Racehorse Owner Told To Rename His Hitleresque Steed

The Jockey Club, the leading sanctioning body in what’s left of the sport of horse racing in the U.S., sent out a clear message Wednesday to anybody thinking of naming their horse after Hitler: Don’t name your horse after Hitler. The two-year-old colt Austrian Painter made his racing debut Monday with a win in the third race at Horseshoe Indianapolis Racecourse. Obligatory: He covered the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.97, and paid $9.00. Afterward, the Jockey Club received objections about the victorious newcomer, but these weren't the standard post-race protests about a jockey’s obstructing or dangerous ride or a horse’s drug abuse. No, these complaints were about the horse’s name. Because, as reported by ESPN in its Austrian Painter story, “Hitler was born in Austria and was an artist.” He was indeed! Austrian Painter’s owner and breeder is Scott Herbertson, a 58-year-old California native now based in Texas. In 2014, he founded the Herbertson Racing Stable. I could find no Kentucky Derby horses or winners of any other graded stakes race in his barn. But while he’s not a major player in the sport and seems more likely to enter his animals at unglamorous tracks like Horseshoe Indianapolis than Saratoga, Herbertson has spent lots of time in winner's circles. In 2014, the Thoroughbred Owners of California named him to their Rookie of the Year roster. According to Herbertson's page in the racing database Equibase, his horses have finished in the money 351 times in 561 starts, with a very impressive 164 wins. Herbertson's total earnings are now just over $2.5 million. Alas, nothing his horses ever did on the track brought Herbertson anywhere near the attention that this has.

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