Generally, horses have to be maidens (non-winners) at the time of the race.
Most horses either win their maiden or are retired from racing if they are unable to do so.
Some horses though have lengthy careers as maidens and become famous for their lack of success.
In Australia, Vote For Lust won a competition run by betting exchange Betfair to find the country's worst racehorse, resulting in Betfair sponsoring the nine-year-old.
As of 17 May 2012, Vote For Lust had raced 86 times without winning (placing 10 times and earning over $20,000 in prize money), but, as a result of the publicity generated from his accolade, Melbourne Cup winning jockey Glen Boss agreed to ride the horse in its 87th start.