Pretty sure this is legit. A friend of mine had a shitty satellite TV setup back in the day and we used to amuse ourselves by placing bets on horses purely for their crazy names ("Come on, Heavy Chick!") This guy's just having fun with it 'cause he knows the only people watching are degenerate gamblers.
This is why horse racing has been the combination gambling/booze absorption method of choice for me for years. I can't wait for season to start back up again.