Dark horse

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Dark horse

A "dark horse" is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing who emerges to prominence.

term began as horse racing parlance. A dark horse is a race horse that is not known to gamblers and thus is difficult to place betting odds on.

The earliest-known use of the phrase is in Benjamin Disraeli's novel The Young Duke (1831). Disraeli has the protagonist, the Duke of St.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Dark horse'

Start a new discussion about 'Dark horse'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

A "dark horse" is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing who emerges to prominence.

Origin

The term began as horse racing parlance. A dark horse is a race horse that is not known to gamblers and thus is difficult to place betting odds on.

The earliest-known use of the phrase is in Benjamin Disraeli's novel The Young Duke (1831). Disraeli has the protagonist, the Duke of St. James, attend a horse race that has a surprise finish: "A dark horse which had never been thought of, and which the careless St. James had never even observed in the list, rushed past the grandstand in sweeping triumph."

Use

Politically, the term was first applied to James K. Polk

James K. Polk

James Knox Polk was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849. He was 49 years old at the time of his inauguration, making him the youngest President up to that time....
, a relatively unknown Tennessee Democrat who won the Democratic Party's 1844 presidential nomination over a host of better-known candidates. Polk won the nomination on the ninth ballot, and went on to win the 1844 presidential election

United States presidential election, 1844

The United States presidential election of 1844 saw Democratic Party James Knox Polk defeat Whig Party Henry Clay in a close contest that turned on foreign policy, with Polk favoring the annexation of Texas and Clay opposed....
.

Other famous dark horse candidates for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
presidency

President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
include:

Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857, an Politics of the United States and lawyer....
, chosen as the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party . It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world....
nominee and later elected
United States presidential election, 1852

The United States presidential election of 1852 was in many ways a replay of the United States presidential election, 1844. Once again, the incumbent President of the United States was a United States Whig Party who had succeeded to the presidency upon the death of his war hero predecessor; in this case, it was Millard Fillmore who followed G...
the 14th president in 1852
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
, chosen as the Republican
Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
nominee and elected
Elected

Elected is the latest EP by Netherlands Progressive metal project Ayreon. It was released on April 25, 2008 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and on April 28 in the rest of Europe....
as the 16th president in 1860.
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was an Politics of the United States, Law of the United States, Military of the United States and the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States ....
, elected
United States presidential election, 1876

The United States presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed and intense presidential elections in American history. Samuel J. Tilden of New York defeated Ohio's Rutherford B....
the 19th president in 1876.
James A. Garfield, elected
United States presidential election, 1880

The United States presidential election of 1880 was largely seen as a referendum on the Republican Party relaxation of Reconstruction era of the United States efforts in the southern states....
the 20th president in 1880.
Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding

Warren Gamaliel Harding was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death from a heart attack or stroke, in 1923....
, elected
United States presidential election, 1920

The United States presidential election of 1920 was dominated by the aftermath of World War I and the hostile reaction to Woodrow Wilson, the History of the United States Democratic Party....
the 29th president after his surprise nomination
1920 Republican National Convention

The 1920 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States nominated Ohio United States Senate Warren G. Harding for President of the United States and Governor of Massachusetts Calvin Coolidge for United States Vice President....
.
John W. Davis
John W. Davis

John William Davis was an Politics of the United States, diplomat and lawyer. He served as an United States Representative from West Virginia , then as Solicitor General of the United States and United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom under President Woodrow Wilson....
, the unsuccessful
United States presidential election, 1924

The United States presidential election of 1924 was won by incumbent President of the United States Calvin Coolidge, the History of the United States Republican Party candidate....
Democratic nominee
1924 Democratic National Convention

The 1924 Democratic National Convention, also called the Klanbake, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, took a record 103 ballots to nominate a presidential candidate....
in 1924.
Wendell Willkie
Wendell Willkie

Wendell Lewis Willkie was a corporate lawyer in the United States and the United States Republican Party nominee for the United States presidential election, 1940, despite having never held a prior elected political office....
, the unsuccessful
United States presidential election, 1940

The United States presidential election of 1940 was fought in the shadow of World War II as the United States was emerging from the Great Depression....
Republican
Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
nominee in 1940.

More recently, Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the List of Presidents of the United States and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office....
and Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the fifteenth Democrat elected to that office....
have been described as dark horses, after they overcame a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls to win the 2008 presidential election

United States presidential election, 2008

The United States presidential election of 2008 was held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. It was the 56th consecutive wikt:quadrennial United States United States presidential election....
and 1992 presidential election

United States presidential election, 1992

The United States presidential elections of 1992 featured a battle between incumbent President of the United States United States Republican Party George H....
, respectively. The same has been said about Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize....
and the 1976 presidential election

United States presidential election, 1976

The United States presidential election of 1976 followed the resignation of President Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal. It pitted incumbent President of the United States Gerald Ford, the Republican candidate, against the relatively unknown former governor of Georgia , Jimmy Carter, the Democratic candidate....
.

The term dark horse is also used outside the political context. Surprising or unlikely nominations for such prizes as the Academy Award are referred to as dark horses. It is also used in sport beyond horse racing, in connection with competitors or teams that—despite not being initial favorites—have done well and may win.

Dark horse

Origin

Use

See also