What’s in a name? How Kentucky Derby horses get their unique names

THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL, FOR SURE. ALL RIGHT, BACK TO THE HORSES. WE’RE GETTING READY FOR THE 10TH RACE COMING UP. NOW. LET’S TALK NAMES. WHETHER IT’S SEATTLE SLEW, LITTLE E T, SMARTY JONES, COUNTRY HOUSE, YOU NAME IT. MAN O WAR. IT’S SOME PRETTY UNIQUE WAYS THEY COME UP WITH THE HORSE’S NAME. HOW DO THEY GET THOSE NAMES AND WHICH NAMES CAN YOU USE AND NOT USE? WELL, THIS DERBY WEEK, WLKY, SCOTT, URQHART AND SAM CARTER EXPLAIN TO US HOW IT WORKS. NO ALARM CLOCK NEEDED. A NEW DAY, SAME ROUTINE. THERE IS NONSTOP LEARNING AT THIS HORSE FARM. OVER 102 YEAR OLDS BREAKING INTO THE WORLD OF HORSE RACING. JUST LIKE THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS BEFORE THEM. INCLUDING THIS GUY. YOU KNOW, WE CALL HIM PREKI. PREKI. THAT’S HIS NICKNAME. OUR HORSES NICKNAME IS PREKI. HE’S THE FULL BROTHER OF 2024 DERBY WINNER MAGE AND 2024 BELMONT STAKES WINNER DORNOCH. FOR NOW, THEY CALL HIM PREKI BECAUSE THEY’RE HOPING FOR A PREAKNESS WIN. THAT’S THE ONLY RACE THAT HIS BROTHERS HAVEN’T WON FROM THE MOMENT HE WAS BORN. HE’S LIKE A DIFFERENT HORSE. HE’S JUST LIKE BREEZE, DIFFERENT AIR THAN EVERYBODY ELSE DOES. AND THIS ONE JUST SEEMS TO BE CUT FROM THE SAME MOLD AS THE OTHER ONES. AND WE HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS. ALONG WITH THOSE EXPECTATIONS, PREKI ALSO NEEDS A PERMANENT RACING NAME. PREKI IS JUST A NICKNAME. THIS HORSE IS, YOU KNOW, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. SO WE WANTED TO HAVE A GOOD NAME. HE’S GOT A STALLION PEDIGREE, SO HE’S GOT TO HAVE A NAME THAT STANDS UP TO HIS BROTHERS THAT ARE ALREADY STALLIONS. JOHN STEWART OF RESOLUTE RACING IS THE MAJORITY OWNER OF PREKI. LABELS IS PART OF A GROUP OF MINORITY OWNERS IN A RACING SYNDICATE CALLED MY RACEHORSE. TOGETHER, ALONG WITH JOHN’S WIFE, CHELSEA, AND THE OVER 2000, MY RACEHORSE OWNERS, A CALL WENT OUT IN SEARCH OF A NAME. WE THOUGHT IT’D BE FUN TO LIKE A NAMING THING AND LET THEM BE A PART OF, YOU KNOW, NAMING IT. WE TRY TO HAVE FUN WITH IT. WE JUST TRY TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE THE HORSES, YOU KNOW, THE NAMES THAT KIND OF REPRESENT THEM. I’M SO BIG ABOUT LIKE A PERSONALITY NAME. I’M LIKE, ONCE YOU GET TO KNOW THESE HORSES, YOU KNOW, SOME MAY LOOK LIKE THEY’RE THIS, BUT I’M LIKE, THAT’S NOT REALLY HIS PERSONALITY. LIKE, I CAN’T SEE THAT BEING HIS NAME. I’M TRYING TO COME UP WITH NAMES. LIKE IT’S ACTUALLY CAUSES CHELSEA SOME ANXIETY WHEN THE TRAINER, BECAUSE YOU TRY NOT TO NAME THEM UNTIL YOU KNOW THEY’RE GETTING READY TO RUN. I DEFINITELY DO PROBABLY STRESS OUT OVER IT MORE THAN JOHN WOULD, BUT. MEANTIME, LENNY PUT OUT A SOCIAL MEDIA POST LOOKING FOR NAMING IDEAS. OKAY, I CAN GIVE YOU A LIST OF SOME OF THE NAMES, SOME OF THE NAMES THAT THAT ARE PRETTY COOL. MAGE. I THOUGHT THAT WAS KIND OF COOL. BOOMSHAKALAKA QUICK DRAW MCGRAW. I WAS LIKE, I DON’T KNOW IF WE CAN USE THAT ONE. HOCUS POCUS. THERE’S SO MANY GREAT ONES. IT’S HARD TO PICK WHICH ONE I’M GOING TO SUBMIT BECAUSE I CAN ONLY DO ONE. AND SO WHEN I POST SOMETHING LIKE THAT, A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO WANT TO COME OUT AND, AND GIVE THEIR INPUT ON, ON NAMES AND STUFF. AND IT MAKES IT A LOT OF FUN TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THIS EXPERIENCE WITH EVERYBODY AND SHARE THEY HAVE YOU SEE THIS HUGE STACK, 2571 NAMES SUGGESTED. SO I GUESS THERE’S A LOT THAT GOES INTO THE NAME NAMES OF ALL KINDS MYTHICAL, MAGICAL, COMICAL, SENTIMENTAL, SOME BLOODLINE RELATED. YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE IT’S A GOOD STRONG NAME, JUST THAT LIKE I CAN LIVE WITH AND HE CAN LIVE WITH. AND WE ALL CAN LIVE WITH GOING FORWARD. BUT IN THE END, ONLY ONE COULD BE SELECTED. I’M HOPING THAT WE PICK OUT A REALLY GOOD ONE FOR THIS ONE. ONCE PICKED, IT’S STILL NOT OFFICIAL. THE NAME MUST GO HERE TO THE JOCKEY CLUB. ANDREW CHESSER, DIRECTOR OF REGISTRATION SERVICES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR THE JOCKEY CLUB FOR FINAL APPROVAL. EACH NAME HAS A LOT OF A LOT OF MEANING, A LOT OF CONTEXT. AND SO THAT WE LOOK AT THOSE THAT ARE SUBMITTED TO US, YOU KNOW, EACH AND EVERY DAY, APPLY THE RULES THAT ARE LISTED THERE IN OUR IN OUR RULE BOOK, THE RULE BOOK, THE AMERICAN STUD BOOK, WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF NAMING A HORSE. YOU CAN NAME IT AFTER A PERSON, SO LONG AS YOU HAVE WRITTEN PERMISSION TO SUBMIT UP TO 18 CHARACTERS AND SPACES AND PUNCTUATION WILL COUNT TOWARDS THAT MAXIMUM. ONE OF THE RULES STIPULATES THAT THE NAMES THAT ARE IN POOR TASTE OR COULD BE CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE. THOSE NAMES ARE REJECTED. THE MOST COMMON REASON THAT NAMES WHEN THEY’RE SUBMITTED, IF THEY’RE REJECTED, IS BECAUSE THERE ARE DIRECT SPELLING MATCHES, AND THESE ARE JUST A FEW. IN TOTAL, THERE ARE SEVEN SECTIONS WITH SEVERAL SUBSECTIONS DETAILING SPECIFICS TO NAMES ALOUD, AND IT’S THE JOCKEY CLUB THAT HAS THE FINAL SAY ON WHETHER A NAME GETS APPROVED OR REJECTED. WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROCESS OF OWNING A RACEHORSE, AND THAT A LOT OF FOLKS LIKE TO HAVE FUN WITH IT. DO YOU REMEMBER THAT SOME OF THE NAMES HAD HISTORICAL MEANING? WELL, WELCOME TO RESOLUTE RACING FARM. IT SITS ON SOME OF THE MOST HISTORIC AND INFLUENTIAL LAND IN HORSE RACING LORE. ONCE A FAMOUS STUD FARM IN THE 1800S. LEGENDS OF THE SPORT HAVE BEEN BORN AND DIED ON THESE GROUNDS. AND NOW THE ORIGINAL NAME OF THIS FARM WILL LIVE ON. AFTER OVER 2500 SUGGESTIONS AND THE SUBMISSION PROCESS, PREKI HAS HIS NAME. TO PAY HOMAGE TO THOSE HALLOWED GROUNDS, KEEPING THE LEGACY OF THE OLD HOPING FOR A HISTORIC FUTURE. HIS NAM

Whether it’s Seattle Slew or Smarty Jones, Country House or Funny Cide, Mage or Man O’ War, race horse names most often strike a unique or clever tone.And how a horse gets its name is a unique process itself.Watch the full story from WLKY’s Scott Eckhardt and Sam Carter in the video player above.

Whether it’s Seattle Slew or Smarty Jones, Country House or Funny Cide, Mage or Man O’ War, race horse names most often strike a unique or clever tone.

And how a horse gets its name is a unique process itself.

Watch the full story from WLKY’s Scott Eckhardt and Sam Carter in the video player above.



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