random generators will ask whether you want a regular or a funny name and your horse’s gender.
Then, the generator will display a name that reflects your answers. Some randomly generated names are:
- Castle Warrior
- Classic Player
- Fierce Winner
- Marvel Logic
- Queen of Hearts
- Lightning Money
- Cloud Boss
- Weebiscuit
- Lightning Machine
- Real Doctor
- Mystery Gamble
- Not Exactly Monday
- Early Empire
- Shooting Star
- Working Credit
Even though they may not suit your preferences, you can play with the names and words, and, in the end, you’ll definitely come up with a name you’ll love!
What Should You Do Once You Pick a Name?
The first thing you should do once you pick a racehorse name is to check again whether you’ve followed all the rules to make sure you haven’t missed any. Then, it would help if you crosschecked it with the names database. It should not match another racing horse’s name. Some names remain “active” in the system years after the horse’s death!
You may also want to have some alternatives because some associations ask for multiple name ideas they can choose from. However, you should better check it directly with the registry to avoid any surprises.
Besides this, you should not be disappointed if the names you send for approval will get rejected. This happens more often than you’d think. Rick Bailey, the Jockey Club registrar, said they reject roughly 30% of the submitted racehorse names.
They reject most names because they match an already registered name or have a similar pronunciation. Another reason is that the submitted names have more than 18 characters, including spaces.
In Conclusion
Choosing a racehorse name is of utmost importance for your horse’s reputation in the racing world. The process is both funny and challenging; that’s why we’ve decided to help you with this.
We’re sure our suggestions and tips have done their job well, and you already know how to name your racehorse!
