What’s in a Name?
An op-ed in today’s New York Times regarding this afternoon’s Belmont Stakes got me thinking about another crime perpetrated by the horse racing community, namely the names.
If Big Brown wins today he’ll be the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown. “Affirmed”? What kind of name is that for an animal? “Big Brown” at least makes some sense, but “Funny Cide”, “Casino Drive”, “Touch Gold”, “Empire Maker”? Those aren’t names. They’re just words strung together, some vaguely related to gambling. When they’re brushing these animals in the stable do they actually use these absurd monikers? I hope not.
Maybe I’ll call my cat “Window Dressing” or “Furball Dancer”.
UPDATE: Big Brown loses.
Filed under: Animals, Current Events, Sports on June 7th, 2008
actually, few people know where the word “Moggie”comes from