HORSE RACING GLOSSARY OF TERMS

ACROSS THE BOARD - A bet on a horse to win, place and show. If the horse wins, the player collects three ways; if second, two ways; and if third, one way, losing the win and place bets.

ACTION - A horse's manner of moving.

ACCEPTOR - horse remaining in race after a key declaration stage

ACCUMULATOR - A bet involving more than one horse selection with the winnings multiplying with each success in accordance with the odds. All of the selections must win for the accumulator to stand.

ADDED MONEY - Money added to the purse of a race by the racing association (or sometimes by a breeding or other fund) to the amount paid by owners in nomination, eligibility, entry and starting fees.

AGENT - A person empowered to transact business of a stable owner or jockey. Also, a person empowered to sell or buy horses for an owner or breeder.

ALL OUT - When a horse extends himself to the utmost.

ALLOWANCE RACE - A race other than claiming for which the racing secretary drafts certain conditions to determine weights.

ALLOWANCES - Weight permitted to be reduced because of the conditions of the race or because an apprentice is on a horse. Also, a weight females are entitled to when racing against males.

ALL-WEATHER - The name given to the artificial surface tracks. These offer racing throughout the summer and winter regardless of weather conditions.

ALSO-ELIGIBLE - A horse officially entered, but not permitted to start unless the field is reduced by scratches below a specified number.

ALSO-RAN - A horse who finishes out of the money.

AMATEUR RIDER - Jockey without a license from the Jockey Club, who does not receive a fee for riding in a race

ANTE-POST - Odds-Quotations offered in advance of the day of a particular race. Bets so placed are lost if your horse is a non-starter. In the case of the Classics or big National Hunt events this could be a year or more before the race takes place.

APPRENTICE -  A trainee jockey contracted to ride for a Trainer who has not reached proffesional status. This is acheived when he/she rides a certain number of winners within a specified period of time. During this period an apprentice receives weight concessions to compensate for their relative inexperience.

APPRENTICE ALLOWANCE - Weight concession given to an apprentice rider.

AT THE POST - the point at which horses gather immediately before the start of a race

 

BABY RACE - A race for 2-year-olds.

BACKSTRETCH - Straight at the far side of the track between the turns. Also stable area.

BACKSIDE - Stable area

BACKWARD - Describes a horse that is either too young or not fully fit.

BAD ACTOR - Fractious horse.

BAD DOER - Horse with poor appetite.

BALD (or BALD FACE) - White face of horse, including eyes, nostrils or part of the latter.

BANDAGE - Strips of cloth wound around the lower part of a horse's legs for support or protection against injury.

BANKER - A betting selection that is fancied very strongly.

BAR - This refers to the lowest odds available for horses not mentioned in the betting forecast. eg: '6/1 bar' means those not quoted are priced at 6/1 or bigger.

BAR SHOE - A horse shoe with a rear bar to protect an injured foot; bar shoes may be worn with aluminum pads to protect a bruised frog, or my be worn alone.

BAY - Color of horse varying from yellowish tan (light bay) to brown or dark, rich shade of mahogany (sometimes listed as dark bay or brown) with black points - black mane, tail and shadings of black low on the legs.

BEARING IN (or OUT)- Deviating from a straight course. May be due to weariness, infirmity, punishment by rider or rider's inability to control mount.

BELL - Signal sounded when starter opens the gates or, at some tracks, to mark the close of betting.

BEST IN - In handicap races, the horse that is considered favourite at the 'weigh in'.

BEST-PRICE PERCENTAGE - The bottom line is that the odds available are balanced in favour of the bookmaker. A simple example is the toss of a coin where the chances of heads or tails are 50:50. However if the bookmaker were to offer even money on either event there would be no profit margin. Hence odds of 5-6 each of two would probably be offered. The Best Price Percentage figure at the bottom of most of our odds tables calculates the percentage in favour of the bookmaker (ie. 111 per cent means 11% in bookmaker's favour). Sometimes when firms wildly disagree the percentage will drop below 100% and therefore be in the punter's favour.

BIT - piece of metal (bar) held in the horse's mouth by reins and used to control the horse while riding.

BIRTHDAY - All northern hemisphere thoroughbreds have their official birthday on January 1st regardless of their original day of birth.

BLACK - Body, head muzzle, flanks and legs are covered with uniform black hair.

BLACK TYPE - Designation for a stakes winner or stakes-placed horse in sales catalogues.

BRACE (or BRACER) - Rubdown liniment used on a horse after a race or a workout.

BLANKET FINISH - Horses finishing so closely together they could be covered by a blanket.

BLAZE - White patch on face of a horse.

BLEEDER - Horse who bleeds during or after a workout or race due to ruptured blood vessel.

BLIND SWITCH - Being caught in a pocket or such a position behind or between horses that a free course cannot be pursued.

BLINKERS - A form of headgear designed to limit a horses vision. It prevents a horse looking either left or right to limit distractions or interference. Sometimes called 'blinds'.

BLISTER - Counter-irritant to ease pain or to treat an ailment.

BLOOD WORMS - Parasites that get into the blood stream.

BLOWER - A means of communication between racecourse and betting shops/offices. Run by the Exchange Telegraph Co.

BLOWOUT - A short, final workout, usually a day or two before a race, designed to sharpen a horse's speed.

BLUE BET - A bet which is not genuine but made as bait to catch mug punters.

BOARD - Totalisator board on which odds, betting pools and other information is displayed.

BOARD PRICES - This refers to the currently available odds displayed on the boards of on-course bookmakers. It is from these that the starting price is derived.

BOBBLE - A bad step away from the starting gate, usually caused by the track breaking away from under a horse's hoof and causing him to duck his head or nearly go to his knees.

BOG SPAVIN - Puffy swelling on the inside and slightly in front of the back, usually caused by overwork or strain.

BOLT - Sudden veering from a straight course.

BOOKIE'S RUNNER - A person who who works on behalf of a bookmaker on course.

BOTTLE - The 'tic-tac' term for 2/1.

BOTTOM - Stamina in a horse. Also, sub-surface of racing strip.

BOTTOM LINE - Thoroughbred's breeding on female side. The bottom half of an extended pedigree diagram.

BOWED TENDON (a BOW) - Rupture of the sheath enclosing the tendon from the knee to the fetlock joint.

BREAK (A horse) - To accustom a young horse to racing equipment and methods, and to carry a rider.

BREAKAGE - In pari-mutuel payoffs which are rounded out to a nickel or dime, those pennies that are left over. Breakage is generally split between the track and state and, in some cases, breeding or other funds, in varying proportions.

BREAKDOWN - When a horse suffered an injury; lameness.

BREAK MAIDEN - Horse or rider winning first race of career.

BREATHER - Restraining or easing off on a horse for a short distance in a race to permit him to conserve or renew his strength.

BRED - A horse is bred at the place of his birth. Also, the mating of horses.

BREEDER - Owner of dam at time foal is dropped.

BREEDING FUND - A fund set up by many states to provide bonus prizes for state- breds.

BREEZE - Working a horse at a moderate speed; less effort than handily.

BRIDGE-JUMPER - Someone who makes large show bets on short-priced favorites.

BRIDLE - The bridle consists of the Browband, Noseband, Cheekpiece and Throatlash which is attached to the reigns which the jockey uses in order to control the horse. Sometimes a jockey is said to have 'Won on the bridle' which indicates he/she has won easily without needing to use the whip or heels.

BROODMARE - Female Thoroughbred used for breeding.

BROWN - Sometimes difficult to separate from black or dark bay. This color can usually be distinguished by noting finer tan or brown hairs on the muzzles or flanks.

BUCKED SHINS - Inflammation of front of cannon bone to which young horses are particularly susceptible.

BUG - Apprentice allowance. Apprentice rider.

BULLET (WORK) - The best time for the distance on the work tab for a given day at a track.

BULL RING - Small racetrack; usually less than one mile.

BUMPER - A term used for flat races involving jump horses which is aimed to provide racing experience before they go hurdling or chasing.

BUTE (or BUTAZOLIDIN) - Trade name for phenylbutazone, a commonly used analgesic for horses.

BURLINGTON BERTIE - The 'tic-tac' term for 100-30.

 

CALK - Projection bottom of shoe to give horse greater traction, especially on a wet track.

CALL (the) - Running position of horses in a race at various points.

CALLER - One who calls the running positions of horses in a race.

CAPPED HOCK - Injury to hock caused by kicking or rubbing.

CARPET - The 'tic-tac' term for 3-1. Double carpet is 33-1.

CAST - A horse is a cast when he lies down in the stall in such a way that he is too close to the wall, and there is a danger that he may not be able to get up by himself without injury.

CENTER OF DISTRIBUTION - The balance point of speed and stamina influences in a horse's pedigree.

CHART- A statistical "picture" of a race (from which past performances are compiled), which shows the position and margin of each horse at designated points of call (depending on distance of the race), age, weight carried, owner, trainer, purse, conditions, pay-off prices, odds, time and other data.

CHECKED - A horse pulled up by his jockey for an instant because he is cut off or in tight quarters.

CHESTNUT - Varies from light, washy yellow to dark liver color, between which comes red, gold and liver shades. A chestnut never has black points, mane or tail.

CHUTE - Extension of backstretch or homestretch to permit straightaway run from start.

CLAIMING - Buying a horse out of race for entered price.

CLAIMING BOX - Box in which claims are deposited before the race.

CLAIMING RACE / CLAIMER - A race where the winning horse can be "claimed" from the yard for a set fee. The price of the horse is determined before the race by connections and this reflects the horses starting weight.

CLASSICS - Race of traditional importance. This term is used to describe the five major three-year-old races of the flat season in the U.K: the 1000 Guineas, the 2000 Guineas, the Derby, the Oaks and the St Leger. Of these, fillies can be entered for all five, but colts cannot be entered for the 1000 Guineas or the Oaks. In the U.S. specifically the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont stakes for colts, and Coaching Club American Oaks for fillies.

CLERK OF SCALES - An official whose chief duty is to weigh the riders before and after a race to be sure proper weight is carried.

CLERK OF THE COURSE - Racecourse official responsible for overall management of a racecourse, including going

CLIMBING - A fault in a horse's stride in which, instead of reaching out, his action is abnormally high.

CLOCKER - One who times workouts and races.

CLOSER - A horse who runs best in the latter part of the race, coming from off the pace.

CLUBHOUSE TURN - Generally, the turn closest to the clubhouse.

COCKLE - The 'tic-tac' term for 10-1.

CO-FAVOURITE - A horse that shares its position at the head of the betting market with 1 or more horses.

COLLATERAL FORM - When two horses, A and B, have run on separate occasions against a third horse, C, the form of A and B on a line through C is known as collateral form.

COLORS - Racing silks-jacket and cap-worn by riders to denote the owner(s) of horse.

COLT - Ungelded, male horse up to four years old.

COMMISSION AGENT - A bookmaker who passes on the bets he collects from his clients to another bookmaker while he himself relies on the commission paid for the business.

COMPANY- Class of horses in a race. Members of the field.

CONDITION BOOK - Book issued by racing secretary which sets forth conditions of races to be run.

CONDITION RACE - An event with conditions limiting it to a certain class of horse. Such as: Fillies, 3-year-olds, non-winners of two races other than maiden or claiming, etc.

CONDITIONAL JOCKEY - The jumping equivalent of an apprentice.

CONFORMATION - A horse's build and general physical structure; the way he is put together.

CONNECTIONS - Usually refers to the owner and trainer of a horse, but also applies generally to anyone involved.

CONTRACT RIDER - Jockey under contract to a stable.

COOLING OUT - Restoring a horse, usually by walking, to normal temperature after becoming overheated in a race or workout.

CORNER HOUSE - A horse, holding its position in the market, whose price is many points shorter than that shown in the betting forecasts (e.g. average suggested price 100 - 8, actual price, firm at 9 - 2). Should not be freely tipped by the racing correspondents.

COUGH - Broadly, a cold. More prevalent in spring among young Thoroughbreds.

COUPLED- Two or more horses running as an entry in a single betting unit.

COURSE SPECIALIST - A horse who has established a good run of form at a particular course and runs well there.

COVERED UP - Keeping a horse behind other runners to prevent it running too freely in the early stages of a race and to take advantage of another horses slipstream.

CRIBBER (A WIND SUCKER) - A horse who clings to objects with his teeth and sucks air into his stomach.

CUP- Trophy awarded to owners of winners. Also distance race of a mile and a half or more.

CUP HORSE - One qualified to engage in distance races.

CUPPY (TRACK) - A surface which breaks away under a horse's hoof.

CUSHION - Surface of track or a layer of the track.

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