Adark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals,[1] that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance,[2] unlike the underdog who is expected to lose.
The term began as horse racing parlance for a race horse that is unknown to gamblers and thus difficult to establish betting odds for.
The first known mention of the concept is in Benjamin Disraeli's novel The Young Duke (1831). Disraeli's protagonist, the Duke of St. James, attends a horse race with 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."[3]
James A. Garfield, elected the twentieth president in 1880; in the beginning of that same year, Garfield was a rising star in the Republican party but had no interest in the presidency and endorsed Secretary of the TreasuryJohn Sherman. However, his party's national nominating convention became deadlocked due for due to a split in the delegates between former Republic president Ulysses S. Grant, Senator James G. Blaine, and Sherman. The party sought a compromise candidate, and they opted to select Garfield over the latter's own objections. Garfield, however, would be assassinated just six months into his term.
Jimmy Carter, former Governor of Georgiaelected the thirty-ninth president in 1976; in the beginning of that same year, Carter was relatively unknown outside his home state of Georgia but went on to win the nomination over rivals with more national prominence. At the 1976 Democratic National Convention Carter made a joke of his obscurity beginning his speech saying "My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for President."
Outside of the United States, the dark horse status also attributed to:
in Peru Alberto Fujimori rose to the presidency in 1990, after being mostly unknown during the electoral race and eventually defeating his rival Mario Vargas Llosa, who initially was leading the polls. This same feat would be repeated in the 2021 Peruvian general election, when Pedro Castillo, a previously unknown elementary school teacher, won the presidential race in the first round and eventually in the Runoff.[10]
InNigeria, Goodluck Jonathan can be referred to as a dark horse, as he was the first president from the historically marginalized Niger Delta region, and he also rose through three political offices (from the deputy governor of Bayelsa State to governor, from governor to vice-president, and from vice-president to president) through unusual circumstances.
InFinland, Lauri Kristian Relander was elected president as a dark horse in 1925, his party naming him as its candidate only after the people had voted for presidential electors. A dark horse presidency in Finland remained possible and sometimes speculated upon until the electoral system was changed to a direct personal vote in 1987.
InGermany, government leaders were initially not party politicians (1867-1918). Dark horse candidates were not uncommon in the Weimar era (1919-1933); backbencher Franz von Papen and general Kurt von Schleicher were chancellors of this kind. Most influential became retired general and World War I leader Paul von Hindenburg, who was elected president in 1925, despite not even having run in the first round of that contest. In the Federal Republic (since 1949) dark horse candidates are rare. The most notable example might be Martin Schulz, former president of the European Parliament and mayor of a small town. His candidacy for chancellorship failed in the 2017 federal parliament elections, despite a temporary polling surge. In the 2021 German federal election it was long speculated that the Green Party led by Annalena Baerbock or the CDU/CSU led by Armin Laschet would place first in the polls and/or be able to get their candidate elected chancellor. Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party of Germany who had himself lost his party's leadership election to Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans in December 2019, the winners of that contest also being described as "Dark horses", was long not considered a viable option for the chancellorship before jumping ahead to first place in the polls and ultimately leading his party to the most seats in the Bundestag.
In Venezuela, then-President of the National AssemblyJuan Guaidó, almost unknown in the Venezuelan political scene, proclaimed himself acting president of the country in January 2019 and subsequently appeared in national and international media. The Washington Post called him "the accidental leader".[14][15][16]
In addition, surprising or unlikely nominations for such prizes as the Academy Award (awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) are referred to as dark horses.
Guitarist and singer-songwriter George Harrison was nicknamed the "dark horse" of The Beatles, as his visibility as a songwriter and vocalist increased later in the Beatles' career, particularly on Abbey Road. Harrison went on to name his solo label Dark Horse Records and release both an album and a song titled "Dark Horse.”
Switchfoot's song "Dark Horses" was inspired by an organization called StandUp for Kids, which aids homeless and street children (the "Dark Horses") across America.
The 24th chapter of Mark Helprin's novel Winter's Tale is called 'White Horse and Dark Horse,' referring to the character of Praeger de Pinto as an outlier candidate for the Mayor of New York City.
Todd Solondz' 2011 drama film Dark Horse, whose protagonist is implied by the character's father to be "Dad's Dark Horse" in broader terms.
In 2013, a song by Katy Perry titled "Dark Horse" was featured on her fourth studio album Prism. It was the third single released from the album and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.
^Jussila, Osmo; Hentilä, Seppo; Nevakivi, Jukka (1999). From Grand Duchy to a Modern State: A Political History of Finland Since 1809. C. Hurst & Co (Publishers) Ltd.
^"About". The Dark Horse Report. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
