A Horse Is a Horse of Course Unless . . .

A federal appeals court has ruled that a filly can't be named "Sally Hemings" after Thomas Jefferson's most famous slave and reputed lover.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled that the Jockey Club can legally bar horse owner Garrett Redmond from naming his 4-year-old horse after Hemings.

The Jockey Club is a private organization designated by Kentucky to track and approve names of race horses. Without an approved name, a horse cannot race at a Kentucky track.

In May 2005, Redmond sued the Kentucky racing authority and the Jockey Club after his request to name the horse for Hemings was denied. Redmond argued that the denial had deprived him of his constitutional rights.

Wrote U.S. District Judge Alice Bathelder in ruling:

"In short, because he has spent three years insisting he has a constitutional right to name his horse 'Sally Hemings' and that no other name will do, Mr. Redmond now finds himself, like the songster of the 70s, having 'been through the desert on a horse with no name'."

The horse is currently known as "Awaiting Justice."