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Registration of a Racehorse

Application to Register a Horse

The most recent version of the Horse Registration application is dated 1 May 2021. The Registrar will only accept Registration Forms using the most current version of the Registration Form dated 1 May 2021.

It is recommended that you read the Registrar's Naming Policy prior to submitting a name for approval.

Please select one of the following forms based on the number of owners with a share in the horse.

An owner can be a natural person, registered syndicate, company, firm or stud.

Please note that $20 of each Registration Fee is allocated to the Racing Australia Research and Development Fund for the purposes of research and development directly associated with the Thoroughbred Racehorse.

To download the following PDF files please "Right-click" and "Save" to your local PC.

*Completed applications should be lodged, complete, 10 working days prior to the horse being nominated to trial or race.

The Application to Register a Horse must include the following information about the foal being registered:

  • Colour
  • Sex
  • Foaling date
  • Sire and dam
  • Brands and Markings

For foals born:

  • prior to 1995 - only the application form and fee are required.
  • between 1995 and 2002 - the Document of Description issued to the breeder, the application form and fee are required.
  • in 2003 or after - the Foal Identification Card, issued to the breeder by the Australian Stud Book, the application form and fee are required.

Owner Information

When completing the ownership section, All owners must supply full details including date of birth, contact phone number, mobile number, email and sign the Owner Declaration. Bank account details should also be supplied, including any relevant ABN numbers to assist in the payment of prizemoney. An ABN should only be supplied if an entity is registered for GST for racing purposes. Incomplete information will result in delays in registering a horse.

The order in which owners are listed on the registration application dictates who becomes the 'Manager' of the horse. The 'Manager' of the horse is the first-named person recorded by the Registrar of Racehorses (ROR) in the official ownership records. The manager of the horse has additional powers such as the ability to engage a jockey, to nominate and to scratch the horse. Please see Part 4 - Horse Registration, Ownership, Leasing & Traceability (Division One (1)) - Horse Registration in the Australian Rules of Racing (click here) to understand all powers extended to the Managing Owner.

The application form has provision for up to twenty owners and each owner must state their share percentage. The total of the shares must be exactly 100%.

In order to have an interest in a racehorse, the owner must be over 18 years of age.

If you are seeking additional intellectual property protection for a name, image, jockey silk design or any other indicia associated with a horse click here to access the Racing Australia Intellectual Property Policy.

Naming Procedures

The regulations regarding the naming of racehorses in Australia are as follows:

Australian Rule of Racing AR 41 states that:
  • The Registrar may refuse to register any name which for any reason he/she may deem undesirable.
  • The Registrar may cancel any horse's registered name for whatever reason he/she deem necessary.

Proposed names for the horse to be registered must be supplied in order of preference. Please ensure that only names you really want are included in your list. Changes to names post registration approval are subject to charges. Different versions/spellings of the same name are treated as a single choice.

Click here to search for a name for your horse

All owners should read the Information Page regarding the registration of a horse.