What is the Registrar of Racehorses?

The Registrar of Racehorses is responsible for the naming and registration of thoroughbred racehorses nationally, including overseas bred horses imported into Australia for racing purposes. The Registrar of Racehorses registers approximately 14,000 horses each year.

A horse must be registered with the Registrar of Racehorses before it can commence its racing or breeding career. During the registration process the horse is officially named and details of all owners are recorded.

How to register a horse

To register a horse, complete a registration application form and forward it to the Registrar of Racehorses together with the horse’s Foal Identification Card and the relevant fee.

After the horse has been registered, a Thoroughbred Identification Card will be issued. The Card describes the horse’s breeding, markings, age, sex, colour, brands and microchip number. This document must remain with the horse if sold and at all other times.

Types of ownership

A horse can be registered in the names of up to 10 owner entities. An owner entity can be a natural person; a registered syndicate; a company; a firm; or a stud.

Following registration, any subsequent changes of ownership are recorded by the Principal Racing Authority (PRA) in the state or territory in which the horse is racing.

Naming a horse

Before a horse name is approved the intended name is checked against a number of criteria (e.g. no more than 18 characters; not too similar to another horse’s name; no trademarks, brand or company names).

For more information about naming rules and to check name availability visit the Registrar of Racehorses website at www.risa.com.au.

Identifying an unknown horse

The Registrar of Racehorses also provides an identification service for the purpose of identifying horses whose parentage is unknown. When a horse is successfully identified, an identification document describing the horse’s pedigree, dam’s breeding record, sire’s breeding statistics and race record will be provided.

All horses born in Australia since 2003 are microchipped and can be identified through their microchip number.

Responsible authority

The following table identifies which transactions are managed by the Registrar of Racehorses (ROR), and which are the responsibility of the Principal Racing Authority (PRA) in the appropriate state or territory.