This is known as a flea-bitten gray horse. A roan pattern, or “varnish” shows up as white hairs appearing through the base coat color of the horse. Roan horses are born with this coloring.

The 2023 Kentucky Derby featured four gray or roan horses: Tapit Trice, Reincarnate, Hit Show and Rocket Can. West Saratoga is the only lighter-colored colt for Derby 150 on Saturday at Churchill ...