Glossary

"I had a lobster on it, but 1st up with no cut in the ground and carrying the grand-stand, it blew up with a furlong to go".

(Translation: I wagered $20 on the horse but racing for the first time after a long break, and racing on a hard track, with a large weight impost, the horse tired in the final 200m.)

Have you ever heard someone at the track talking some form of "horsey gibberish" and wondered to yourself 'What did he just say??'.

This may help solve the mystery!

Australian and UK Racing Terms

1st Up / 2nd Up / 3rd Up etc

A reference to the number of starts/races a horse has had during it's current ‘preparation’ or ‘campaign’.

Put another way, the number of starts/races a horse has had since its last extened rest or ‘spell’. If a horse is racing for the first time after an extended rest, then its ‘1st Up’, for the second time after a 'spell' it's '2nd up', and so on.

Allowance

A weight concession the horse is given to compensate for its rider's inexperience.

Advocado

Australian betting slang for $100 (the color of the $100 note is green, like an advocado)

Asparagus

A punter with no end of tips, form, and 'late mail'. ie. more tips than a bunch of asparagus!

Backward

A horse that is not fully mature, or will improve for the run.

Bird / Moral / Good Thing

'It's a bird'. An absolute certainty to win. (Usually only a theoretical concept dreamed up in the mind of punters.)  

Emu / Ticket Emu

A racegoer who picks up discarded betting tickets in the hope of finding one which has not been cashed.

Other punters don't really like 'Emus', so unless you are looking for your own lost ticket (in which case you are entitled to go to any and all practical lengths), never stoop to being an Emu!

Blinkers

This is a type of hood that fits over a horse's head to prevent the horse from seeing sideways and helps it concentrate its attention ahead during a race. A visor is an alternative type of blinker.

Blown Up / Compounded

When a horse starts to drop out of contention in a race due to lack of fitness.

Bolted In / Did it with a Leg in the Air / Made a Mess of Them / Hacked up (UK)  etc.

When a horse has won easily.

Carrying the grand-stand

A horse that is carrying a large weight in a race, as allocated and by the handicapper. ie. a horse with an impost of >= 60kg (in a normal 'non-highweight' flat race).

Cat (AU) 

Goes 'meow' instead of 'roar'! In racing terms a 'cat' is a horse that lacks speed, heart and/or consistency. 

Punters often refer to the last horse they just lost their money on as 'a cat'.

Cast a Plate (AU)

Lost a horse shoe during running.

Clerk of the Course

Out rider who assists jockeys in getting their mounts to the barriers and back to scale safely.

Colours / Silks

Shirts or 'silks' worn by jockeys to identify a horse to a particular owner or trainer.

Conditions / Race Conditions / Race Type

The make-up of a race, as in the number of runners, and eligable entrants.

Examples of race entrance and handicapping 'conditions' include 'Weight For Age' (such as the Cox Plate), 'Set Weight and Penalties', 'Handicap' (such as the Melbourne Cup), '3YO Filles and Mares' etc..

See the bottom of this page for full details. 

Connections

Term used to refer to a horse's jockey, trainer and owner.

Course Specialist

A horse that tends to run well at a particular track.

Cut in the ground / Give in the Ground

A description of the ground condition, when there is 'give' in the racing surface, also called 'soft going'. 

Dam

The mother of a horse.

Distance

The length of a race. It can also refer to the margin by which a horse wins or is beaten.

Draw

A flat racing term referring to a horses' position in the barriers.  The draw is decided by random ballot at acceptance time.

Dropped the Bit (AU)

Describes a horse that is relaxing in the running of a race (thus conserving energy) – characterised by it relaxing it’s grip on the ‘bit’ (the metal bits in it’s mouth, attached to the reins!).

Favourite / Punters Elect

The horse with the shortest odds / lowest price for a race.

Duck (AU)

A 'duck' is Aussie slang for a horse that loves running in the wet / heavy going. (ie. Ducks love water).

Field

Term for the runners in a race.

Filly

A female horse aged four years old or younger.

Form

A horse's past race record. Denoted by figures next to its name in a race book e.g. 1=1st, 2=2nd etc.

Freshen / Freshen Up

A brief ‘let up’ or break in a horses racing campaign that is long enough for the horse to regain some spark and ‘freshness’, but not so long as it will significantly lose fitness (that would be a ‘spell’) and need to start a whole new ‘Campaign’ (pre-training, training).

Furlong (UK)

The measure of distance used for all flat races in the British Isles.

One Furlong equates to 200 meters or 220 yards and there are eight furlongs  (200m) in a mile (1600m).

Gelding

A male horse that has been castrated.

Genuine / Honest

A  horse that is 'genuine' or 'honest' usually runs races near, or up to it's ability level.

Get the trip

Usually said of a horse that stays the particular distance of the race. Or questioning if a horse will run out the distance of race strongly 'Will she get the trip'.

Going / Track Rating

The official description of the state of the ground. This can range from heavy to firm, with variants in between.

Going the early crow / Going off at the clocktower 

A punter declaring a horse is 'home' (will win) when the race is a long way from over. This is often followed by the horse compounding in the final stages and getting beaten in the final stride.... much to the bemusement of said punter, and amusement of all in attendance who heard the 'early crow'. 

Good Thing

Betting slag for a certainty to win a race. (Please Note: this is a mythical concept)

Gorilla

Betting slag for $1000. (See also 'monkey' or $500. ie. smaller version of a 'Gorilla')

Hands 

Am measure of the height of a horse with one hand = 4 inches. Hands are divided into 4 parts when talking about a horses size. eg. A horse might be 15 hh, 15.1 hh, 15.2 hh or 15.3 hh with the next height measurement being 16 hh. A smallish racehorse (flat racing) would be 15 hands high or less. An average racehorse in the 15.1 to 16 hh range. A large horse would be over 16 hh and a 'monster' up about the 17hh mark.

Handicap

Probably the single most important term used in racing. After it has raced a few times and been adequately assessed a horse is awarded a handicap mark that allows it to be compared to all other horses racing in that state. A horse's handicap figure is then adjusted by the official handicappers judged on its subsequent racing performances. The mark (or handicap) a horse receives relates to the weight it carries in handicap (condition) races – the idea being that if all horses perform to their handicap mark on the day they will all dead heat for first place. For example, if a colt is allotted a mark of 62 after winning a Maiden, and he wins another race, the handicapper may give him a ratings rise of four points, meaning next time he runs his mark is 66 and so on. Remember this is a theoretical mark and does not relate to the physical weight a horse carries. The actual weight a horse carries is defined by the horses he races against. As a very rough rule of thumb, 1kg equates to two rating points.  

If a horse continues to run poorly, its handicap mark will eventually start to drop, although often not quickly enough to please the Connections of that horse! 

Hands and heels

Riding a horse without using a whip. If a horse has won 'hands and heels' it's likely that it has won easily or with 'something in reserve'.

Handy

A description of a horse who is in a prominent position during a race.

Jolly (UK)

Betting slang for the favorite of a race. 

Judge

The official responsible for declaring the finishing order and declaring the distances between runners.

Hoop / Jock 

The jockey. ie. the little fella steering the horse. 

Juvenile

A two year old horse. This is the age at which horses can begin racing on the flat.

Lock

A term a horse which is allegedly unbeatable. Beware, they are all beatable (except for perhaps Black Caviar).

Lady Godiva (UK)

Rhyming betting slang for $5 (or GBP), or 'a fiver'.

Length

The measurement used to describe the distance between horses in a finish with one Length equating to the body length of an average horse. Where a horse wins a race by a distance of less than one length, the winning margin will be described as anything from a 'nose' (the closest of margins) to a 'short half head', a 'half head', a 'head' to ¾ of a length, and so on.

Lobster (AU) / Crayfish (AU)

Australian betting slang for $20 (the color of the $20 note is red, like a lobster).

Maiden

The name given to all horses without a victory.

Market Mover (AU) / Springer (UK) / Steamer (UK)

A horse which shortens dramatically in the betting.

Mare

Female horse aged five and above.

Monkey

Betting slang for $500.

National Hunt (UK)

The traditional name for jumps racing.

Objection (UK) / Protest (AU)

A complaint by one jockey against another regarding breach of rules during a race.

Off the bridle / Off the bit

Describes a horse that is being pushed along by the jockey, losing contact with the bit in it's mouth.

Off the pace

When a horse isn't keeping up with other horses in a race.

On the bridle / On the bit

Describes a horse that is still going well in a race and still having a grip on the bit.

Over the top

A horse past his peak for the season / current racing campaign.

Pace

The speed at which a race is run. Up with the pace means close to the leaders, off the pace means some way behind.

Paddock

An area at the racecourse that incorporates the pre-parade ring (where the horses are saddled), the parade ring and winner's enclosure.

Penalty

An addition to a horse's weight (for future races) when it has won a race. The amount of the penalty (as allocated by the Handicap depends on the value or type of the race won.

Photo finish

A very close finish to a race that requires electronic photographic equipment to decide who has won.

Pick of the yard

The 'yard' refers to the mounting yard. The pick of the yard is the horse that presented best (from a fitness/shine in the coat) in the mounting yard just prior to a race.

Ping

'To ping' is a verb often used to describe when a horse is jumping out of the starting ‘gates’ (barriers) in particularly good style. eg. ‘He pinged the gates’.

Plate

Light weight shoe (normally made of aluminium) worn by a horse for racing.

Pony (UK)

Betting slang for $25 or GBP 25.

Pulled Up

A horse who is stopped by his jockey from carrying on in a race, often because that horse is too tired to continue or injured. More common in steeple chase or hurdle races.

Pulling (AU) / Over-racing (AU) / Run free (UK)

A horse going too fast too early (‘over-racing’), meaning it is not settling (relaxing) into the race.

Rating

https://www.thoroughbredratings.com/TB/classratings/classratings.html

Racing plate

Lightweight aluminium horseshoes specially fitted for racing.

Schooling

Teaching a horse to race or jump. A 'well-schooled' horse is less likely to show signs of inexperience or 'greenness'.

Scope

A horse is said to have scope if it is likely to improve with age and as it grows into its frame.

Sling 

A bonus (cash) given to the strapper/jockey/trainer of a horse, in appreciation of it winning a race.

Smart 

A horses referred to as 'smart' is not one with a university degree or a command of advanced mathematics... a 'smart horse' is one with decent galloping ability.

Spell / Spelling

When a horse has a rest period back at a farm to recover from racing.

Speckeled Hen (UK)

Rhyming betting slang for GBP 10, or 'a ten'.

Spread a Plate / Cast a Plate

When a racing plate or horseshoe comes off, sometimes causing delay to the start of a race as the horse is re-shod.

Standing Dish (UK)

A horse who's appearance or prospects at the time look 'so good you could eat em'!

Starting Price (‘SP’)

The official odds for a horse at the time a race started, based on bookmakers prices.

Stallion / Sire

The father of a horse.  A horse's parents can also be referred to as 'by' a certain sire, and 'out of' a particular mare.

Stayers

Horses that have a lot of stamina and are more likely to show their best form from 2000 meters up to 3200 meters.

Stewards

The group of people responsible for ensuring adherence to the rules of racing.

Stewards' Enquiry

An investigation by the Stewards into the running of a race and any incidents of interference that may have occurred between participant Tipped Out A horse being sent for a rest or a ‘spell’ to recover from racing / injury.

Stretch Run (USA)

The home straight.

Track Conditions

Walkover

A race where there is only one participant

Weigh in/out

Weighing the jockey before and after the race to make sure the horse carried the right weight. The 'correct weight' announcement means the result is official and all bets can be settled.

Weight cloth

A cloth with pockets for lead weights placed under the saddle.

Bet Types (Trifectas, Exactas, Quaddies, Big 6, Parlay, etc.)

https://www.horseracinginfo.com.au/betting-guide/horse-racing-bet-types.htm

Race Types / Conditions of Entry

https://www.horseracinginfo.com.au/betting-guide/australian-race-types.htm