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Horse Racing Terms: The Ultimate Glossary

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Christian Howells
Assistant Editor / Bingo & Casino Expert
Updated on March 6, 2025
Fact-checked by Leo Coleman

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Galloping thoroughbreds are an exciting sight to behold, and as this sport has evolved, alongside it a broad range of horse racing terms has emerged. Mastering horse racing betting terms is necessary to successfully bet and follow the sport. We compiled a horse racing terminology guide that will get you up to speed in no time, when visiting horse racing sites.

A

Abandoned – a race being abandoned for some reason, where all the bets on that race are fully refunded
Across the Board – betting on a horse to win, place, and show
All Weather – an artificial racing surface that can hold horse races in all weather conditions
Allowance – a horse race where the weight allowances depend on the conditions of the race; usually, the age and gender of the horse are considered for allowance
Also Eligible; AE – horses entered into the field but will not run unless another horse is scratched
Also, Run – refers to horses that have finished out of the designated number of places in a race, usually the horses that finish in fourth place or worse
Ante Post – a bet placed way back in advance of a race; for notable championships, it can be placed up to a year in advance
Apprentice Jockey – a student jockey that can receive a degree of weight allowance depending on their experience

B

Baby Race – a race for horses that are two years old
Banker – a horse that is presumed to win the race
Bit – a part of the horse’s tack, the piece that controls the horse’s mouth
Blinkers – eye equipment that limits the horse’s vision, helping reduce distractions
Bloodstock – horses that have specifically been bred for racing; three stallions are responsible for the entire thoroughbred breed: the Godolphin Arabian, the Byerly Turk, and the Darley Arabian horse
Break Maiden – a term used when a horse or rider wins for the first time
Breeze – when the horse is led to a light workout or an easy run without encouragement from the rider
Bridge Jumper – a bettor that places large bets on odds-on favorites
Broodmare – a female thoroughbred horse used for breeding
Bug Boy – an apprentice jockey
Bull Ring – a small oval track less than a mile long and with tight turns
Bumper – a flat race run under the rules of a Jumps race
Buy the Race – a form of an exotic wager where the punter uses every horse running included in the bet

C

Carryover – a reference to the money in a pari-mutuel pool for a Pick Six wager that is left over after a sequence where the bettor has failed to pick all the winners
Chase – steeplechase race where the runners must jump over a variety of plain fences, water jumps, and open ditches
Claiming Race – a horse race where every horse in the field has a price and can be purchased by a person who claims the race
Classic – prestigious flat horse races usually run by three-year-old horses; the winners of the Classics are highly valuable for breeding
Colt – a male horse under five years old
Conditions – the circumstances under which the race will take place, including distance, surface, purse, and other eligibilities
Consolation – the payout in multiple bet slips where the players can receive money without a full winning ticket
Course and Distance – a reference to a horse that has good form over the track where it is about to race over

D

Daily Double – a bet where the bettor tries to pick the winner of two races in a sequence on a single ticket
Dam – mother in equine terms
Dead Heat – two or more horses finishing together in a single line, and the judges can’t tell a difference
Declarations – confirmations that a particular horse will participate in a race
Derby – a stakes race where three-year-old horses race
Drifter – refers to a horse whose odds are increasing, which means the winning chances decrease

Credit: 22Bet

E

Each Way – a two-part bet on a horse to be placed and to win
Exacta – a bet where the bettor picks the 1st and 2nd places horses in one ticket

F

Fast Track – a dirt track that is dry and hard
Favorite – the horse that has the most excellent chance of winning the race
Filly – a female horse
Foal – a newborn horse
Form – the current condition of a horse
Front Runner – the horse that wants to run at the lead
Furlong – one eight-of-a-mile

G

Gelding – a male horse that’s been castrated
Graded Race – a rating for horse races, from 1 to 3, 1 being the highest graded horse race
Going – the nature of the ground conditions at the racing course

H

Handicap – a horse race where the official rating determines the weight a horse carries
Handicap Rating – grading of a horse that determines what grade of race it is eligible to run un and how much weight it can carry
Handle – the total sum bet on a horse race during the day
Head – the margin of victory where the winning horse finishes by the length of the head from the second-place horse
Heavy Track – a grass racing surface that is very muddy, almost like a bog
Horse – a male horse that is older than five years; a horse younger than five years is a colt

I

In the Money – to finish in the top four positions, where the horse’s owner can share a part of the purse

J

Juvenile – a horse that is two years old in Flat racing, and a three-year-old horse in Jumps racing

L

Length – the entire length of a horse, from the nose to the tail
Lug In – a horse that drifts towards the rails during a stretch run, usually a tired horse
Listed Race – a type of horse race that is the stepping stone between handicap and pattern races

M

Maiden – a horse that hasn’t won a race; a type of horse race for horses that haven’t previously won a race
Marathon – a horse race longer than 1 ¼ miles
Mare – a female horse that is five years or older
Middle Distance – a race that is longer than seven furlongs but shorter than 1 1/8 miles
Minus Pool – when the bets placed on a particular horse aren’t enough to pay the winning bettors; in such case, the track needs to make up the difference to pay the total amounts to the bettors
Morning Line Odds – the odds set by the track before the opening of the betting pools
Muddy Track – a race track that is wet, soft and holding

N

NAP – the best bet of the day
National Hunt – the official name for the Jumps races; horses need to be bred for this purpose to participate
Neck – a winning distance with a margin of victory/defeat from the nose of the horse to the bottom of its neck
Non-Runner – a horse that has been withdrawn from a race after it has been initially declared to race
Non-Runner No Bet – an ante-post betting special offer where the bet stake is refunded in full if the horse you’ve selected hasn’t been declared at the final declaration stage
Nose – the shortest margin of victory in a race
Novice – a horse that hasn’t run or won more than two races

O

Oaks – stakes race for three-year-old fillies
Objections – claims of foul by the jockeys after the race
Odds – the assigned chances that a horse will win a particular race, assigned by the betting provider
Off the Board – a horse that will not finish in the top-ranking positions
Off the Pace – a horse that lags early in the race
Off-track – a race track that is not fast/dirt or firm/grass/tuft
Overlay – a horse with odds higher than its actual chance of winning that the bettor determines. For example, the track determines a horse’s odds to be 10/1, and the bettor determines the odds of 4.1 that he’ll win; this horse is considered an overlay

P

Pace – the speed of the leaders in every stage of the horse race
Pari-mutuel – a system of wagering where the winning punters take all the money wagered by the losing bettors after the track takes its rake
Pick 3 – an exotic wager where the bettor needs to pick the winners in consecutive races
Placed – the horse places if it finishes second or third in a race
Placepot – a tote bet where you need to choose a horse to place in each of the six races in a race meeting, and it usually brings big wins if there is an unplaced favorite
Post – the starting gate in the horse race
Pulled-Up – in the case of a horse failing to complete the race, it is pulled up, and the bets on that horse are settled as losses

R

Racecard – a detailed program laying out the races, along with the colors of the runners and other conditions
Ran Out – refers to a horse that has run off the course and is out of the race
Refused to Race – a term for a horse that lines up or goes into the starting stalls but doesn’t jump off with the rest of the horses; anyone betting on such a horse will lose their bet
Rule 4 – a deduction from the winning bets in a race where a horse was withdrawn after placing the bets, which, in theory, makes it easier for other horses to win.

S

Scratch – to withdraw a horse from a race; bets on that horse are counted as a loss
Shut Out – when the bettor fails to make it wager before the racing starts
Sloppy Track – a racing track that is wet and with puddles but not muddy
Sprint – a short horse race, usually seven furlongs or less in length
Sprinter – a horse that runs in sprint races that are five or six furlongs long
Stallion – a male horse that is used for breeding; usually top-level colts are considered for stallions
Starting Price – the odds of a given horse at the off; denoted as SP, any bets placed without a price are settled as starting price or SP
Stewards – a three-person team that notes any rule violations during the race
Superfecta – a bet where the punter guesses the order of the first four finishes in the horse race; it is a high-odds wager with high payouts

T

Tag – the claiming price for a horse
Thoroughbred – a horse bred for racing, whose roots can be traced back to one of the three foundation sires, the Godolphin Arabian, the Byerly Turk, and the Darley Arabian horse
Top Weight – the horse that carries the most weight in a field; the horse in handicaps that is placed on the number 1 place in the racecard
Tote – the service providing pool betting services for horse racing; it is handled by the online sports betting platform for online bets
Track Take – the money the race track takes from each betting pool as tax and revenue
Trifecta – a bet where the bettor guesses the order of the first three horses in a race
Triple Crown – in American horse racing, it is the winner of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. In British horse racing, it is the winner of the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, the Epsom Derby, and the St Leger Stakes
Tuft Course – a race track covered with grass

U

Under Wraps – a term for a jockey intentionally keeping the horse back, not allowing it to run at top speed
Underlay – a horse whose odds are better than his winning potential
Unseated – a term for a jockey falling off a horse even though the horse did not fall
Unfancied – a horse not expected to win