A racing horse is in the midst of an online firestorm after concerns over its ‘Hitler-linked name’ were raised.
Owner and breeder Scott Herbertson entered ‘Austrian Painter’ in his first debut race this week in Indianapolis.
But the Jockey Club ordered Herbertson to rename his horse after multiple complaints alleged that it referenced Adolf Hitler.
As a young man, Hitler painted thousands of pieces but failed to become an artist in Vienna before World War One.
He was twice rejected from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, and his works are widely regarded among art experts as being poor quality.
Online, ‘Austrian Painter’ is a term often used to reference Hitler without outright naming the orchestrator of the Holocaust.
The Jockey Club said in a statement: ‘The Registrar determined that the name is ineligible under Rule 6.F.9.d, which prohibits names that ‘are likely to be offensive or threatening based upon factors including, but not limited to, colour, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, politics or sexual orientation.’
But owner Herbertson has said the horse’s name was a reference to Austrian painter Gustav Klimt.
Backup names submitted by Herbertson included ‘My Struggle’ and ‘Braunau Star’, which also raised eyebrows. ‘My Struggle’ translates to ‘Mein Kampf’, Hitler’s manifesto.
Braunau is the town in Austria where Hitler was born, but Herbertson told Horse Racing Nation that his grandfather was also born there.
Another horse he owns, named New Order, was named after his favourite band – but some pointed out that it was a term for the Nazi plan to occupy Europe.
Austrian Painter has now been renamed ‘Merrylegs’ and won his debut race in Indianapolis.
Jockey Club’s vice president for communications, Shannon Luce, added: ‘We take these matters seriously and appreciate that they were brought to our attention.
‘The naming review process is performed through a combination of human and technological analysis.
‘As part of our continuous evaluation of the process, we assess new technologies as they become available.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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