Jockey Club, Weatherbys Launch Racehorse Naming Platform

The Jockey Club and Weatherbys have jointly launched a new digital platform called “Racehorse Naming,” the organizations announced Tuesday. The website allows users to check Thoroughbred name availability across Great Britain, Ireland, the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

The collaborative tool aims to simplify the naming process for owners and breeders, particularly benefiting those handling unnamed Thoroughbreds that cross international borders.

“Racehorse Naming streamlines the naming process for owners and breeders and will be especially useful for unnamed Thoroughbreds bred or purchased in one country and imported to another, which requires name approval by the exporting and importing authorities,” the organizations stated in their announcement.

Andrew Chesser, director of Registration Services and director of Business Development for The Jockey Club, emphasized the practical benefits of the new platform.

“We’re proud to partner with Weatherbys to launch Racehorse Naming, and we hope that owners and breeders find it easy to use and helpful in streamlining the naming process,” Chesser said. “Given the scale of trade between Britain, Ireland, and North America, it made perfect sense to create a shared tool that supports those naming horses bred in one jurisdiction and racing in another.”

The service addresses a significant need in the international racing industry, according to Mike Butts, Head of Equine Services at Weatherbys.

“Working with our partners at The Jockey Club U.S., we have created a new service designed to help anyone looking to check the availability of horse names across multiple jurisdictions–not just in Britain and Ireland but now also in the USA, Canada, and Puerto Rico–all through a single, convenient website,” Butts said. “It has been a great pleasure to work alongside our long-standing partners at The Jockey Club U.S. to deliver a tool that will be of real assistance to our many mutual customers.”

The platform’s search results clearly indicate whether a potential name is available in both jurisdictions, only one jurisdiction, or neither jurisdiction. The Jockey Club maintains naming authority for the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, while Weatherbys oversees naming in Great Britain and Ireland.