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Jockey Club (United States)

The Jockey Club is an American organization that oversees the breed registry for Thoroughbred horses in the United States and Canada. It is dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, and it fulfills that mandate by serving many segments of the industry through its subsidiary companies and by supporting numerous industry initiatives.

The Jockey Club was formed on February 9, 1894, and it is the keeper of the American Stud Book. It came into existence after James R. Keene spearheaded a drive for support of racehorse trainers who had complained about the Board of Control that governed racing in New York State.

Upon 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, and William Collins Whitney.

Founding officers:

Founding stewards:

The Jockey Club is the registry for all Thoroughbred horses in the United States and Canada, and maintains offices in New York City and Lexington, Kentucky. The Registry maintained by The Jockey Club, called the American Stud Book, 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 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, 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, Belmont Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup or Breeders' Cup events.

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