X-rated horse names just being mispronounced, Racing Australia says

Racing bosses insist the names are above board. Photo / 123RF

At first glance it seemed like a cheeky owner had snuck two X-rated horse names past Racing Australia, but the governing body insists we're just pronouncing them wrong.

Punters were having a giggle after a pair of nags named Lovin' Deqoque and Get On Deqoque appeared in separate races at a meeting at Daegon Racecourse north of Brisbane on Tuesday.

The horses, both trained by Darryl Ward and ridden by jockey Bobby El-Issa, finished fourth and second in their respective races but it was their unusual monikers which caught the attention of racing fans and even made headlines overseas.

"Interesting how the #1 in Trial 8 and #5 in Trial 9 got through the system when named," Steve Ridge tweeted.

But Racing Australia says it is fully aware of the names and everything is above board.

"We contact owners when they lodge the names to make sure we know how the horse names are pronounced and what the meaning of the name is," Racing Australia boss Myles Forman told 7 News.

Get On Deqoque is ridden by jockey Bobby El-Issa. Photo / Getty Images

"And in this case it's De-quo.

"Look, a combination of letters and words can mean different things to different people.

"In this case we were confident it should be pronounced De-quo.

"Therefore there's nothing here that prompts concern for Racing Australia."

If you say so, sir.