We all hear a phrase from time to time and wonder what on earth it means.
Thats why I have created this list of terms for your convenience. Use the alphabetic menu to navigate.
| A bet with more than three selections where all have to win. The odds of each win 'accumulate' on to the next selection. For example a £10 accumulator with 4 Even money selections that win pays £160. The calculation for each part of the accumulator is Stake * Odds + Stake, with the stake on each part of the bet being carried forward from the last. |
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All Out | A horse who is trying his very best may be described as 'All Out' by a race commentator or on a form guide. |
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All Weather | Flat racing that takes place on an artificial surface. It takes place all year round. At the time of writing there are 6 all-weather tracks in the UK (Chelmsford City, Kempton, Lingfield, Newcastle, Southwell & Wolverhampton) and 1 in Ireland (Dundalk). |
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Allowance | Also referred to as the jockeys claim. This is the amount of pounds reduced from the weight carried by a horse if it has an inexperienced jockey on board. Example - a horse weighted to carry 10 stones & 12 pounds with a jockey claiming 7 pounds would in fact only carry 10 stones 5 pounds. |
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Amateur | A jockey who is not yet fully qualified. On a racecard, amateur jockeys will be referred to as Miss or Mr etc |
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Ante-Post | Placing a bet ante-post is when you back in advance of an event. The benefits of this can be obtaining a far larger price, however any ante-post bets that do then not take part (non-runners) will not be refunded as they would be on standard bets. Ante-Post markets are generally for larger events such as the 2000 Guineas or the Cheltenham Gold Cup |
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Apprentice | A trainee jockey apprenticed to a licensed trainer - usually on an annual contract. An apprentice will normally partake in flat races only. |
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| Term which means your bet is to win, ie you have 'backed' it to win. |
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Backward | A phrase used by race-goers to describe a horse who is not mature enough or is struggling for fitness |
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Banker | Slang term to describe somebody's opinion that the horse is extremely likely to win. |
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Bar | The lowest price of horses who are not listed in the odds. For example if there are 20 runners in a race and there are 5 displayed on your tv with odds and then 20/1 bar, this means all other horses are a minimum of 20/1. |
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Bets | In HorseRaceBase when you see a column with Bets it refers to the number of qualifying bets matching the stipulated criteria. |
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Betting Exchange | A service where traders can back or lay selections against each other. The most popular betting exchange is Betfair. |
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Birthday | All horses in the northern hemisphere have their official birthday on January 1st irrespective of when they were actually born. |
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Blinkers | A garment fitted over a horse's head with holes for the eyes and ears, one or both eyeholes being fitted with cowls cutting out all vision to the rear but permitting full forward vision |
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Board Prices | Odds currently available and being displayed by on-course bookmakers |
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Bookmaker | A firm/individual who takes bets |
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Bottle | Tic-Tac terminology meaning 2/1 |
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Bridle | A bridle is a piece of equipment used to control a horse. The bridle fits over a horse's head, and has the purpose of controlling the horse. It holds a bit in the horse's mouth, or holds on the nosepiece of a hackamore and other type of bitless bridle |
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Bumper | Common description of a National Hunt Flat Race. The purpose of these races is to provide horses with experience of racing prior to entering races with hurdles or fences. |
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Burlington Bertie | Tic-Tac terminology meaning 100/30 |
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| Tic-Tac terminology meaning 3-1 |
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Chasing Losses | As it sounds basically this means trying to recoup losses by increasing stakes. Generally regarded as an extremely foolish practice |
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Cheek Pieces | Two strips of sheepskin or any other similar material or device which is attached to the cheek pieces of the bridle |
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Claim/Claimer | Also referred to as the jockeys allowance. This is the amount of pounds reduced from the weight carried by a horse if it has an inexperienced jockey on board. Example - a horse weighted to carry 10 stones & 12 pounds with a jockey's allowance of 7 pounds would in fact only carry 10 stones 5 pounds. |
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Classics | Term used to describe the major races on the flat. These are the 1000 & 2000 Guineas, The Oaks, The Derby & St Leger |
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Clerk of the course | The official given responsibility of being in charge of the race and the running of it |
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Co Favourite | Horse sharing favouritism status with 2 or more other horses |
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Cockle | Tic-Tac terminology meaning 10-1 |
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Collateral Form | A term used to describe using a third party horse to compare two other horses against each other. For example HorseA may have beat the third party horse by 8 lengths whereas HorseB was beaten by it, this could be used to assume HorseA had the better of HorseB |
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Colours | The silks worn by the jockey. These are chosen by the owners and in some cases can be very recognisable (example J P McManus). It is often thought it is the trainers colours being worn but this is not the case. |
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Colt | Ungelded male horse up to 4 years old |
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Conditional | A trainee jockey apprenticed to a licensed trainer - usually on an annual contract. Similar to an apprentice but able to partake in jumps races. |
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Conditions Race | A race that horses must meet certain conditions in order to be able to participate. Example - for horses who have won a certain quality of race. |
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Connections | All people involved with the horse such as the owners and trainer. |
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Course Specialist | A horse who is particularly successful at a certain track. For example a horse who has only won three times and all of them came at the one track could be described as a course specialist. |
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| The mother of a horse |
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Dead Heat | When a race has had two or more horses cross the finish line at exactly the same time. This would be called when a photo of the finish line can not separate the horses. |
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Dead Weight | The lead in the weight cloth carried by a horse |
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Distance | The actual distance in miles and furlongs that a race is run over. The shortest distance in UK/Ireland is 5 furlongs, the longest is 4 miles 4 furlongs. |
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Distance Beaten | The distance a horse has finished behind the winner. In some results sections (such as horseracebase) the distance beaten is broken down by each runner and how far they were behind the placing in front of them. To calculate the a total distance behind the winner you would add each of the distance beaten amounts up to his gfinishing place. (example - horse finishes 4th, three lengths behind 3rd who was 1 length behind 2nd, who was 2 lengths behind 1st. Horse in 4th place distance beaten is 6 lengths) |
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Double | A bet comprising of two selections where both must win. A winning £10 double on 5/4 and 6/4 selections would pay £56.25 (10*5/4+10=22.50*6/4+22.50=56.25) |
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Double Carpet | Tic-Tac terminology meaning 33-1 |
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Draw | The starting stall that a horse has been positioned in following a random selection. Used in Flat and All Weather racing only. |
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Draw Bias | The perceived statistical evidence which would seem to signify a certain position in the starting stalls is better than others. |
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Drifter | When the odds of a horse grow larger due to a lack of support in the market |
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| Terms of betting which allow your horse to come home in the 'placings'. If you bet each-way your stake will be 2 units, 1 on the win and 1 on the place. See PlaceTerms for more details. |
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Ear'ole | Tic-Tac terminology meaning 6/4 |
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Enin | Tic-Tac terminology meaning 9/1 |
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Evens | Starting Price which describes odds of 1/1. A £10 single win on a horse at Evens pays £20 (10*1/1+10) |
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Eye Cover | A garment similar to blinkers fitted over a horse's head except that in place of the eye cowls one eye only is completely covered by an opaque cover |
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Eye Shield | A garment similar to blinkers fitted over a horse's head except that in place of the eye cowls both eyes are covered with a mesh or other transparent material |
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| The horse with the shortest price in the market |
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Festival | A course that holds a number of meetings over consecutive days on an annual basis. Popular examples are the Cheltenham festival and the Punchestown festival. |
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Fibresand | A type of all weather racing surface |
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Filly | Female horse up to four years old. |
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Foal | A horse that is one year old or younger |
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Forecast | When you try and correctly pick the first 2 horses home in the exact correct order |
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Form | The information of a horses previous races and performance which is used to decide selections |
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Front Runner | Term meaning that the horse has gone/will go in to the lead early in the race and try and stay there |
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Furlong | Distance used in racing. 1 furlong=220 yards. There are 8 furlongs in a mile, so a race over 12 furlongs can also be referred to as a mile and a half. |
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| A castrated male horse. |
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Going | The description used to indicate the condition of the ground that will be raced on. |
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Grade 1/2/3 | A high quality National Hunt race with Grade 1 being the highest |
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Green (running green) | A term used to describe an inexperienced horse who is running with signs of immaturity |
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Group 1,2,3 | High Quality standard of race with Group 1 being the highest |
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Guineas | Horses are still bought and sold at public auction in the UK in Guineas. A Guinea is the equivalent of £1.05. |
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| Unit in which a horse's height is measured, at the shoulder. A hand is four inches |
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Handful | Tic-Tac terminology meaning 5/1 |
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Handicap | A race where each horse is allocated a different weight to carry by the handicapper, the aim being to give each individual horse a fair and equal chance of winning. |
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Hedging | Term which describes transferring part of the liabilty of a bet to a third party. Example - if a bookmaker has taken a bet of £100 at odds of 50/1 and is uncomfortable with the liability, he may back £50 at 50/1 with another source so as to reduce his liability should the horse win. |
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Held up | Term meaning that a horse is being kept at the rear of the other horses and will deliver its challenge at a later point in the race |
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Hood | A garment similar to blinkers fitted over a horse's head, incorporating ear covers but without eye cowls |
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Horse | An ungelded male aged 5 years or older |
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Horses for courses | Slang term meaning that certain horses perform better at certain tracks |
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Hunter Chase | A race restricted to horses that have hunted during the present hunting season. |
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| A type of bet where you must correctly select the winner in a number of specified races as set out by the bookmaker |
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Jockey | The rider of the horse |
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Joint Favourite | Horse who is sharing favouritism with one other horse |
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Jolly | Slang term to describe the favourite in a race |
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Judge | Race official who confirms the final finishing places following completion of a race |
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Juvenile | Type of race for younger horses. In jumps races 3 years old, in flat 2. Also used to describe a young horse. |
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| Term used to describe a race which is considered to be particularly important, often when many good horses are running in it or if previous runnings of that race have proved to be a good guide for the forthcoming months. |
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Kick Back | When part of the ground surface is dislodged and is flying back on to oncoming horses this is referred to as kick back |
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| Term which means taking a bet that a horse will lose. If you hear someone say they have 'layed it', this means they feel it will lose |
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Liability | The total amount which will be lost should the worst scenario occur. So for £30 layed at 25/1 your liability is £750 |
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Listed | A race quality that falls short of group or graded standard but is better than handicap or conditions races. |
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Long | Term used to describe odds of a horse who is unfancied in the market. |
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Lucky Fifteen | A type of bet used when making four selections. It is made up of fifteen parts - four singles, six doubles, four trebles and an accumulator |
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| 1 - Horse that has never won a race. 2 - Type of race for horses who have never won |
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Mare | A female horse aged 4 years or older. |
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Market | The name given to the list of betting prices available for each horse |
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Monkey | Slang term to describe £500. |
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| The most fancied selection of the day. Often used in newspapers by tipsters etc. |
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National Hunt | A category of racing that includes bumper races, hurdles and chases. It takes place all year round however the majority of races occur between November and March. |
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Neves | Tic-Tac terminology meaning 7/1 |
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No Offers | Means that bookmakers are unwilling or unable to offer a price for a certain horse. Example - if a horse has been backed so heavily that it is consider an absolute certainty it will win, the bookmaker may declare 'no offers' |
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Nursery | A handicap race for 2 year old horses |
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| An appeal made by a jockey following a race if he feels he was unfairly treated by another rider. For example a jockey may lodge an objection if he feels another jockey deliberately impeded him and affected his finishing position. |
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Odds | The price being offered to back or lay a horse |
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Odds On | Term used to describe odds of a horse who is heavily fancied in the market. Examples are 4/5 (0.8/1) and 1/5 (0.2/1). A £10 winning bet on a 4/5 shot will return £18 (10*4/5+10=18) |
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Off the bit/Off the bridle | Term used (often by commentators) to describe a horse being pushed by the jockey and losing contact with the bit in its mouth. |
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On Course | As it sounds this is when a bookmaker or other person is actually at the track |
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On the bit/On the bridle | Term used (often by commentators) to describe a horse comfortable in itself and not requiring heavy urgings from the jockey |
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On the nod | Description used when a race has been won by a tight margin and where the horses head bobbing movements have had an outcome in the race. Ie - he won 'on the nod'. |
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On The Nose | Slang term meaning a win-only bet |
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Open Ditch | Type of fence used in chase races where a ditch faces the jockey |
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Outsider | A horse who is unfancied in the market and is a long price |
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Over Round | The percentage of total stakes which the bookmakers will net as profit. |
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Over The Top | Term used to describe a horse who may have reached its potential for that season |
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| A horse tactically employed to inject pace into a race in order to benefit one of his stablemates. Also this term is used by commentators just to describe a horse who is setting the pace |
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Pari Mutuel | French equivalent of the tote |
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Patent | A type of bet used when making three selections. It is made up of seven parts - three singles, three doubles and a treble |
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Penalty | An additional weight added to that carried by a horse. Often this can be based on previous form - for example a penalty of 3 pounds may be applied to a horse who has won a race in a certain timeframe. |
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Photo Finish | Used by the stewards to decipher the winner of a closely contested outcome. A photo of the finish is automatically taken in all races but would only be referred to when the outcome is to close to call. |
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Place | In HorseRaceBase when you see a column with Place as the heading it refers to the number of selections matching stipulated criteria that finished within the placings in the race. The number of places paid varies depending on field size and race type (see Place Terms). |
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Place% | In HorseRaceBase when you see a column with Place% as the heading it refers to the percentage of selections matching stipulated criteria that finished within the placings in the race. This is also commonly referred to as the placed strike rate. The number of places paid varies depending on field size and race type (see Place Terms). |
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Place Terms | The number of placings paid out when betting to each-way terms. These vary depending on the number of runners and whether it is a handicap or not. In many bookmakers now they offer 'specials' with increased place terms.
General place terms (and those used for calculation in HorseRaceBase) are -
Any Race with 4 or less runners - Winner only
Any Race with 5,6 or 7 runners - 2 places
Any Non Handicap with 8 or more runners - 3 Places
Handicaps with 8-15 runners - 3 places
Handicaps with 16 or more runners - 4 places |
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Placepot | Type of bet where you must pick a certain number of horses that all must place in order to win |
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Plate | Shoe worn by a horse for racing |
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Pony | Slang term meaning £25 |
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Pulled Up | If a horse is not responding to the jockeys urgings and is considered to have no chance or if something has gone wrong it may be stopped - this is referred to as being 'pulled up'. In a racecard this may be shortened to PU. |
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| The programme of events for a days racing which will include details of all runners and riders etc |
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Rating | A score given to a horse based on certain tests carried out about its past performance and any other criteria which the compiler sees appropriate |
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Retainer | Fee paid to a rider who is employed by a trainer specifically to ride his/her horses |
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Reverse Forecast | Bet comprising 2 parts. You choose two horses and they must come home 1st and 2nd but in either order |
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Ring | Part of the course where bookmakers are located |
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Roof | Tic-Tac terminology meaning 4/1 |
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Rule 4 | If a horse is withdrawn and there is insufficient time to form a new market the remaining horses in the race are subject to a deduction if they win or are placed. These are calculated according to the starting price as follows: 3/10 or longer odds - 75p in the £, 2/5 to 1/3 - 70p, 8/15 to 4/9 - 65p, 8/13 to 4/7 - 60p, 4/5 to 4/6 - 55p, 20/21 to 5/6 - 50p, Evens to 6/5 - 45p, 5/4 to 6/4 - 40p, 13/8 to 7/4 - 35p, 15/8 to 9/4 - 30p, 5/2 to 3/1 - 25p, 10/3 to 4/1 - 20p, 9/2 to 11/2 - 15p, 6/1 to 9/1 - 10p, 10/1 to 14/1 - unchanged. |
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Run Free | Term used to describe a horse is running too fast, also sometimes when a horse breaks free from its rider and runs off. |
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| When a horse has been specifically tutored to go jumping by its trainer |
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Scope | The perceived potential of a horse |
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Score | Slang term meaning £20 |
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Seller | A race where the winner is offered for sale in an auction immediately after the race |
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Sheepskin Cheek Pieces | Two strips of sheepskin or any other similar material or device which is attached to the cheek pieces of the bridle |
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Short | Term often used to describe odds which are perceived to be underpriced. For example if you feel a horse should be 2/1 but is in fact 4/5 you may say "I would back it but the odds are too short" |
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Short Head | Term used to describe a horse's beaten distance compared to the runner directly in front of him. A horse only beaten by a short head will have got extremely close to the runner in front. |
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Sire | The father of a horse. Commonly used phrase in breeding terminology |
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Skinny | See Short |
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SP/Starting Price | The official starting price of a horse |
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Special | A bookmakers promotion to try and entice yo to place your bets with them. Example paying 6 places on the Grand National. |
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Spread a Plate | When a horse has lost a shoe |
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Springer | A horse whose odds in the market have significantly shortened. Example if a horse opened at 10/1 and was backed in to 3/1 he would be desacribed as a 'springer in the market' |
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Stable | Normally means the trainer who is in charge of the horse |
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Stable Jockey | A rider who is employed by a trainer specifically to ride his/her horses |
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Stake | The total amount of money you have bet on the race |
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Stall | Box in which horses are placed prior to most flat races. |
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Standard | A going description used for all weather tracks. More often than not the going is described as Standard which as it sounds suggests going conditions are normal. |
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Stewards | Race officials who monitor a race to ensure it is run in a fair manner, if an enquiry or complaint is lodged following a race, it is the stewards who will investigate and decide the outcome. |
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Sticks | Slang term used to describe National Hunt racing |
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Super Yankee | Bet type comprising 26 parts. |
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| Term meaning following horses matching a certain criteria. For example backing all Frankie Dettori's rides at Newmarket is following a system |
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| When a horse is some distance away from the leading contenders in a race and seemingly going nowhere |
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There Off | Commonly used phrase which signifies that the race has begun. It is at this point that officially all bets must stop and any trading becomes 'in-running', |
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Tic-Tac | Hand signals and sign language used by bookmakers to converse with each other |
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Tissue | Early prices inicating expected prices, these are created before the official market is created |
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Tongue Strap/Tongue Tie | A device used to tie down a horse's tongue. |
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Tote | Computerised betting system found on and off course |
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Trainer | The person who has the horse in training at their yard |
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Treble | A bet comprising of three selections where all must win. A winning £10 treble on three Even money selections would pay £80 (10*1+10=20*1+20=40*1+40) |
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Tricast | When you try and correctly pick the first 3 horses home in the exact correct order |
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Trixie | Bet type comprising 4 parts. Three doubles and a treble |
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| When the horses are at the starting point of a race and are awaiting instructions to begin |
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Unfancied | When the horse is not expected to win and is a large price |
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Up in the Van | Slang term meaning that the horse is being ridden prominently |
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| A garment similar to blinkers fitted over a horse's head in which one or both cowls have holes cut in them permitting limited side or rear vision |
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| A race involving only one horse |
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Weigh In | A measure of the jockey to ensure he is the required and stated weight |
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Weight Cloth | A felt cloth with leather pockets where lead weights are placed as dictated by the race terms. This is placed under the saddle on the horse's back. |
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Weight For Age | Weight for age races are non handicaps in which the weights are based on the weight for age scale. There may be penalties for horses who have won certain types of races or a specified amount of money. |
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Win% | In HorseRaceBase when you see a column with Win% as the heading it refers to the percentage of selections matching stipulated criteria that finished first. This is also commonly referred to as the strike rate. |
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Wins | In HorseRaceBase when you see a column with Wins as the heading it refers to the number of selections matching stipulated criteria that finished first. |
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Win P/L | In HorseRaceBase when you see a column with Win P/L as the heading it refers to the total profit or loss you would have made had you backed all the selections matching stipulated criteria at the official starting price. |
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| Tic-Tac terminology meaning 6/1 |
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| A type of bet used when making four selections. It is made up of eleven parts - six doubles, four trebles and an accumulator |
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Yearling | Horse of either sex during 1 January to 31 December following the year of its birth. |
