How to Name a Racehorse: Jockey Club Rules and the Merrylegs Rename

How to name a racehorse: the short answer

To name a Thoroughbred racehorse in North America, the owner or breeder submits proposed names to The Jockey Club registry, online or through its naming app, and the registry approves or rejects each one. You can send up to six choices in order of preference, and each must be 18 characters or fewer, counting spaces and punctuation.

Even an approved name isn't always safe, as one Indiana colt found out this week.

Austrian Painter is now Merrylegs: what happened

On Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, a homebred 2-year-old colt called Austrian Painter won his first race at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Two days later, The Jockey Club, which keeps the official registry for Thoroughbreds in the U.S. and Canada, ruled that the name was ineligible. A formal complaint alleged the name was a reference to Adolf Hitler.

The registry cited Rule 6.F.9.d, which bars names "likely to be offensive or threatening" based on factors including color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, politics or sexual orientation. The Jockey Club said it was notified of the complaint earlier that week and immediately began a review. According to Horse Racing Nation, the registry confirmed the review on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 23, and the new name was approved the same day.

• The owner's side: the owner-breeder said the name honored Gustav Klimt, the Austrian artist, a favorite of his wife, whose family comes from Austria.
• The new name: his daughter picked Merrylegs, the gray pony in Anna Sewell's Black Beauty (a classic on our best horse books for kids list).
• The sister: the colt's yearling full sister, first registered as New Order, must also get a new name.
• The registry's line: The Jockey Club told the AP it takes these matters seriously and appreciated that they were brought to its attention.

The case is unusual because the name had already been approved and the horse had already raced. That makes it a good moment to look at how racehorse naming works.

How to name a racehorse, step by step

The basic process

1. Register the foal. Foals are registered with The Jockey Club after parentage is verified by DNA.
2. Brainstorm. Most owners play off the sire and dam's names, then add family jokes, places or hobbies.
3. Check availability. Search the registry's name database first. Most rejections happen because a name is taken or too close to one in use.
4. Submit up to six choices. List them in order of preference. The registry takes the first one that passes review.
5. Wait for approval. A registry reviewer checks spelling, pronunciation, meaning and conflicts before the name becomes official.

Deadlines and fees

Fees change over time, so confirm them on The Jockey Club's current fee schedule before you submit. A horse can't race until it has an approved name.

Jockey Club naming rules: what gets rejected

Roughly 30% of submitted names are rejected, according to the registry. The most common reason is simple: the name matches or sounds too much like one already in use.

Names you can't use

• Anything over 18 characters. "Seabiscuit" fits easily; a long phrase often doesn't.
• Living people's names unless you have their written permission. Names of well-known people who have died need approval too.
• Commercial names, trademarks and copyrighted material. Racetrack names and graded stakes race names are also out.
• Offensive, vulgar or suggestive names, including hidden meanings, misspellings and other languages. Reviewers do look for these.
• Names that could offend based on creed, ethnicity, national origin, race, religion or politics. This was the rule used in the Austrian Painter case.
• Only initials or numbers, like C.O.D., or names ending in "2nd" or "3rd."
• Horse words at the end, such as filly, colt, mare, stallion or stud.
• Copies of famous horses on the protected or permanent lists.

The permanent and protected names lists

Some names are retired forever. The permanent list includes Hall of Fame horses, Eclipse Award and Sovereign Award winners, horses that earned $2 million or more, and winners of the Triple Crown races, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Breeders' Cup Classic and the Breeders' Cup Turf. That's why you'll never see a new Man o' War or California Chrome.

An international protected names list does the same for famous horses from other countries. Names of Grade 1 winners from the past 50 years are also off-limits.

Ordinary names aren't locked forever. Once a horse is out of racing and breeding for long enough, the name can be released and used again.

Can you change a racehorse's name?

Yes, but timing matters. Before a horse's first start, a name can be changed for a fee as long as the horse hasn't been used for breeding, and plenty of owners do.

After a horse has raced, changes are rare, because bettors and record-keepers rely on a horse's name to follow its form. Under The Jockey Club's Rule 6(D), once a horse has started or been bred, its name won't be changed except for good cause, which includes the registrar revoking the original name. When that happens, the old name appears alongside the new one until the horse has made three starts under the new name, so nobody gets confused.

Merrylegs is a rare example of a change forced by the registry after a start. Most name changes are voluntary and happen long before a horse sees a racetrack.

Retired racehorses keep their registered names on their papers for life. Many get a friendlier "barn name" for everyday use once they move to a second career, as many OTTBs do.

How other countries compare

The 18-character limit is close to universal in major racing countries, but each registry runs its own process.

• Britain: real people's names need written permission, including people who died less than 50 years ago. Names with obvious commercial meaning or in poor taste are refused.
• Australia: the registrar can also cancel a registered name. A name generally can't be reused until 17 years after the horse's birth, or 20 years after the birth of its youngest foal.

If you buy a horse abroad and bring it to race in the U.S., its name usually stays, with a country code like (GB) or (IRE) added in racing records.

What to do and what to watch next

If you're naming a horse

• Start early, well before Feb. 1 of the horse's 2-year-old year.
• Search the registry database before you fall in love with a name.
• Count every letter, space and apostrophe.
• Read the name out loud and search it online for slang or hidden meanings.
• Get written permission before using a living person's name.
• Submit six choices, not one.

What to watch

• Merrylegs' next start. Watch race programs for the new name, likely with a note about the old one.
• The sister's new name. It hasn't been announced yet.
• Big-race names. The Breeders' Cup at Keeneland is a good place to spot clever names built from pedigrees.

For the lighter side, see our roundup of funny horse names, and look up racing terms in the glossary.