The idiom “dark horse” has two meanings, both referring to a competitor in a political or horse race. The first meaning describes a mystery opponent with little name recognition who rises to prominence and wins. The second meaning describes a known opponent who is unlikely to win. The phrase originated from horse racing and was first used figuratively in the 1860s. James K. Polk is often referred to as the “dark horse president.” The phrase has also been used in music and literature.
There are two common uses of the idiom “dark horse” which might be the meaning when the phrase is used in modern English. Both meanings refer to a competitor and are similar, if slightly different. The phrase is commonly used, with both meanings, to describe an opponent, especially in a political contest, when it is uncertain how the opponent will behave.
The first and most common meaning is to describe an opponent who is a mystery. The person is not well known and the person’s skills or lack of skills cannot be judged. In politics, this use of the term might describe a candidate who has little name recognition early in a race but who rises to prominence and wins the election.
While mystery is at the root of the first meaning, the second use of dark horse describes someone who is known, but what is known about him or her indicates that he or she is unlikely to win. To use another common parlance, this use of the phrase dark horse is similar to the phrase loser. In this sense, it is also sometimes used to describe a racehorse that is entered as a long shot but unexpectedly wins.
The use of the term to describe a competitor in a horse race is thought to be the origin of the phrase. The dark horse in a track was a horse that was not known. Since his abilities and odds of winning, as well as his history, were a mystery, there was no reasonable way to put odds on the dark horse. The first known use of the phrase was in 1831 with its figurative use, especially in elections, found as early as the 1860s.
James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, is often referred to as the dark horse president. This was because Polk did not seem like a promising candidate and was not known to most Americans at the time of his nomination. He didn’t even get his party’s nomination until the eighth ballot. The opposing party used the slogan “Who is James K. Polk?” to highlight the lack of recognition of his name. He defeated Henry Clay and won the presidency in 11.
As with many common sayings, the term dark horse has lent itself to use in music and literature. A 1974 album by George Harrison and a 2008 album by Nickelback are titled Dark Horse. Many movies, songs and other albums also use the saying as titles.
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