Kentucky Derby horses and their storied names: Family, friends, and a hunt for luck

When the Churchill Downs announcer introduces 3-year-old Jace’s Road at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, two young members of the crowd will take special notice.

The bay colt’s co-owner, Jason Loutsch, named the horse after two Jaces in his life — his nephew’s son and his best friend’s son.

Both will be there watching as he thunders past in pursuit of racing’s most prestigious prize.

Loutsch then incorporated the sire’s name, Quality Road, to christen the Kentucky Derby hopeful, which has 15-1 odds.

Loutsch says it’s “very challenging” to name between 20 and 30 horses a year at the stable, a challenge shared by the rest of the field — and the entire racing world — as the colorful field of names on Saturday will show.

Hit Show, Verifying, Two Phil’s, Confidence Game, Tapit Trice, Kingsbarns, Reincarnate and the rest of the runners all have a story behind their name — some of them very personal.

“To think that we named a horse that is in the Kentucky Derby and it’s named after you, it’s pretty cool for the individual,” says Loutsch, who serves as partner in the Des Moines-based Albaugh Family Stables with his father-in-law Dennis Albaugh.

Hopefully his family includes names like Sebastian and Stella.

In the 148 years of Kentucky Derbies, 19 winners’ names begin with “S.”

“B” and “C” are close behind with 13 winners each, according to Shannon Luce, The Jockey Club’s director of communications. 

Perhaps the owners of Skinner (20-1 odds) and Sun Thunder (50-1 odds) had the success of “S” names on their mind as both vie to become the 20th Kentucky Derby winner beginning with an “S.” 

Meanwhile, the current favorite, Forte (3-1 odds), is about four letters short of the average character length for Kentucky Derby winners (9.86 characters).

Loutsch’s 3-year-old Angel of Empire (8-1 odds) will also run in this year’s Kentucky Derby, giving the Iowa-based racehorse owner two slots in the field.

Angel of Empire was bred by the sire Classic Empire out of the mare Armony’s Angel, inspiring the bay colt’s name.

“We kind of just combined the two,” Loutsch explains. “We just liked the way it sounded.”

But no horse is more famous than Secretariat. 

The 1973 Triple Crown winner could’ve been named Scepter, Royal Line, Something Special, Games of Chance, or Deo Volente if breeder Christopher Chenery had his way. 

But those names were already in use — a violation of The Jockey Club’s rules.

Chenery’s secretary, Elizbaeth Ham, suggested the winning name because she used to work at the Secretariat of the League of Nations, the predecessor to the United Nations.

While there’s no rhyme or reason to racehorse names, there are plenty of rules owners must abide by. 

The Jockey Club oversees the stud book in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico and approves submitted names.

“Once a name is officially recorded, the horse can become active in thoroughbred racing or breeding,” Luce told The Post.

Among the many peculiar rules, names cannot consist entirely of numbers, exceed 18 characters including spaces (no Kentucky Derby winners have ever used 18 characters), or include the name of a racetrack.

Once horses start their first race, the name stays — forever.

Owners can recycle horse names after a horse turns ten years old.

While some owners meticulously strategize over names, others don’t overthink the process.

Businessman Jerry Caroom sometimes relies upon songs, such as “Walk On By” and “Baby It’s You” — which he subsequently named two of his horses.

But gut can still reign supreme.

“A guy I hadn’t seen in 50 years, his last name was Pilkington. I recently named a horse Pilkington,” he says. “I don’t know why on that particular day when I needed to name the horse he came to mind, but that’s what I did.”

And when he visited his high school friend in Hot Springs, Arkansas, he didn’t expect inspiration to strike.

But when he introduced himself to his friend’s daughter-in-law, his next horse’s name became inevitable.

“I went up and introduced myself and she said, ‘Hi, I’m Charlie,’ and I go, ‘Oh, a girl named Charlie.’ So what did I do? I named the horse ‘Girl Named Charlie,’” he says. 

The filly, which he bought for $150,000 in 2021, has already won $75,000 in 2023.

Caroom insists that names must be treated with care, despite his seemingly nonchalant attitude. “When you own a horse, you hope for the best for each and every one of them. And they deserve to be named in a thoughtful manner.”

Rockville, Maryland-based Susan Scheffres says she names her racehorses after their personalities.

Her husband Michael named one after his wife.

The Scheffres bought a yearling for $15,000 three years ago sired by Barbados — the horse, not the island.

Michael decided to make things simple and call the horse Sue Loves Barbados after his wife.

The now 5-year-old has won $167,876 in his career.

But their most distinctive name is Goodafternoonoscar, an 18-character name and an inside joke.

“When I would show up at the stables at seven o’clock and [trainer Oscar Mancilla] had been there since three o’clock… he would say, ‘Good afternoon, Susan,’ like making fun of me,” she says. “So I named that one ‘Goodafternoonoscar’ because I got so sick and tired of hearing ‘Good afternoon, Susan.’”

The horse, which Scheffres and her husband bought for $10,000, has won $56,720 in its career.

Some owners are stuck with the name that comes with the purchase of the animal.

Kirk Godby bought Confidence Game, a 3-year-old colt running at the Kentucky Derby with 20-1 odds, for just $25,000 at a 2021 sale.

Although the breeder had already named him by the time of Godby’s purchase, Godby regularly jots down potential names — sometimes stemming from television commercials.

“I keep a running list all the time if I think of something that we could use in the future,” Godby says.

He prefers one syllable word names, but his stable currently features horses such as Epoch, Air It Out, and Candy Raid (named because of his stable partner’s sweet-toothed grandkids).

“The horse doesn’t know its name, but certainly the people around the horse know the name,” remarked Godby. 

As the biggest day of the year for racing enthusiasts, the Kentucky Derby is not far from owners’ minds when they name horses, according to Loutsch. 

“20,000 foals are born every year. 20 horses get in the Kentucky Derby,” Letusch says. “When you name these horses, you’re not really thinking they’re probably going to get to the Kentucky Derby. But you’re hoping.”