On Saturday, the United States of America will celebrate its 250^th birthday with festivities aplenty all around the nation including at horse racing venues currently undergoing summer meets – led by the July 4^th Racing Festival at Saratoga.

Over the years, many Thoroughbred owners have paid tribute to the U.S. and Independence Day through the names of their racehorses. A few years back, we decided to put together a list of some of the most patriotic horse names in American racing, and we’ve updated it for 2026 to mark the occasion.

Keep in mind, this list only includes horses that spent the majority of their racing careers in the U.S., so there’s no room for crack Australian sprinter Starspangledbanner and England’s classic winner George Washington. Also, with a couple of exceptions at the end, we're focusing on racehorses that won at least once on the track.

Fourth of July: According to Equibase, six Thoroughbreds bred in the U.S. have carried this name. The most recently-named Fourth of July was the son of a mare named Dixie Holiday. He last raced in December of 2017 and won seven races, earning $172,646.

Constitution: A millionaire on the track and now a leading sire, Constitution has made the most impact on the sport and breed during the 21^st century among this list of patriotic-named Thoroughbreds. He won two Grade 1 races and currently stands at WinStar Farm for a hefty $110,000 stud fee. His best foal to date, 2020 Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law, certainly evokes our nation’s founding principles, and several other of his progeny are on this list, including …

Amendment Nineteen: Named after the landmark amendment passed in 1919 and enacted in 1920 granting women full voting rights in the U.S., this mare had a brief but successful racing career for Juddmonte, winning twice in six starts and hitting the board in a pair of stakes races.

Americanrevolution: Another offspring of Constitution, Americanrevolution earned more than $1.2 million racing from 2020 to 2023, winning the Cigar Mile and finishing runner-up in the Stephen Foster Stakes and Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes.

American Anthem: This sprinter by Bodemeister had the most success early in his career with three 2017-’18 graded stakes wins for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. In 21 career starts, he earned more than $840,000.

American Freedom: Another Baffert trainee, American Freedom won the Iowa Derby in 2016 but is perhaps best remembered for running second behind stablemate Arrogate in a record-setting Travers Stakes later that summer.

American Patriot: Three Thoroughbreds have carried this name according to Equibase. The best was campaigned by WinStar Farm, and he retired in October 2017 as a two-time graded stakes winner.

American Promise (Eclipse Sportswire)

American Promise: The last of the “America’s” on this list is still in training. He’ll always be remembered as the final Kentucky Derby starter trained by the late D. Wayne Lukas, as he qualified for last year’s run for the roses after romping in the Virginia Derby. American Promise is now in Steve Asmussen’s barn and just raced last week at Churchill Downs.

Independence Hall: Another standout son of Constitution, Independence Hall earned more than $880,000, won three stakes, and is now standing along with his sire at WinStar Farm. His first crop of runners hit the track in 2025, including …

Civil Liberty: Racing for two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O’Neill, he turned heads with a sharp win at Keeneland this spring and then finished fifth in the Woody Stephens Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun June 6. Now back in California training this summer – look for him at the upcoming Del Mar summer meet.

Stars and Stripes: This late-blooming 4-year-old trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott just might make some noise in the older male division after starting off 2026 with two wins in three starts, including a game half-length win in the Ben Ali Stakes this spring at Keeneland.

Ben Franklin: This hard-knocking gelding is still “healthy, wealthy, and wise” enough to stay in training, checking in fourth in a handicap June 27 at Prairie Meadows. Back in 2024, he finished fourth in a stakes race at Oaklawn Park, racing for Ken McPeek at the time.

Continentalcongres: The missing ‘s’ at the end of his name doesn’t keep him from our list. He made 32 starts, mainly on the Mid-Atlantic circuit, from 2021-’24 and finished in the money twice in stakes races.

Uncle Sam and patriots at Saratoga. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Early Voting: Owner Seth Klarman has a penchant for naming his horses after either economic or political concepts, and arguably his most successful runner among this group won the 2022 Preakness Stakes and is now a sire with his first crop of foals competing this year (see our second to last entry below).

Informed Patriot: He briefly made some noise on the Triple Crown trail back in 2024 but could not accumulate enough points to make the Kentucky Derby. A stakes winner and earner of just under $350,000, he was sold for  $1.55 million just days after finishing third in the Indiana Derby.

Give Me Liberty: His name a shoutout to Patrick Henry’s ultimatum, the Constitution gelding is currently based at Gulfstream Park and finished second by a neck June 21 in a starter optional claiming race. 

Hoist the Flag: Let’s go back and honor the 1970 champion 2-year-old male, who only made six starts but crossed the finish line first in all of them (he was disqualified for interference in the Champagne Stakes). He was retired early due to injury and did not make the 1971 Triple Crown, but had success in the breeding shed standing at historic Claiborne Farm in Kentucky.

We the People: Honoring the stirring first words of our Constitution, this son of its namesake stallion was a Belmont Stakes “buzz” horse four years ago after winning the Peter Pan Stakes. He finished fourth in the Belmont and later was sold to stand at stud in Peru.

John Hancock: He has yet to make an imprint on racing commensurate to Hancock’s bold signature on our founding document, but this Constitution colt did win the Sam F. Davis Stakes last year and has started twice for trainer Brad Cox in 2026.

Bill of Rights: Three U.S.-based horses have been named in honor of the Constitution’s core tenets, the most recent ending his career in late 2025. The best made 58 starts back in the 1990s and won the 1993 Westchester Handicap over champion Fly So Free at Aqueduct, now part of racing’s history.

Patrioticandproud: He never won a graded stakes race, but managed to earn more than $669,000 by making 48 starts in the 2010s all around North America. The gelding’s best form came in late 2014 into early 2015, when he missed by a neck and a length in two Grade 2 turf stakes in California.

Gettysburg Address: Still in training, the Constitution gelding tried stakes company early in his career but found his level in claiming races, most recently winning in January at Oaklawn Park.

Freedom's Not Free (BENOIT photo)

Freedom’s Not Free: A current West Coast standout, this turf performer returned for his first 2026 start and rallied to win the Daytona Stakes by a nose at Santa Anita Park June 26 for trainer Mark Glatt. He’s a son of Omaha Beach, named after the historic D-Day beachhead.

Pledgeofallegiance: Surprisingly, there’s only been one U.S.-based horse named after the classroom recitation we all remember having to make. The Constitution gelding never reached stakes level but did earn just under $350,000 from 2020-’24, winning four times in 35 starts. 

V. E. Day: Named after one of the most important days in U.S. military history when Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allied Forces on May 8, 1945, he scored a memorable upset win in the 2014 Travers Stakes for trainer Jimmy Jerkens and is now enjoying retirement at Old Friends in Kentucky

General Election: Racing during the 2010s, he had a good run early in his career for trainer Kellyn Gorder, winning stakes races at Turfway Park and the late, lamented Arlington Park.

Remember the Maine: Named after the rallying cry that started America’s turn toward expansionism via the Spanish-American War, this gelding spent eight years plying his trade at various tracks, mainly in Florida and Illinois, finishing at Hawthorne Race Course in 2025.

Voting Rights: This filly is named after something far too many Americans take for granted as we approach our 250^th birthday. She’s from the first crop of Early Voting, has been sold twice at auction, and just had her first recorded workout June 25 at Keeneland.

Filibuster: This one’s yet to race for Centennial Farms, who purchased him for $325,000 last September as a Keeneland yearling. He’s by, you guessed it, Constitution, and Centennial has shared several videos of him preparing for his racing career this spring while also offering partnership shares.