The Jockey Club reminds owners and breeders that a valid attempt to name foals of 2008 must be made by Feb. 1, 2010, to avoid a $75 late fee. As an aid in selecting a desired name, The Jockey Club once again has published, on the Registry’s website, a list of 40,263 names released from active use on December 23.

A majority of the released names are those of horses that will be over 10 years old on January 1 and that have not raced or been bred during the preceding five years. Names selected from the list for re-use are still subject to approval by The Jockey Club prior to use, pursuant to Rule 6 of the Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book.

“We encourage owners and breeders to take advantage of the resources available on the Registry’s website when selecting names for their Thoroughbreds,” said Matt Iuliano, The Jockey Club’s vice president of registration services. “Besides perusing the list of recently released names, they can check the potential availability of their name selections using the Online Names Book, which lists all of the names currently in use or otherwise unavailable.”

Both resources are updated as names are claimed so that users are always looking at the most current information. The list of recently released names, the Online Names Book and the Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book are accessible through the Registry’s homepage at registry.jockeyclub.com.

Interactive RegistrationTM (IR) is the quickest and easiest way to submit name applications. Name applications submitted through IR are preliminarily screened to eliminate direct matches with names unavailable for use, resulting in a greater chance of approval of first-choice names when compared with name applications submitted via mail. Owners who name their Thoroughbreds through IR receive their first choice approximately 75 percent of the time. More than 1 million IR transactions have been recorded since its launch in 1996.

Owners who prefer to submit their name applications by mail should do so before Feb. 1, 2010, to The Jockey Club, 821 Corporate Drive, Lexington, KY 40503-2794.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms, among others. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.