A to Z of key terms and what they mean

The Sun

14 February 2024

RACING has a language all of its own and some of it can at first seem quite confusing.

But with a little help you'll be a dab hand in no time at all.

Here, Sun Racing guides you through some of the more common terms you'll hear and explains what they mean.

We've also thrown in a couple rarer ones too, so you can impress your mates.

Racing jargon buster - A-Z of key terms

Allowance - a deduction in the weight a horse carries in a race, usually as a result of the jockey's claim, the horse's sex or age.

Ante-post - a bet placed more than 48 hours before a race. Hugely popular for Cheltenham Festival. Bookies often offer bigger odds but you usually don't get your money back if your horse doesn't run.

Bumper - like the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham Festival. This is a Flat race (no hurdles or fences) but for jumps horses, used to give them experience.

Chase - a steeplechase, a race run over fences. A horse who runs over fences is called a 'chaser'.

Classic - the five big Flat races of the season: the 2000 Guineas, 1000 Guineas, Epsom Derby, Epsom Oaks and St Leger.

Colt - an uncastrated male horse aged four or younger.

Connections - the horse's owners.

Dam - the mother of a horse.

Dead-heat - a tie between horses who cannot be split.

Declared - when a trainer formally says a horse will run in a race. Declarations generally take place 48 hours before a race.

Fences - the larger obstacles jumped in a chase.

Filly - a female horse four or younger.

Furlong - races are measured in miles and furlongs. The shortest race is over five furlongs. A furlong is an eighth of a mile, or 220 yards.

Gelding - a castrated male horse

Going - the condition of the course. The going could be, for example, good for firmer ground or heavy when it has rained a lot.

Good thing - racing term for a horse considered a 'banker', in other words, unbeatable.

Graded/Group races - the highest quality of racing. They are called Graded races over jumps and Group races on the Flat. Grade/Group 1s are the very best races for the best horses.

Handicap - another way of saying the official rating a horse has been given. If a horse wins a race you can expect its rating to go up. If it has a long losing sequence it will come down.

Handicap races - the majority of races will be handicaps. Horses will carry different weights in these races based on their ability. The better horses carry more weight.

Handicapper - the person who decides the official rating of a horse.

Hurdles - the smaller obstacles jumped in a National Hunt race.

Juvenile - a two-year-old horse.

Mare - an adult female horse. A broodmare is used for breeding.

Nap - the best bet of the day. It comes from the card game Napoleon and denotes your best hand.

National Hunt - the official name for jumps racing.

Non-runner - a horse withdrawn from a race for which it had been declared.

Novice - the name given to and a type of race for horses in their first season in that code of racing e.g. a novice hurdler will be in their first season racing over hurdles.

Parade ring - area of the track where horses are paraded before a race.

Plot job - some trainers will work the handicap system to benefit their horse. For example, a trainer may know their horse is better than the rating they have been given, and hold them back to run at the perfect time.

Pulled up - when a horse fails to finish a race after being brought to a halt by their jockey.

Silks - an owner's colours and used to describe the top a jockey wears.

Sire - the father of a horse. A stallion is a male used at stud for breeding.

Steward's enquiry - the dreaded bing-bong. A steward's enquiry is called after a race and is often used to determine if a result should or shouldn't stand.

Under starter's orders - when the starter brings the horses into line to start. For betting purposes, this is used as the official start of a race.

Weighed in - a race result is only final once all jockeys have weighed in. The weighing in procedure ensures the horse carried the right amount of weight in a race. Jockeys are weighed before and after a race.

Yard - another word for an owner's stables.

Yearling - a horse between the age of one and two.