Ranking the Best Kentucky Derby Horse Names of All Time
The horses running in the Kentucky Derby possess an almost alien beauty. Graceful, powerfully athletic, downright noble—they're bred to be perfect specimens.
And yet sometimes, they're named things like Dr. Barkley. Or Wool Sandals. Or Burgoo King.
That's because the Kentucky Derby is inherently silly, if you think about it. The hats and mint juleps and pageantry are all over the top. So it makes an ironic sort of sense that the horses running in it tend to have ridiculous, overly intense and generally strange monikers.
Based on the images they conjure and the backstories they force us to imagine, these are the best horse names in the history of the Kentucky Derby.
20. Hot Rod Charlie (2021)
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Hot Rod sounds fast, first of all. And more than that, you get a human name tacked onto the end. You can tell this one took some real thought because Hot Rod Chuck and Hot Rod Charles aren’t nearly as good.
Charlie was the right way to go.
The name conveys the feeling that HRC is just reckless enough to be dangerous on the track. That he’s known for getting caught up in the pursuit of pure speed and will push just a little harder than the rest of his competition. He’s had some tough wrecks and is a bit worse for wear, but he only feels truly alive when he’s charging down the track.
Hot Rod Charlie doesn’t have a lot of races left in him, but he’s going to give everything he’s got until he can’t anymore.
19. Elocutionist (1976)
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Admit it, you’re thinking about a CBS procedural.
The Elocutionist is divorced, has an arm’s-length relationship with his kids and doesn’t take the best care of himself. But you’d better believe he solves crimes because the suspect mispronounces a key word in his alibi, and he always catches it.
The horse, not the TV character, finished third in the '76 Kentucky Derby and won the Preakness but then suffered an injury prior to the Belmont Stakes. It's said he retired and went out to stud, but that sounds like cover for his law enforcement career.
18. Cat Thief (1999)
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It's always a good idea to imply quickness in a horse name. Cats are known for their quickness, so that works well here. But everything else about this one is strange—in a fun way.
Not to get too dark, but is this name suggesting a horse was responsible for several cat disappearances around the stables? Are no actual cats involved, and the horse is just a regular thief, as in “cat burglar”?
Either way, it’s deeply confusing to incorporate the name of one animal in the name of a different animal. We like this one for the mystery.
17. Deadlock (1922)
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Pretty sure he was in one of the Suicide Squad movies.
Deadlock was probably very quiet but always chose the optimal racing line and stuck to it, regardless of who was in his way.
This is a riskier name than you might think, as Deadlock is a term used to describe an unbreakable tie. If owners or trainers are trying to speak results into existence, maybe go with “Won by a Nose” or “Millimeters Ahead.”
16. Danza (2014)
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I’m choosing to assume this name is aspirational, and that this horse is named after Tony Danza in hopes that it will take on the characteristics of, arguably, the world’s most talented human.
You might know Tony Danza anchored the famous '80s sitcom, Who’s the Boss? (Clearly, it was Angela), but Danza was also part of an ensemble before that in Taxi. That’s great acting scaleability.
He’s been in movies that won Oscars. He’s been in shows that won Emmys. He’s been on Broadway. He’s hosted variety shows and talk shows and written books.
He was also a professional boxer before he was an actor.
Any horse with half of Danza’s talent would be an exceptional horse.
15. Mr. Big News (2020)
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It was tough to choose between Mr. Big News and Mr. Trouble, the only two horses with the honorific “Mister” to finish among the top four in the history of the race. Ultimately, Big News got the nod because the name is about 5 percent funnier.
This continues the truism that giving a title of any kind is a good way to go. The introductions you’d have to make are always ridiculous in the best way.
Yes, hello. This is my horse, Mr. Big News. He’s very fast. Wait, why are you laughing? That’s his name.
Mr. Big News is a name you give your laziest, fattest cat—not a world-class thoroughbred. It’s deliberately silly. When you address him, you almost have to adopt that goofy tone you use when telling your dog they’ve been a good boy.
14. Cyberknife (2022)
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Cyberknife is just an online handle for Monty (a very common horse name when I looked it up), but it’s stuck. He’s the kind of horse who wears sunglasses that look like they came from the future, pounds Mountain Dew and has the fastest speedrun in North America for Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3.
Cyberknife made the transition from gaming to actual racing as a way to earn extra money, and it turns out a lot of the skills translate. He has lightning-quick reaction times, great hoof-eye coordination and is comfortable operating at maximum speed.
This is the runaway winner in the futuristic name category.
13. Single Foot (1925)
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Single Foot finished fourth in the 1925 Kentucky Derby. Imagine how much better he could have done if he’d had his other three.
This was an absolute monster year for horse names. Flying Ebony won, Captain Hal finished second and Son of John was third.
Deeper down the rankings, we got Needle Gun (eighth), Broadway Jones (11th) and The Bat (17th). None of them set up as easily for a lame joke as Single Foot, but they all ran a great race.
12. Exterminator (1918)
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Leather jacket taken from a biker, shades, badass catchphrases like “Saddle up” and “Hay is for horses, but pain is for you," Exterminator is the most intimidating racer we’ve covered so far.
He’s super jacked, rarely speaks and used to be involved with some kind of top-secret special forces squad but gave it all up to raise his daughter. Now, he’s been pulled back into the racing world because, well…we actually haven’t worked out the rest of the script yet. But you get the idea.
Exterminator doesn’t run dirty, per se, but everyone else in the field knows to give him a wide berth. Bump him out of the starting gate, and you’re asking for trouble. Most horses are even afraid to pass him; the ones that do lose ground quickly because they’re constantly looking behind them to make sure Exterminator isn’t about to run them over.
11. Clyde Van Dusen (1929)
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The year is 1929, and Clyde Van Dusen is just sitting around doing whatever people did back then, like playing stickball with a pageboy cap, yelling “extra, extra!” while selling newspapers and calling something “the bee's knees," when all at once, his friends start making horse noises at him.
It takes him a while to figure it out because news traveled slowly back then, but Clyde eventually realizes it’s because there’s a horse in the Kentucky Derby with his exact human name.
He commiserates with Jack Higgins, who shared a name with the horse that finished fourth in 1928, and the two later meet George Smith, who’d been dealing with the same issue since 1916, when the horse with his name won the Derby.
Lesson: If you give your horse a regular name like Clyde Van Dusen, you might accidentally be subjecting someone to years of taunting.
Incredible fact: Clyde Van Dusen (the horse) and War Admiral, who won the Derby in 1937, were both sired by Man o' War, arguably the greatest horse in history. The photo above is of Man o' War because he was a big enough deal to get his picture taken in the early 1900s.
10. Shut Up (1944)
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A couple of options here. Maybe this horse never stopped whinnying during its early days, and trainer Ray Priddy (yeah, I looked it up) just named it the thing he was constantly yelling at it. Either that, or this is our first entry celebrating a name designed specifically to mess with the rest of the horses in the race.
Imagine the broadcaster in the booth shouting into the loudspeaker, “It’s Skytracer out front, followed closely by Shut Up, Rock Woodboy and American Eagle!”
Rock Woodboy would definitely be confused. He hadn’t even said anything. He was just trying to catch the horse in front of him. Maybe he slows down a little to turn his head toward the announcer’s booth, wondering why someone’s yelling at him to shut up.
And that’s when Shut Up bolts past him. What a sucker Rock Woodboy was, right?
9. Majestic Prince (1969)
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We’ve got a real fancy lad here. You just know the competition views Majestic Prince as a total nepo-baby who only got into the race because his dad pulled a few strings. That was probably a hard position to hold onto after Majestic Prince won the Derby in 1969; you can’t outrun everybody in a fair fight if you don’t have any actual skill.
Still, the rest of his contemporaries definitely resent the way MP grew up with all the best trainers, eating all the best artisanal oats, running on all the top tracks and generally looking down his (very long) nose at all the horses lacking royal lineage.
A win’s a win, but nobody liked Majestic Prince. He was really stuck up.
8. His Eminence (1901)
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A few things to know about His Eminence.
First, you are not allowed to look him directly in the eye or address him using anything other than his full name. Jockeys have to ask permission to ride him, and they’re absolutely never allowed to kick or whip him to make him go faster. One jockey told him to “giddy up” once, and His Eminence immediately threw him off and had him banned from racing forever.
Second, he’s Majestic Prince’s father and is really, really disappointed in him because Majestic Prince grew up with such privilege that he never cultivated any grit or earned things the way His Eminence had to.
It’s a rough family dynamic and, deep down, His Eminence feels guilty for raising such a soft, privileged son.
7. Sir Catesby (1909)
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Sir Catesby is Majestic Prince’s steward/fixer/reluctant protector, put in place by His Eminence because Majestic Prince just can’t be bothered to look out for himself.
You can tell he hates the gig and doesn’t respect Majestic Prince, but he’s duty-bound and has so much reverence for His Eminence that he puts up with it. Sir Catesby wasn’t born into a high station, but he worked for it and has always been loyal.
Plenty of Sirs have raced in the Derby. Sir Huon won it in 1906, and Sir Barton won it in 1919. Sir Cleges was second in 1908. Sir Ribot was fourth in 1962.
Percentage-wise, using “Sir” gives you great odds of having a fast horse.
6. Secretariat (1973)
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The 1973 Triple Crown winner has to be included here because he was so utterly dominant that his name reached that rare status of becoming its own superlative.
Someone who destroys the competition, usually by showing unthinkable stamina and speed, is often referred to as “the Secretariat” of whatever that thing is. Go on a hot run at the grocery store, where you’re ultra efficient, navigate the aisles in perfect order so you don’t have to make a second trip and then choose the correct checkout line, and you’re the Secretariat of shopping.
If you know the name of one racehorse, it’s probably Secretariat.
5. Sinister Minister (2006)
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This is absolutely a 1980s wrestler who emerges from a smoke-filled tunnel, slow-striding toward the ring, head bowed, black emo-makeup running down his face. There’s definitely a hard-rock version of a deeply ominous hymn blaring over the speakers, and the crowd is pretty unnerved.
His finishing move is called The Last Rites. Nobody ever gets up after it.
Seriously, though: This one rhymes and conjures some unsettling images. Great name for a horse if intimidation is the goal.
4. Gun Runner (2016)
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Is…is this horse actually an arms dealer?
Does he stand in dusky light on the deck of a rusted, cold-war era tanker ship 20 miles offshore, watching as some oligarch’s lackey comes chopping over the waves toward him in a speedboat, hoping to cut a deal for some smuggled nukes?
Does he flick a cigarette overboard, smirk and say things like “you know, in this business, it can really be boom or bust,” as he leans against a missile, pleased with his joke?
Probably not. But the name conjures that image, and it has to intimidate the rest of the horses in the race. At least a little.
3. Big Truck (2008)
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Not the smartest horse, but he’s huge and powerful. And he delivers.
You can rely on Big Truck. He’s never late, he doesn’t take shortcuts (because he can’t fit), and he absolutely stays in his lane.
A lot of trainers and owners get too slick with the whole naming thing. They want to cultivate this idea that their horse is magical, or special, or…I don’t know…somehow destined for success. Big Truck is a blue-collar pivot away from all that, and we should appreciate such a straightforward, no-nonsense name.
When Big Truck is coming down the stretch, you get out of his way.
2. Lucky Debonair (1965)
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If this isn’t the name of a suave, always-has-an-ace-up-his-sleeve riverboat gambler from the 1870s, I don’t know what is.
This is a horse who’ll cheat to win, but he’s so full of roguish charm that you almost can’t be mad at him for it. Always on the lookout for his next big score, Lucky is wanted in Missouri and parts of Arkansas for passing forged checks and getting mixed up with the wrong tobacco magnate’s daughter, respectively.
He won the Derby in 1965, probably because the night before the race, he loosened the harness straps on the saddle of the horse who finished second, Dapper Dan. He probably had to hightail it out of Kentucky shortly after the victory because the law was hot on his trail.
1. War Admiral (1937)
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This one is an all-timer, both in name and success.
You get a lot of “War-Something” names in Kentucky Derby history. We had War Cloud in 1918 and War Emblem in 2002, for example. Both go hard. But War Admiral has the most gravitas by far—both because he won the Triple Crown in 1937 and because his name commanded such immense respect.
Not to take anything away from him, but War Admiral could have just told the other horses to stand at attention and salute him at the starter’s gun, and they would have, allowing him to get a huge head start. Horses aren’t very smart, but they do respect military rank.
The takeaway is that you should definitely use “War” in your horse name. It’s basically impossible for it not to sound cool.
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