Horse Racing Terms Explained: A to Z Glossary

A

Accumulator

One bet that links several selections in different races. Every selection must win, and the returns from each leg roll on to the next, so the odds multiply. Strictly an accumulator is four or more selections: two is a double and three is a treble. Bet calculator.

All-weather

Flat racing on a synthetic surface instead of turf, such as Polytrack or Tapeta. Britain has six all-weather courses (Chelmsford City, Kempton, Lingfield, Newcastle, Southwell and Wolverhampton) and Ireland has Dundalk.

Ante-post

A bet struck before the final declarations, often days, weeks or months before a big race. Prices can be bigger, but if your horse doesn't run you normally lose your stake, and best odds guaranteed doesn't apply. Some bookmakers offer non-runner no bet on major meetings.

Apprentice

A young Flat jockey who is still learning. Apprentices can claim a weight allowance of 7lb, 5lb or 3lb until they have ridden a set number of winners. The jumps equivalent is a conditional jockey.

B

Banker

The selection a punter or tipster is most confident about. In multiple bets it is often the one horse included in every combination.

Blinkers

Headgear with cups around the eyes that block a horse's view behind and to the side, to help it concentrate. Racecards show them as b, and b1 means blinkers for the first time.

BOG (best odds guaranteed)

A bookmaker concession: if you take a price and the starting price turns out bigger, you are paid at the starting price. Best odds guaranteed explained.

Bumper

A National Hunt flat race: run under jumps rules but with no obstacles, for young horses being prepared for a jumps career. Most are restricted to horses that haven't run in other types of race.

C

Card

Short for racecard: the list of races and runners at a meeting, with each horse's jockey, trainer, weight, form, draw and headgear.

Chase

Short for steeplechase: a jumps race over fences, which are bigger and stiffer than hurdles. Many courses also have open ditches, and some a water jump.

Claimer

A claiming race, where every runner can be bought for a set price after the race. The weight each horse carries depends on the claiming price its owner puts on it.

Class

British races are ranked by class, from Class 1 (which includes Group, Grade and Listed races) down to Class 6 over jumps and Class 7 on the Flat. A horse dropping in class usually meets weaker opposition.

Closing line value

Comparing the price you took with the price at the off. Regularly taking bigger prices than the starting price is one of the better signs that a punter or tipster has an edge. How to judge a tipster.

Colours

The owner's registered silks: the jacket and cap the jockey wears, which help you pick a horse out during the race.

D

Dead heat

When the judge can't separate two or more horses on the photo finish. Your stake is divided by the number of horses involved: in a two-way dead heat for first, half your win stake is paid at full odds and the other half is lost. Each-way calculator.

Double

A bet on two selections in different races. Both must win, and the returns from the first go on to the second.

Draw

A Flat runner's starting stall, allocated at random. At some courses and distances, such as Chester's sharp five furlongs, being drawn low or high can make a real difference.

Drift

When a horse's price gets bigger before the race because the market thinks less of it. The opposite of a steamer.

E

Each-way

Two equal bets in one: one on the horse to win and one on it to place. A £5 each-way bet costs £10. If the horse wins, both parts pay; if it only places, the place part pays at a fraction of the odds. Each-way calculator.

Evens

Odds of 1/1, or 2.0 in decimal. A winning £10 bet makes £10 profit and returns £20. Odds converter.

Exchange

A betting site where punters bet against each other instead of against a bookmaker. You can back a horse to win or lay it to lose, and the exchange charges commission on net winnings. Lay bet calculator.

F

Fav

Short for favourite: the horse with the shortest price. A starting price shown as 5/2F was the favourite, and JF means joint favourite.

Field

All the runners in a race. The size of the field decides how many places are paid each way.

Form

A horse's recent finishing positions, shown next to its name on the racecard. Read it left to right: the most recent run is on the right. The table below shows what each figure means.

Figure	Meaning
1 to 9	Finishing position: 1 won, 2 second, and so on
0	Finished outside the first nine
F	Fell
U	Unseated rider
P	Pulled up
R	Refused to jump a fence or hurdle
B	Brought down by another faller
-	Separates one season from the next
/	A gap of at least a whole season without a run

So a horse with the form 32-1F1 was third and then second last season, and this season has won, fallen and won again, most recently a win. Letters beside the name add more: C means it has won at the course, D over the distance, CD both, and BF that it was a beaten favourite last time. Some papers and websites use slightly different symbols, so check the key on the racecard you're using.

Furlong

An eighth of a mile: 220 yards, or about 201 metres. The shortest Flat races in Britain are five furlongs.

G

Going

The condition of the ground. On British turf it runs firm, good to firm, good, good to soft, soft and heavy, and Irish courses also use yielding. On all-weather tracks it is usually standard, with standard to slow or standard to fast when the surface is riding differently.

Group and Grade races

The top tier of racing. On the Flat, Group 1 races such as the Derby are the most important, followed by Group 2 and Group 3. Jumps racing uses Grade 1, 2 and 3, with races such as the Cheltenham Gold Cup at Grade 1.

H

Handicap

A race where each horse carries a weight set from its official rating, so that in theory they all have an equal chance. The highest-rated horse carries the most weight.

Handicapper

The official who assesses each horse's ability and gives it an official rating, which then sets its weight in handicaps. In Britain the handicappers work for the British Horseracing Authority.

Hurdle

A jumps race over hurdles, which are smaller and lighter than chase fences. Hurdling is usually a young jumper's first step.

I

In-running

Betting while the race is being run, mostly on exchanges, where prices change by the second. The phrase also describes how a horse travelled during a race.

J

Jolly

Slang for the favourite.

Juvenile

On the Flat, a two-year-old. Over jumps, juvenile hurdles are for the youngest hurdlers: three-year-olds, who turn four on 1 January like every horse in the northern hemisphere.

L

Lay

Betting that a horse will not win, on an exchange. You take the bookmaker's side: if the horse loses you keep the backer's stake, and if it wins you pay out their winnings, which is your liability. Lay bet calculator.

Listed race

The tier just below Group 3 on the Flat and Grade 3 over jumps: good-quality races that are a step towards the top level.

Lucky 15

Fifteen bets on four selections: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold. Because it includes singles, one winner gives a return. Bet calculator.

M

Maiden

A horse that hasn't yet won a race of the relevant type. Maiden races are restricted to such horses.

Morning price

The price bookmakers offer on the morning of the race, or the evening before, before the on-course market forms. Also called the early price.

N

NAP

A tipster's strongest bet of the day, also called the nap of the day. The name comes from the card game Napoleon, where going nap means bidding to win every trick.

National Hunt

Jumps racing: hurdles, chases and bumpers. The main season runs from the autumn, through the winter, to the spring.

Non-runner

A horse withdrawn after the final declarations. Stakes on a non-runner are returned (except on most ante-post bets), and if it comes out late, a Rule 4 deduction may reduce the winnings on the others.

Novice

Over jumps, novice hurdles and chases are for horses that had not won a race of that type before the current season began. On the Flat, novice races are for lightly raced horses, with weight penalties for previous winners.

NR

Short for non-runner, as shown on racecards and results.

O

Odds-on

A price shorter than evens, such as 1/2. A winning bet makes less profit than the stake: £10 at 1/2 makes £5.

Off

The moment a race starts. Bets must be struck before the off unless you're betting in-running.

Official rating

The handicapper's figure for a horse's ability, in pounds, often shown as OR. It sets the weight a horse carries in handicaps and decides which rating-banded races it can run in.

Overround

What a market's prices add up to as percentages. A fair book would total 100%; anything over that is the bookmaker's margin. Market percentage calculator.

P

Photo finish

A camera on the finishing line photographs a close finish so the judge can decide the placings. If the judge can't separate the horses, it's a dead heat.

Place

To finish in the positions paid for each-way betting, which can be the first two, three or four depending on the number of runners and the type of race.

Place terms

How many places an each-way bet pays and at what fraction of the odds. Standard UK terms: 4 or fewer runners, win only; 5 to 7 runners, 1/4 the odds for two places; 8 or more runners, 1/5 the odds for three places; handicaps with 12 to 15 runners, 1/4 the odds for three places; handicaps with 16 or more, 1/4 the odds for four places. Each-way place terms.

Plate

A lightweight racing horseshoe: a horse that spread a plate lost or twisted a shoe. The word also appears in race names, often for a handicap, such as the Festival Plate at Cheltenham.

Points

A tipster's unit of stake. One point is a fixed share of your betting bank, so the advice works for any size of bank. Staking calculator.

Proofing

Independent recording of a tipster's bets, sent before the off, so the record can't be edited afterwards. The Smart Betting Club is one well-known proofing service. How to judge a tipster.

Pulled up

When the jockey stops a horse before the finish because it is tired, injured or has no chance. Shown as P in the form.

R

Rag

An outsider: a horse at a big price that few expect to win.

Return on stakes

Profit divided by the total amount staked, as a percentage, also called ROI. 20 points profit from 400 points staked is a 5% return on stakes. It tells you more about a tipster than strike rate does.

Rule 4

A deduction from winnings when a horse is withdrawn after the market has formed, because the race became easier to win. It comes off winnings, not stakes, and depends on the withdrawn horse's price: from 5p to 90p in the pound for one withdrawal, capped at 75p in the pound when more than one horse is withdrawn. Rule 4 calculator.

S

Selling race

The lowest grade of race. The winner is offered for sale at auction afterwards, and other runners can be claimed for a set price.

SP

Starting price: the official odds at the off, returned by independent officials from the prices on offer with on-course bookmakers. Bets struck at SP are settled at this price.

Stayer

A horse that is best over long distances: on the Flat, roughly two miles and further; over jumps, three miles and further.

Steamer

A horse whose price shortens sharply before the race because a lot of money has been bet on it. The opposite of a drifter.

Steward's enquiry

An investigation by the raceday stewards into possible interference or a breach of the rules. They can change the placings. For betting, the result stands once the weighed in is announced, even if it is changed on appeal later.

Strike rate

The percentage of bets that win. On its own it says little: a tipster backing short-priced horses can have a high strike rate and still lose money.

T

Tissue

The prices an odds compiler draws up before betting opens, as a forecast of how the market should look.

Tote

Pool betting. All the stakes go into a pool, the operator takes its cut, and the rest is shared between the winning tickets. You don't know the dividend until after the race.

Treble

A bet on three selections in different races. All three must win.

Trip

The distance of a race. A horse that didn't get the trip ran out of stamina.

Trixie

Four bets on three selections: three doubles and a treble. You need two winners for a return. Bet calculator.

U

Under starter's orders

The moment just before the start when the horses are in the starter's hands. Once a race is under orders, a horse that fails to start normally counts as a runner, so bets on it are lost.

V

Value

A price bigger than a horse's real chance of winning. A 5/1 shot with a 25% chance (a fair price of 3/1) is value even if it loses. Over the long run, only bets struck at value prices can make a profit.

Visor

Blinkers with a slit in each cup, so the horse can still see a little to the side. Shown as v on racecards.

W

Weighed in

The announcement, once the placed jockeys have weighed in after the race, that the result is official for betting. Bets are settled on the result at that moment.

Weight for age

The weight allowance younger horses get when racing against older ones, set by an official scale that varies with the distance and the time of year.

Y

Yankee

Eleven bets on four selections: six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold. There are no singles, so you need at least two winners for a return. Bet calculator.

Yard

A trainer's stables. A yard in form is one whose horses are running well.

Putting it into practice

Most of these terms come up when a bet is settled. Our betting calculators work through each-way returns, Rule 4 deductions and multiples, and our results page shows every tip we've given members, settled the same way.

18+ only. Gambling can be addictive: the National Gambling Helpline is 0808 8020 133.

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