Dorothy has no white markings. Her coat is comprised of a spectrum of browns, ones that Pantone labels as ‘shaved chocolate’ and ‘molé’ and ‘ganache’ — rich, chocolatey adjectives. However, if you were to curl up her top lip, you would find the mark that humans have left on Dorothy, a faded, blown-out tattoo that identifies her as a race horse.
The legibility of thoroughbred tattoos varies. In Dorothy’s case, we pored over the photo we were able to snap with the intensity of forensic scientists. Could that number be a 4, or was it a 9? Was the 6 a 5 or the 5 a 6? Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 789! But with the information we could glean, alongside some careful guesswork, we pieced together who Dorothy was before she was Dorothy.
Each horse has a history, but more often than not, their records lie in the memories of those humans they’ve come in contact with. For some, there exist photos, maybe videos. Show ribbons, a brass nameplate. A chewed-on fenceboard, a bent panel. It is no secret that more often than not, horses arrive to us from negligent or abusive situations, but they have left their mark in one way or another, just as they have had marks left on them. But while we can invent histories for hours upon end, glean information from how a horse behaves or from physical marks that may be present, there is often very little factual data about who they were before us.
Having a thoroughbred registry to pull from, in Dorothy’s case, changes that.
Plugging in her tattoo reveals her registered name — Jazz’n Off — and plugging in her name reveals her pedigree, a sprawling family tree neatly condensed into a single rectangle. On her dam’s side, she’s got big names like War Admiral and Northern Dancer (and surely more who are more easily identifiable to someone who knows more than just the AA-listers off the top of my head). Attached to each of these little sans-serif names is a history. Some hold entire Wikipedia pages, some direct you to a lovingly tended memorial site, others to a short-form biography, or a page listing stats: starts, wins, losses, earnings. The mark that thoroughbreds leave is often defined by numbers — most notably those beginning in a dollar sign — but each one of Dorothy’s relatives was once a living breathing creature, and just as they left their mark on the racing world (however large or small that might have been), they also left their mark on Dorothy. The color of her coat, her kind demeanor, and, yes, her poor feet, all a result of (or at least influenced by) those who came before her. Every horse has a family tree, but it is so fascinating and such a gift to be able to see exactly what that tree looks like.
Dorothy herself, as ‘Jazz’n Off’ was born in April of 2001. She ran in one race at Emerald Downs in the spring of 2004, but did not see the finish line, as she grew tired after a quick start and was subsequently distanced to the rail.
Dorothy has three full siblings: Jazz Heaven, Jazz Haven, and Jaded Jazz. Jazz Haven was the most successful of the bunch, having several wins and multiple other high placements, earning him nearly 61,000 over the course of his career. Jaded Jazz saw mild success with career earnings just shy of 18,500, with two wins, both in Canada. Jazz Heaven has an Australian name twin who makes it difficult to find much information on him.
Some other interesting individuals in Dorothy’s family are Princequillo and Sir Gallahad both of whom traveled overseas via ship (Princequillo from France to Ireland, and then to New Orleans, and Sir Gallahad from London to New York). Surely there are more seafaring members of her family, but these two went on to have more impressive histories than most.
Dorothy’s legacy may not be in the races she won or the distance she traveled, but rather in the lives she touched.
