Every Kentucky Derby winner, ranked by greatness of name
By Zoe West
52. Flying Ebony (1925): Was it appropriate? Maybe.
51. California Chrome (2014): This one was appropriate, had chrome (lots of white) and from Cali.
50. Dark Star (1953): His namesake will cut off your ear to make a point.
49. Day Star (1878): Creative way of naming a horse .
48. Assault (1946): Triple Crown winner, name appropriate for time he was born into.
47. Sea Hero (1993): Cool name, but doesn’t make sense.
46. Wintergreen (1909): Not bad, but why choose this for a horse’s name?
45. Shut Out (1942): Unfortunate if he had followed his name.
44. Chateaugay (1963): Very French.
43. Venetian Way (1960): Simple, but extra credit for going foreign.
42. Seattle Slew (1977): Triple Crown winner, not totally feeling the name.
41. Sir Barton (1919): First Triple Crown winner from before there was a “Triple Crown” title.
40. Canonero II (1971)
39. Swaps (1955): For some reason I like this name, can’t really say why though.
38. Cannonade (1974): Was always going to be a let down.
37. Sunday Silence (1989): Really cool black horse, exported to Japan before he died.
36. Always Dreaming (2017): Keep on dreaming.
35. His Eminence (1901): Fittingly regal.
34. Cavalcade (1934)
33. Count Fleet (1943): Triple Crown winner.
32. Zev (1923): This horse was actually named after a general of Genghis Khan, so the name has a very neat origin, even if it doesn’t look like it at first.
31. Typhoon II (1897): Good name for a racehorse.
30. Gallahadion (1940): No idea what it means, but sounds cool.
29. Majestic Prince (1969): Appropriate.
28. Unbridled (1990): A long legacy and a cool name.
27. Real Quiet (1998)
26. Foolish Pleasure (1975): Light hearted name for a serious game.
25. Apollo (1882): The sun god, appropriate.
24. Iron Liege (1957): Cool name, I feel I know another Iron Liege for some reason…
23. Strike the Gold (1991): Appropriate I guess (owners struck gold in the Derby!).
22. Silver Charm (1997): Grey.