Dean A. Hoffman

It’s that time of year when foals are bustin’ out all over and nothing gladdens the heart of a breeder than a healthy foal able to get out and romp around right away.

Once the foal’s health is assured, the breeder has the delightful task of thinking of a name for his newborn. In harness racing, there are many farm names used, so many, in fact, that there are very much a part of the sport’s lore.

Bret Hanover, for example, may not be the most imaginative name for a horse, but he was a superstar pacer in the 60s. Mack Lobell was a trotting star two decades later.

Farm names like Hanover, Lobell, Almahurst, Blue Chip, Armbro, Yankee, Hall, and Fox Valley are among those names that are commonplace in harness racing, but there are many other names that good horses have carried to fame.

What follows isn’t an exhaustive list, but rather just an A-Z snapshot of a prominent horse or two for each letter of the alphabet.

A Two great stallions, Adios and Abercrombie, start the list. Adios was out of Adioo Volo while Abercrombie’s dam was Bergdorf. You had to like the name American Winner as he and driver Ron Pierce were decked out in red, white and blue when they won the Hambletonian.

B I remember the 1964 yearling ad for the Good Time colt from Besta Hanover. The copy said that he might be the “Best

Best Of All warms up for trainer-driver Jim Hackett prior to winning the 67′ Jug. USTA Photo

Of All.” It certainly a fitting name for a champion pacer and later Hanover stallion. Beach Towel was another good name, particularly for a colt out of Sunburn. I like the name Big Towner, too.

C How can you beat Caressable as a feminine name for a pacing filly. She was superb on the track and as a broodmare. Camtastic is another great name and I like Central Park West, too. Coffee Break was a good pacer in the early 1960s and, like Best Of All, he was out of the mare Besta Hanover.

D Die Laughing is a name that always appealed to me. His dam was Makin Smiles and his second dam was Real Hilarious.

E Electric Slide is the name of a popular dance step and also the name of a filly that won the Breeders Crown.

F Flamboyant was a gifted trotting filly, good enough to beat colts in the Dexter Cup in 1967. I also like the name of the Jug winner and star sire Fake Left.

G Greyhound—how can you top this one? He was a great trotter and he was sleek, fast and grey—just like a greyhound dog. Good Time was a perfect name, too, and other good ones include Grinfromeartoear, Gleam, and Galleria.

H Handle With Care never handled any of her rivals with care. She usually beat the heck out of them. She was the first

Handle With Care and trainer-driver Billy Haughton graced many winner’s circles in the mid-1970s. USTA Photo

female in the breed to beat 1:55. Hot Hitter was a good name for a son of Strike Out and Hit Parade’s first dam was Carolina Rhythm and her second dam was Miss Tempo.

I Impish was a name altogether fitting and proper for the feminine trotter that made history in 1961 by setting race records that lasted for many years.

J Joie De Vie means “joy of life” in French and this trotter brought great joy to breeder-owner Maurice Siegel in 1983.

K King’s Counsel was a rival of Adios on the track. King’s Counsel is a barrister representing the Crown when the sovereign is a male.

L I love the name Loyal Opposition, one of the best pacing mares of recent decades.

M Most Happy Fella was a spot-on name for a son of Laughing Girl. Magician is a good name, too. And was there ever a better-named horse than Moni Maker?

N I always thought that Noble Victory was a perfect name for a colt whose parents were trotting nobility. I also like the names No Nonsense Woman, Nero, and Naughty But Nice.

O I’m not sure you can do better than On The Road Again. He was a great pacer who often went on the road and seemed to win wherever he went, prompting post-race parties where everyone would sing the Willie Nelson song of the same name.

P Peter The Great was a foundation sire and, no, he was not named for the Russian czar but rather for his trainer Peter V. Johnston of Michigan. But isn’t Peter The Great a wonderful name for a foundation sire? Peace Corps was a great name for an international star.

Q Quick Pay won the ’76 Kentucky Futurity, denying stablemate Steve Lobell the Triple Crown. Everyone who does business in harness racing loves customers who are quick pay when the bills come due.

R Royal Prestige seemed like a name fit for a trotting king and Real Desire is a good tag for a horse that had supersonic speed. Roses Are Red was a superior name for a superior filly.

S Don’t you agree that Speedster was a superb name for a Standardbred? Or how about Super Bowl? Silk Stockings was a very feminine name for a tomboy pacer.

T I always fancied the name Turn The Tide. And for a colt bred by a North Carolina resident and foaled in that state, what

Torpid and trainer-driver John Simpson, Sr. and owner-breeder Max Hochberg. USTA Photo

could be have been better than Tar Heel? Charlotte Sheppard paid homage to her home state when she named a homebred colt Texas. Other good names were Troublemaker and Torpid. The latter was a Jug winner who was anything but torpid on the track.

U Uhlan was a champion trotter almost a century ago and one of the most beautiful of all our trotting champions. There is a street named for him just outside the entrance to The Red Mile.

V Doesn’t every owner have a Victory Dream? The owners of this ’91 colt saw their dreams come true when he trotted to victory in the Hambletonian.

W You’d simply have to like a filly named Worldly Beauty, particularly if she won $1.9 million. Workaholic was a memorable name and Worthy Boy proved worthy on the track and in the stud barn.

X X-ing was a gelding trotter that earned $323,842 in the 90s and his dam was X Way.

Y Yes It’s True was a terror on the track, winning 34 of 74 starts and, yes, it’s sadly true that she died at age seven.

Z Zoot Suit was out of the mare Glad Rags and he almost won the ’76 Hambo. He later became a sire of monumental importance in Sweden.