Below is a list of common horse racing and betting terminology and their meanings to help with some of the jargon.

Glossary of Racing Terms

• Accumulator - A bet involving more than one horse with the winnings from each selection going onto the next also called a multiplier.
• Allowance - When a rider is inexperienced the horse is given a weight concession to compensate.
• All-Weather - The name given to the artificial surface tracks.
• Ante-Post - placing a bet before the date of a race.
• Apprentice - A jockey tied to a trainer to get race-riding experience. When racing against professional jockeys apprentices receive weight concessions.
• Banker - A selection that is fancied very strongly. Will often be the cornerstone of combination bets.
• Bar - The lowest odds of horses not mentioned in the betting forecast
• Claimer - Race where a horse is handicapped by its trainer, with the weight relating to the amount of money the horse would cost should someone claim it afterwards.
• Classics - The collective term for the 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas, Oaks, Derby and St Leger. These races are only open to three-year-olds, with the 1,000 Guineas and Oaks just for the female of the species.
• Clerk of the course - The person in overall charge of running a race
• Colours - Refers to the silk shirts worn by the jockeys. Each trainer/owner/jockey will have their own colours.
• Colt - Ungelded, male horse up to four years old.
• Conditional Jockey - Same as apprentice but it also allowed to jump.
• Co-favourite - A horse that share its position at the head of the market with at least two other horses.
• Connections - Usually refers to the owner and trainer of a horse, but also applies generally to anyone involved.
• Course Specialist - A horse which is used to a track, and has either won or made good time on previous races.
• Dam - The mother of a horse.
• Distance - Can refer either to
  • a) the length of a race; or
  • b) the distance by which a horse has won or is beaten by a horse in front that has won.
• Draw - Refers to a horse's placing in the starting stalls. For flat racing only. Stall numbers are drawn at random.
• Drift - When the price of a selection gets bigger, due to a lack of support. That selection is said to be "on the drift".
• Filly - Female horse up to four years old.
• Foal - In racing the term foal is more complicated than simply a 'baby' horse. It usually refers to either a male or female horse from birth to January 1st of the following year.
• Furlong - 220 yards
• Gelding - A male horse that has been castrated.
• Going - Describes the condition of the racecourse. Ranks as: heavy - soft - good to soft - good - good to firm -firm.
• Green - Refers to an inexperienced horse.
• Guineas - Horses are still bought and sold at public auction in the UK in Guineas. A Guinea is the equivalent of #1.05.
• Hand - Unit in which a horse's height is measured, at the shoulder. A hand is four inches
• Handful - The 'tic-tac' term for 5-1.
• Handicap - A race where each horse is allocated a different weight to carry, the theory being all horses then run on a fair and equal basis
• Hunter Chase - A race restricted to horses that have hunted during the present hunting season. Not clear how this will evolve in a post-hunting world.
• Joint favourite - When a bookmaker cannot split two selections for favouritism.
• Jolly - The favourite in a race
• Judge - The official who determines the finishing order of a race.
• Juvenile - Two-year-old horse.
• Listed - A race just below group standard but above that of handicap and conditions races.
• Maiden - A horse that has not won a race. Mare: female horse over five years old.
• Mare - Female horse aged five and above
• National Hunt - The traditional name for jumps racing.
• NAP - The best bet of the day from a particular tipster
• No offers - When bookmakers are unwilling to offer a price on a horse.
• Nursery - A handicap for two year old horses
• Objection - A complaint by a jockey against another.
• Odds On - Betting odds where the winnings are less than the stake.
• Off the bit/Off the bridle - Describes a horse being pushed and losing contact with the bit in its mouth.
• On the bit/On the bridle - Describes a horse pushing himself, still having a bite on the bit.
• Open Ditch - Steeplechase jump with a ditch on the side facing the jockey.
• Penalty - A weight added to the handicap weight of a horse
• Photo Finish - A photo is automatically taken as the horses pass the winning line and when the race is too close to be judged the photo is referred to
• Plate - Racing shoe worn by a horse
• Race card - A programme for the day's racing.
• Schooled - A horse trained for jumping
• Selling Race - A race where the winner is sold by auction immediately afterwards
• Sire - Father of a horse.
• SP/Starting Price - An estimation of odds available when the race starts.
• Stewards - The group of people (usually 4) who make sure the rules are adhered to.
• Stewards Enquiry - An enquiry by the stewards into a race.
• Tic-Tac - The hand signals, or sign language, used by bookmakers to converse with each other. See Learn Tic Tac
• Tissue - The betting forecast of how an on-course bookmaker things the betting on a race now open.
• Under Starters Orders or Under Orders - Refers to the starting of a race. They're off refers to the horses leaving the stalls.
• Weigh In / Weigh Out - Where a jockey is weighed to make sure he is the required and stated weight.
• Yearling - A horse of either sex during 1 January to 31 December following the year of its birth.