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All the United Kingdom England Newmarket Potoooooooo

Potoooooooo

A misunderstanding gave this 18th-century racehorse a most amusing name.

Newmarket, England

Added By
Kerry Wolfe
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  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
Potoooooooo.   S. Gilpin/public domain
His remains stand in the National Horseracing Museum.   Tony Lewis/The National Horseracing Museum/CC BY-SA 2.0
It’s believed these are Potoooooooo’s bones.   Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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About

When it comes to naming racehorses, breeders aren't afraid to get weird. But there's perhaps no Thoroughbred with a name as unique—or amusing—as this.

In 1773, a healthy chestnut colt with a blaze was born. According to the lore, his owner, Willoughby Bertie, 4th Earl of Abingdon, planned to name the foal “Potatoes,” and told a stablehand to write this chosen moniker on a feed bin.

But the stablehand made a bit of a mistake. He thought his boss had asked him to write “Pot-eight-O’s” and spelled the name as such. Supposedly, the earl was so amused by the gaffe, he kept the wonky spelling. (Some records shorten the name to Pot-8-Os or Pot8Os.)

Potoooooooo went on to have a successful racing career, racking up several wins. He retired from racing in 1784 and became a prolific stallion, siring more than 100 winners.

After Potoooooooo died in November of 1800, he was buried near a tree in Hare Park, the farm where he’d been retired. His body lay undisturbed for about 200 years, when a storm felled the tree and uprooted what's believed to be his remains. Now, the skeleton stands within the National Horseracing Museum, in the company of other legendary—though less legendarily named—equines.

Related Tags

Skeletons Horses Names Mistakes Museums Sports

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The National Horseracing Museum is open Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. An adult ticket costs £12.

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Added By

Kerry Wolfe

Edited By

rbenn250

  • rbenn250

Published

April 17, 2019

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Sources
  • http://www.horsenation.com/2014/11/18/potoooooooo-the-unbelievably-legitimate-story-of-a-racehorse/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potoooooooo
  • http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Pot-8-Os.html
  • https://www.paulickreport.com/news/ray-s-paddock/newmarket-digging-pot8os/
Potoooooooo
Palace House
Palace St
Newmarket, England, CB8 8EP
United Kingdom
52.243863, 0.407299
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

The Spirit of Enterprise

Suffolk, England

miles away

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miles away

Fourwentways Bronze Age Cemetery

Cambridge, England

miles away

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Photo of England

England

United Kingdom

Places 2,199
Stories 144

Nearby Places

The Spirit of Enterprise

Suffolk, England

miles away

West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village

West Stow, England

miles away

Fourwentways Bronze Age Cemetery

Cambridge, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of England

England

United Kingdom

Places 2,199
Stories 144

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