The definitive (and totally arbitrary) list of best Kentucky Derby horse names
In keeping with Will Rogersâ quip â âA difference of opinion is what makes horse racing and missionariesâ â here follows an arbitrary, arguable and unlikely-to-create-converts list of the top 10 names of Kentucky Derby horses:
10. American Eagle
Jockey Club rules prohibit the recycling of the names of Kentucky Derby winners, but the names of also-rans are often available. American Eagle is the only name bestowed on two different Derby horses. The first American Eagle was the first Derby mount of Hall of Fame jockey Earle Sande in 1918. The second, in 1944, was the only Derby mount of Jess Higley. Both American Eagles finished last.
9. Die Hard
In early 1959, both Die Hard and Bruce Willis were 3-year-olds. "Die Hard" the film would propel Willis to stardom and has spawned four sequels. Die Hard the horse finished 16th in a field of 17 in the 1959 Derby. Yippee ki-ay.
8. Johnstown
In 1939, the 50th anniversary of the catastrophic Johnstown Flood, a bay colt bearing the Pennsylvania townâs name became the second of four horses to win the Derby by eight lengths, still the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. Two of the four eight-length winners â Whirlaway (1941) and Assault (1946) â went on to win the Triple Crown.
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7. Thirty Six Red
Named for the highest number on a roulette wheel, Thirty Six Red was Mike Smithâs second Derby mount and finished an uninspired ninth in 1990. Which brings us to one of the Jockey Clubâs more arcane rules for naming thoroughbreds: Names consisting entirely of numbers are prohibited, but numbers above thirty may be used if they are spelled out.
6. Col. Hogan
Remember âHoganâs Heroes?â Shortly after Sgt. Schultz (John Banner) celebrated his first birthday in Vienna, a long shot called Col. Hogan finished 15 lengths behind the next-worst horse in the 1911 Derby. As televisionâs Col. Hogan (Bob Crane) said in another context, âI have a plan that has no right to work, but letâs give it a try anyway.â
5. American Pharoah
Memorably misspelled, the 2015 Triple Crown winner invoked owner Ahmed Zayatâs Egyptian roots, but the name was actually suggested by a registered nurse from Missouri, Marsha Baumgartner. Playing off the name of the coltâs sire, Pioneerof the Nile, and his Damâs sire, Yankee Gentlemen, Baumgartner submitted her entry in an online naming contest conducted by Zayat Stables. âI donât remember how I spelled it; I donât want to assign blame,â she told the New York Times, but added, âI looked up the spelling before I entered.â
4. Silky Sullivan
Known as a late closer and famous for lagging far behind the field, Silky Sullivan went off as co-favorite in the 1958 Derby with the great Bill Shoemaker in the saddle. But in the withering words of the race summary, he reached the final turn and âmade only a brief and ineffectual bid of less than one-sixteenth mile and refused to extend himself thereafter.â (The author is no relation to the horse, though he has sometimes been described as a part of equine anatomy.)
3. Macbeth II
The 1888 Derby winner was a gelding, emasculated literally as Shakespeareâs Macbeth was figuratively. But at the urging of jockey George Covington, and with what the race summary called a âtremendous finishing kick,â Macbeth II screwed his courage to the sticking place and did not fail.
2. Burgoo King
Named for Lexington grocer James T. Looney and his renowned regional stew, Burgoo King overtook Economic in the stretch for a five-length victory in the 1932 Derby. Later, Looney began canning his concoction under the name âBurgoo King,â including a photo of the Derby winner on the label.
1. Secretariat
Whatâs in a name? Syllables, sound, derivation, association. Imagine Chic Andersonâs famous call from the 1973 Belmont as, âSceptre is moving like a tremendous machine.â It doesnât quite resonate, does it? But Sceptre was the first of five names the Jockey Club rejected for the transcendent colt ultimately known as Secretariat. Named by Meadow Stables secretary Elizabeth Ham, who had previously worked for an American diplomat, Secretariat still owns the record times for all three Triple Crown races.