Grand National horse racing nap sp meaning

The Grand National festival began on Thursday and is expected to have a climax on Saturday afternoon with the famous steeplechase race. The festival attracts a worldwide audience and coverage is spread across the print and online media, television and radio.

A non-runner is a horse that has been withdrawn from a race prior to the start.

The length of a horse is used to measure its distance from the other horse.

A nose, neck or head is the equivalent to the body part on each horse.

A photo finish is when two or more horses cross the line at roughly the same time. The winner will be decided by an analysis of a photo taken of the finish line.

A dead heat is when both horses are declared as the winner and the next horse is classed as third-placed.

A racecard is a list of the races taken place on the day of a meeting. It contains information such as the form of horses, the jockey and trainers names and details of racecourse.

A handicap is where better horses carry more weights than their lesser races rivals.

A furlong is a measurement of distance.

All-weather racing takes place on an artificial surface and does not contain hurdles or jumps. National hunt is another way to describe races with hurdles on turf.

The ground is also known as the ground and it indicates the state of the track. Firm means the turf is hard, heavy is when it has caused the surface to go soft and good is the midway point between the two.

A stewards enquiry may take place if one horse claims an unfair advantage or interferes with another horse during the race. A race steward will analyse the footage of the Grand National race and speak to both jockeys before deciding if the outcome should be amended.

The rails are the white plastic railings that run around the course.

The SP is the odds that are placed on a horse when the race gets underway.

Half of the bet is placed on the horse to win and the other half on finishing in the top three or four places.

There are 16 places in each way bet for the Grand National. The first two horses past the winning line are placed.

Experts will tip horses to win races and NAP is the horse they are most confident about.

E ante-post are bets placed long before the day of the race. Bookmakers will often offer bigger odds on these bets.