The Jockey Club is the breed registry for Thoroughbred horses in the United States and Canada. It is dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing and fulfills that mandate by serving many segments of the industry through its subsidiary companies and by supporting numerous industry initiatives.
The Jockey Club, formed on February 9, 1894, is the keeper of the
American Stud Book
The ''American Stud Book'' is the stud book for the Thoroughbred horse in the United States. It was founded by Sanders Bruce, with assistance from his brother B. G. Bruce.Montgomery ''Thoroughbred'' p. 162 In 1896, The Jockey Club bought out Bruce ...
. It came into existence after
James R. Keene
James Robert Keene (February 8, 1838 - January 3, 1913) was a Wall Street stockbroker and a major thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder.
Biography
He was born in London, England in 1838. He was fourteen years of age when his family immigr ...
spearheaded a drive in support of
racehorse trainers who had complained about the Board of Control that governed racing in New York State.
About
On its formation, The Jockey Club included the existing members of the Board of Control and was overseen by seven appointed stewards. Its twenty-seven founding members included prominent and wealthy sportsmen such as
Philip J. Dwyer,
John A. Morris,
William Kissam Vanderbilt
William Kissam "Willie" Vanderbilt I (December 12, 1849 – July 22, 1920) was an American heir, businessman, philanthropist and horsebreeder. Born into the Vanderbilt family, he managed his family's railroad investments.
Early life
William Kiss ...
, and
William Collins Whitney
William Collins Whitney (July 5, 1841February 2, 1904) was an American political leader and financier and a prominent descendant of the John Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration of President Grover Cle ...
.
Founding officers:
* Chairman - John Hunter (co-owner of
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actu ...
)
* Vice Chairman -
James R. Keene
James Robert Keene (February 8, 1838 - January 3, 1913) was a Wall Street stockbroker and a major thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder.
Biography
He was born in London, England in 1838. He was fourteen years of age when his family immigr ...
(
stockbroker, racehorse owner/breeder)
* Secretary-Treasurer -
Frank K. Sturgis
Frank Knight Sturgis (September 13, 1847 – June 15, 1932) was an American banker who served as president of the New York Stock Exchange and became a prominent member of New York society during the Gilded Age.
Early life
Sturgis was born in New ...
(President of the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
)
Founding stewards:
* John Hunter
* James R. Keene
* Frank K. Sturgis
*
August Belmont Jr.
* J. O. Domer
* Col. William P. Thompson
* Gideon Lee Knapp
The Jockey Club is the registry for all
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
horses in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and maintains offices in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
Lexington, Kentucky. The Registry maintained by The Jockey Club, called the ''
American Stud Book
The ''American Stud Book'' is the stud book for the Thoroughbred horse in the United States. It was founded by Sanders Bruce, with assistance from his brother B. G. Bruce.Montgomery ''Thoroughbred'' p. 162 In 1896, The Jockey Club bought out Bruce ...
'', dates back to the club's founding and contains the descendants of those horses listed, as well as horses imported into
North America up to the present.
Participants in the Registry program agree to allow the Registry to conduct genetic testing to verify parentage as well as arbitrating any disputes between owners. The Jockey Club has taken the position that it will not allow
cloned
Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, ...
Thoroughbreds to be registered in the ''American Stud Book'', making it impossible for such horses to compete in most races. The Club has consistently prohibited artificial insemination throughout its history, only allowing the registration of horses born through "natural" procreation.
Naming of foals is also controlled by The Jockey Club and includes a number of conventions. Names may not consist of more than 18 letters (with spaces and punctuation marks counting as letters), contain initials such as C.O.D., F.O.B., etc., or end in "filly," "colt," "stud," "mare," "stallion," or any similar horse-related term. Names may also not end with a numerical designation such as "2nd" or "3rd," whether or not such a designation is spelled out. Names of persons may not be used unless written permission to use their names is on file (examples of such permission are actor
Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman (April 27, 1922 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor of stage, film, and television.
He began his career in 1950 and started television and film work with roles in '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957) and '' Cry Terror!'' (1958). ...
,
whose namesake competed in the
Kentucky Derby, and tennis star
Chris Evert,
whose namesake is in the
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame). The names of "notorious" people may never be used, nor can namesakes of racetracks, races, or stable names. Trademarks and copyrighted names are similarly not allowed as are vulgar, obscene or offensive ones. The list also protects names of currently active horses as well as horses enrolled in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame or other well-known horses, including winners of the
Kentucky Derby,
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () o ...
,
Belmont Stakes,
Jockey Club Gold Cup
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the s ...
or
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...
events.
Charities
Created in 1984, The Jockey Club Research Foundation was joined along with the Grayson Foundation, established in 1940 by
George D. Widener, Jr.,
William Woodward, Sr. and
John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New York Herald Tribune'', and president of the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Whitney family.
Early life
Whi ...
, amongst others. It is now known as the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Inc.
The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is the nation’s leading source of equine research funding and it helps all breeds.
The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation is a charitable trust that provides, on a confidential basis, financial relief and assistance to needy members of the Thoroughbred industry and their families.
Assistance includes financial aid, medication, surgical and hospital costs, therapeutic equipment, voice-recognition computers for quadriplegics and wheelchair-accessible vans, among other needs.
NTRA
The Jockey Club formed the
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is a broad-based coalition of American horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with incr ...
(NTRA) in 1998 with the
Breeders' Cup Limited,
Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association {{short description, Organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders
The American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeder ...
,
Keeneland Association,
Oak Tree Racing Association
The Oak Tree Racing Association is an American nonprofit corporation that exists to conduct live thoroughbred horse racing in Southern California.
Graded Stakes races at the Oak Tree meet
Since Oak Tree Racing moved to Hollywood Park in 2010, some ...
and the National Thoroughbred Association. The Jockey Club maintains a seat on the board of directors of the NTRA.
Breeding Bureau
Believing the
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
was the best breed of horse and could pass on its superior traits to other breeds, in 1906 The Jockey Club of New York established the Breeding Bureau. Its purpose was to provide Thoroughbred stallions as sires that would produce a variety of top quality half-breed general purpose horses.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Breeding Bureau expanded the part of the program which had been providing horses for the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
Cavalry Remount Service. Some of the prominent Thoroughbred runners who were donated to the Cavalry Remount Service include:
*
Gold Heels
Gold Heels (foaled 1898 in Pennsylvania) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who, in a two-year period, set one new stakes record and four track records, including a world record.
Background
Gold Heels was bred by Alexander Cassatt ...
- winner of the 1902
Suburban Handicap
*
Sir Huon - winner of the 1906
Latonia and
Kentucky Derbys;
*
George Smith - winner of the 1916 Kentucky Derby;
*
Behave Yourself - winner of the 1921 Kentucky Derby;
*
Hurryoff - winner of the 1933
Belmont Stakes.
Experimental Free Handicap
Since 1933, the Jockey Club has compiled the Experimental Free Handicap, a weight-based assessment of the previous year's 2-year-olds based on a theoretical race at a distance of 1
1/
16 miles.
America's Best Racing
TJC Media Ventures is a commercial subsidiary of The Jockey Club that oversees the new-fan development activities, primarily under the “America’s Best Racing” (ABR) brand. The company uses a multi-media strategy that involves traditional media outlets,
television and mobile technologies as well as social and digital media to introduce new and casual fans to the vibrancy of the sport. Through followhorseracing.com, ABR increases the profile and visibility of North America’s best Thoroughbred
racing events, with a focus on the sport’s lifestyle and competition.
ABR also has a promotional tour featuring brand ambassadors who travel to college campuses, high-traffic areas and various other strategic locations in different cities, seeking to attract a younger audience to the sport.
References
External links
The Jockey Club websiteThe Jockey Club Registry websiteGrayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Inc.The Jockey Club Safety Net FoundationNational Thoroughbred Racing AssociationAmerica's Best Racing
{{short description, US breed registry for Thoroughbreds
Horse racing organizations in the United States
Equestrian organizations
Horse breed registries