(LEX 18) — Jane Lyon, a woman driven by a lifelong dream, embarked on a journey to raise exceptional racehorses on a sprawling farm in the heart of Kentucky.
"We started out with two show horses, in 1995, no thoroughbreds," said Lyon.
She and her husband grew Summer Wind Yearling Farm in Midway. The farm covers 1,300 acres; many thoroughbred racehorses have called it home.
"The top of that list would be Flightline," said Lyon.
Flightline, an undefeated colt in 2022, was not just a favorite heading into the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland—he emerged as the champion, solidifying his place in the annals of horse racing history.
The horse naming registry, a cornerstone of the industry, plays a vital role in ensuring that a horse's name, such as Flightline, is never duplicated.
"There's a number of rules and conditions that have guidelines for owners and breeders to ahere to for that," said Andrew Chesser, the manager of registration services with the Jockey Club, based in Lexington.
They maintain the American Stud Book, which tracks thoroughbred racehorses and their names across much of North America.
Chesser underscores the importance of the horse naming registry, stating, "It all comes back to maintaining the stud book and ensuring the integrity of the thoroughbred breed."
Names are tied to a horse's pedigree, and Chesser says the naming registry keeps all the information straight and accurate for sales catalogs and racing programs.
When it comes to naming a horse, there are specific guidelines that must be followed. For instance, a name could be reused if the horse is 11 years old, hasn't raced or been bred in the past five years, and its name hasn't been protected for another reason. These guidelines ensure the uniqueness and integrity of each horse's name.
But there are several reasons why a name will not be used again.
"Horses who have obtained a certain status or celebrity or success would be permanently protected," said Chesser.
Wins in the Derby, Preakness, Belmont, or the Breeders' Cup Classic, like Lyon's horse Flightline, will do it.
Like all breeders and owners, she always has the pedigree in mind when picking a name, but when one clicks, maybe there's more to it than that.
The actual registry of names used to be a manual process, using a lot of paper.
Now, most come through electronically, through their website or app, streamlining it significantly in a digital age.
They have a committee reviewing naming requests, and the registrar's office makes the final call.
