GENERAL HORSE RACING GLOSSARY

Inexperienced racegoers can be bombarded by the terms and language peculiar to the racetrack. This glossary is intended to define the terminology of handicapping and pari-mutuel wagering specifically.

ALSO-ELIGIBLE.
Official entries that will he selected to run
by lot if horses are scratched.

APPRENTICE.
A rookie jockey; rides with weight allowances.

BABY RACE.
Dashes up to four furlongs for two-year-olds

BACKSTRETCH.
Stable area; long straight part of the track on the far side of the grandstand

BAY.
Dark brown horse with a black mane and tail

BIT.
Metal bar across the moth to which the reins are attached

BLANKET FINISH.
Extremely close finish involving several horses

BLAZE.
A large white marking on a horse's face

BLOODLINES.
A horse's extended pedigree

BOAT RACE.
A fixed race

BOLT.
To run off in the wrong direction, as when horses leave the post parade unexpectedly

BOTTOM LINE.
The female side of a pedigree

BOWED TENDON.
A rupture in the sheath of the flexor tendon, which runs below the knee to the ankle, and results in the tendon arching out from the cannon bone like the string of a bow

Break.
The start of a race

BREAKAGE.
The difference between the actual mutuel-odds payoffs and the lesser, rounded amounts awarded to winning players

BREEDER.
Owner of the mare at the moment a foal is born

BREEZING.
Running without urging, usually under a light hold

BROODMARE.
A female used for breeding

BUCKED SHINS.
Severely strained shin bones, usually of two-year-olds

BUG BOY.
An apprentice jockey.

BULL RING.
A track having a small circumference and sharp turns.

BUZZER.
A battery-powered vibrator used to startle a horse and cause it to run faster; an illegal device.

CALKS.
Cleated horseshoes used In mud or soft grass

CANTER.
A slow gallop. Daily exercise run for race horses.

CAST.
A horse fallen and unable to rise, as in the starting gate

CHALK.
The betting favorites

CHESTNUT.
A brown or tan horse with a brown mane and tail

CHOPPY.
A short up-and-down stride that often indicates soreness

CHUTE.
An extension of the stretch or backstretch that permits a longer, straighter run to the turn

CIRCUIT.
A cluster of tracks in a geographical area whose race dates are scheduled in sequence

CLAIM
To buy a horse out of a claiming race

CLERK OF THE SCALES.
An official who weighs the jockeys and their tack before and after the races

CLIMBING.
Running with an unusually high motion of the front legs, usually when rank or under severe restraint

CLOCKERS.
Persons who time the workouts, officially and unofficially.

CLUBHOUSE TURN.
The first turn of route races that begin in the homestretch; near the club house area of most tracks.

COLT.
A male horse aged four and younger

CONDITION BOOK.
A bi-weekly track publication in which the racing secretary describes the eligibility conditions, purses, and weight allowances of the upcoming races

CONNECTIONS.
Owner, trainer, and other handlers of a horse

CRIBBER
A horses that bites the wood of its stall, sucking air into its lungs.

CULL.
An unwanted horse

CUP.
A kind of blinker

CUPPY.
A track surface that breaks easily into clods

CUSHION.
The sub-surface of the racetrack

DAM.
A horse's mother

DARK HORSE.
A horse having long odds but a good chance of winning

DASH.
A short sprint race, usually of five and five and one-half furlongs

DEAD HEAT.
Two or more horses have finished in a tie

DEAD WEIGHT.
Lead weights carried in saddles to add to jockey's weight

DECLARATIONS.
Scratches

DERBY.
A stakes race limited to three-year-olds

DISTAFF.
The female side of a pedigree

DOER.
A horse that's a good eater

DOPE.
Information about horse's abilities; drugs

DWELT.
A horse that breaks unusually slowly out of the starting gate

DUTCHING.
Betting on several horses in the exact proportions required to make a profit regardless of which horse wins

EARLY FOOT
Good speed at the beginning of the race.

EASE UP.
To slow a horse, halting its exertion

EIGHTH POLE.
The green pole situated one furlong from the finish line; the stretch call

ENTRY.
Two or more horses owned or trained by the same person(s) and running as a single betting interest.

FARRIER.
A horseshoer

FAST TRACK.
The normal condition of the racing surface, dry, firm strip on which the horses can run to their basic abilities

FETLOCK.
A horse's ankle

FIELD.
The entrants in a race.

FILLY.
A female horse age four or less.

FOAL.
A newborn horse; to give birth.

FOOTING.
The condition of the track surface; colloquial.

FORM.
The condition, readiness, or soundness of the horse; current condition; the Daily Racing Form, the newspaper of thoroughbred racing.

FORM PLAYER.
Bettor who makes selections from the past performance records.

FRACTIONS.
Clockings at various intervals of a race or workout.

FRESHENER.
Layoff intended to restore the condition of an overworked horse.

FRONG.
The fleshy triangular cushion of a horse's foot.

FRONT RUNNER.
Horses that prefer to run on the lead in a race.

FURLONG.
One-eighth of a mile; 220 yards; 660 feet. (approx 200 Meters)

FUTURITY.
A major stakes race for two-year-olds.

GALLOP.
An easy race or workout, completed without a rider's urging.

GATE.
The starting gate.

GELDING.
A castrated male horse.

GET.
The offspring of a stallion.

GETAWAY DAY.
The final day of a race meeting.

GO.
To start in a race; slang, of an effort to win.

GOING AWAY.
Winning while drawing away from the others

GOOD DOER.
A horse that eats well.

GRAB.
To catch the foreleg with a hind leg, causing stumbling or injury.

GRADUATE.
To break the maiden status.

GROOM.
The stable employee who cares for and tends to a horse; brings the horse to the paddock on race days.

GROUNDED.
A suspended jockey.

GUN.
An all out urging by the jockey.

HALF-BROTHER (SISTER).
A male (female) horse out of the same dam but by a different sire.

HALF-MILE POLE.
The vertical red-painted pole positioned on the backstretch exactly four furlongs from the finish line.

HALTER
A strap or rope by which horses are led; to claim a horse out of a race

HANDILY
A horse running easily with light urging by the jockey in a race or workout

HANDLE
Total amount of money bet on a race, a day's program, or during the season

HANG
A horse doing its best just to say even, without gaining on its opponent, especially during the late stage of the race

HARDBOOT
An old-time horseman

HAT TRICK
A jockey's winning three races on a single program

HEAD OF THE STRETCH
End of the far turn and top of the stretch

HEAVY TRACK
A running surface thick with mud; tiring to horses

HIP NUMBER
The numeral attached to a horse's hip at auctions

HOMEBRED
A horse raced by an owner who also bred the horse; bred in the same state where a horse races

HOMESTRETCH
The end of the final turn to the finish line

HOOD
The head covering containing blinkers

HORSE
The technical term for a male aged five and older

HORSEMAN
An owner, breeder, or trainer

HOT WALKER
A stable employee who walks a horse while It cools out following a race

ICE
To soothe and dull a horse's feet and legs by standing it in a tub of ice

IMPOST
The weight carried by a horse

IN-AND-OUTER
An inconsistent horse

INFIELD
The area on the inner circumference of the track

IN HAND
A horse running under a rider's restraint

IN LIGHT
A horse carrying low weight

INQUIRY
The stewards investigation into the running of the race to adjudicate protests and to ensure fairness; a flashing sign that indicates to bettors the outcome is being investigated

IN THE MONEY
A finish first, second, or third

IN TOUGH
A horse entered against horses he will be hard pressed to beat

IRONS
The stirrups

JAIL
A period following a claim when horses must compete at a claiming level 25 percent higher or remain inactive

JOCKEY AGENT
The person who obtains mounts for a jockey and is paid 25 percent of the jockey's earnings

JOCKEY CLUB
The official ruling body of Thoroughbred racing and which maintains the registry and record of the North American Stud Book

JOCKEYS' GUILD
The national association of jockeys

JOG
A slow, easy gait; a trot

JOURNEYMAN
A professional jockey; a jockey whose performance is considered average or standard

JUVENILE
A two-year-old race horse

LAMINITIS
A serious inflammation of the foot, often deadly

LEG UP
To enhance a horse's speed or stamina with a workout or a race

LENGTH
Approximately eight to ten feet

LINE
One side of a pedigree; the male line

LIVE WEIGHT
The weight of the jockey, as contrasted to dead weights

LOCK
A sure thing

LUG IN
Bearing in while running

MACHINES
The pari-mutuel machines

MARATHON
A race longer than a mile and one-quarter

MARE
A female horse aged five and older

MATCH RACE
A winner-take-all race between two horses

MEET
A race meeting

MIDDLE DISTANCE
A race longer than seven furlongs up to nine furlongs

MINUS POOL
A circumstance in pari-mutuel betting by which so much money is bet on a single horse the legal minimum payoff to the bettors cannot be met, requiring the track to offset the difference from its own revenues

MORNING GLORY
Horse that performs well in workouts but not in races

MORNING LINE
The track's estimate of the probable odds

MUCK OUT
To clean a horse's stall

MUDDER
A horse that performs well in the mud

MUDDY TRACK
A wet, soft track surface that restrains a horse's stride; tiring

MUTUEL POOL
The total amount of money bet on a race, including win-place-show and all exotics.

MUZZLE
Straps that keep a horse's mouth closed and prevents it from biting

NAME
To enter a horse in a race; to select a jockey for a horse

NIGHTCAP
The final race on a program

NOSE
The narrowest winning margin

OAKS
A stakes race for three-year-old fillies

OBJECTION
An official complaint of a foul by a jockey

ODDS BOARD
The tote board

ODDS ON
Less than even-money on the tote

OFF
The start; the time a race started

OFF THE PACE
To run behind the front runners

OFF TRACK
A racing surface labeled other than fast; betting conducted at a site other than the race track

ON EDGE
A nervous horse; a sharply conditioned horse

ON THE BIT
A horse straining against the bit

ON THE NOSE
A bet to win

ON THE RAIL
Running along the infield rail

ONE-RUN
A horse that expends its energy in a relatively short burst, usually from behind the pace

OPEN RACE
A race for which any horse is eligible; a race whose outcome is especially difficult to predict

OUTRIDER
A track employee who escorts a horse to the post

OVER AT THE KNEE
The foreleg curves forward at the knee; a confirmation flaw

OVERNIGHT RACE
A race for which the entries are taken within 72 hours of post time

OVERNIGHTS
The entries for the next racing day

OVERWEIGHT
The number of pounds a horse carries in excess of the official designated weight due to the jockey's weight

PACE
The rate of speed of a race; the time of the lead horse at each stage of the race

PADDOCK
The saddling enclosure

PARI-MUTUELS
A system of wagering whereby the winning bettors receive the money lost by the losing bettors, after a commission has been deducted

PLATER
A claiming horse; a horseshoer

PONY
Any work horse at the track; the horse that leads the race horse to the post

POOL
The amount of money wagered on a particular kind of bet or the total number of bets on a race

POST
The starting gate; the starting time of a race

PREPOTENT
The condition whereby a sire passes on its racing aptitudes to considerable degree in a large percentage of its progeny

PRODUCE
The offspring of a mare

PROP
Refusing to break at the start; standing flatfooted or caught sideways in the starting gate

PUBLIC STABLE
A trainer's barn that is open to any owners who prefer to stable horses there

PULL
To restrain horses deliberately to prevent them from winning; to stiff horses

PULL IN THE WEIGHTS
A significant weight advantage

PULL UP
To stop a horse or slow it down during a race or immediately afterwards

PUNTER
Slang for a horse player

QUARTER CRACK
The separation of the inner and outer walls of a horse's hoof in a specific area

QUARTER POLE
The vertical red-colored pole positioned on the far turn exactly two furlongs from the finish line

RACING SECRETARY
The official who prescribes the races at the track, including eligibility conditions, distances, and purses and who assigns the weights horses must carry

RACING SOUND
A horse having some degree of unsoundness but able to race

RANK
A fractious horse, often unmanageable by the jockey

RATE
To restrain a horse lightly in a race in an effort to measure out its energies most efficiently

RECEIVING BARN
The place where horses stabled at other tracks and training sites are kept before they go to the paddock to be saddled for a race; the place where horses can be inspected and tested following a race

RIDDEN OUT
A driving but not overextended finish, such that the horse is observed to have energy in reserve

RIDGLING
A partly castrated horse

RIGHT PRICE
Odds attractive enough to risk a bet on a particular horse in the field

RINGER
A horse entered to race under another horse's name

ROAN
A horse having gray and red spots

ROGUE
A seriously fractious unmanageable horse

ROMP
An easy win

ROUTE
A longer race, of a mile or greater, usually around two turns

ROUTER
A horse that performs best in longer races

RULE OFF
To bar a person from the race track

RUN DOWN
A circumstance where a horse's heels scrape the surface of the race track, usually behind

RUN IN
To win unexpectedly

RUN WIDE
To race far from the rail , covering extra ground

SADDLECLOTH
The fabric between the saddle and the horse; contains the horse's program number

SAVAGE
The tendency of a horse to bits

SCALE OF WEIGHTS
An official tabulation of correct weights for the various age and sex groups at all distances throughout the calendar year

SCHOOL
To train a horse, notably at the starting gate and at the paddock

SCORE
To win a relatively large-sized bet

SCRATCH
To withdraw an entrant from a race

SEND
A horseman's slang for trying to win with a horse today

SET DOWN
The term describing the suspension of a jockey or trainer for an infraction of the rules; to shake up a horse by asking it for speed

SEX ALLOWANCE
Weight concessions granted to female horses in races versus males

SHADOW ROLL
A cylindrical cloth or sheepskin strapped across a horse's nose area to prevent it from jumping shadows

SHANK
The rope or strap attached to a halter for leading a horse by hand

SHED ROW
The array of barns in the stable area; the backstretch area

SHIP
To transport a horse by van or plane

SHOE BOARD
A paddock board that describes what kind of shoes each horse is wearing; not available at all tracks

SHORT
A lack of fitness whereby horses tire in the stretch

SHORT PRICE
A small mutuel payoff

SHUT OUT
A player who does not make a bet in time

SILKS
The owner's clothes and colors worn by the jockey

SIRE
A horse's father

SIT-STILL
A riding style characterized by patience and finesse, as contrasted with aggressive urging and whipping

SIXTEENTH POLE
The vertical black-colored pole positioned exactly one-half a furlong from the finish line

SLOPPY
A track surface wet with water and puddles, but not yet muddy; the surface remains relatively hard and fast

SLOW TRACK
A drying out surface following rains that is playing slower than normal. Smart money
The bets of insiders

SOCKS
White ankles

SOPHOMORE
A three-year-old

SPECIAL WEIGHTS
Even weights, excepting sex and apprentice allowances, used in maiden races

SPIT OUT THE BIT
An exhausted horse is backing up and will not persevere any longer

SPLINT
A bony growth on a horse's shins; tend to become inflamed on two-year-olds due to excessive training and racing

SPLIT RACE
An over-subscribed race is split into two races; usually a stakes

SPOT PLAY
A type of bet whereby the player risks money only on specific kinds of races or angles

SPOT WEIGHT
To concede pounds to another horses in the field

SPRINT
A short race, of seven furlongs or less; a race around one turn

STAKE
The commission paid the winning jockey, trainer, or groom

STAKES
The nomination, entry, and starting fees paid by owners of horses in stakes races and which are awarded in their entirety to the winning owner

STALLION
A whole male horse used in breeding

STALL WALKER
A horse that continually paces its stall, expending energy

STAND
To send a stallion to the stud

STAR
A white marking on a horse's forehead

STARTERS LIST
Horses ineligible to race because of misbehavior at the starting gate, as determined by the official starter

STAYER
A reliable runner in the longest races

STEWARDS
The three officially-appointed judges of equine and human conduct at the racetrack; the official judges of race and riding inquiries

STICK
To whip a horse

STICKERS
The cleats on horses shoes

STIFF
To prevent a horse from winning by riding poorly, by drugging it illegally, or by poor training; a seriously unfit or outclassed horse

STIRRUPS
Where jockeys' feet are place when mounting; the Irons

STOCKINGS
White legs

STRAIGHT
Slang for a bet to win

STRETCH CALL
The position in the upper stretch at the eighth pole, one furlong from the finish line

STRETCH TURN
The curve Into the stretch at the end of the far turn

STRING
The horses trained by one trainer or owned by one owner

STUD
Stallion; breeding farm

STUD BOOK
The official registry of the breed

STUD FEE
The fee paid to a stallion's owner for breeding services

SULK
A horse refused to run or to respond to the jockey's handling

SWEEPSTAKES
A big-ticket stakes race

TACK
The equipment a horse carries besides the rider

TAG
The claiming price at which a horse can be purchased from a race

TAKE
The money deducted from the betting pools for taxes, purses, and track operations

TAKE DOWN
To disqualify a horse from its actual finish position

TAKE OUT
The track take; the percentage varies from state to state

TEASER
A stallion that tests a mare's readiness for mating

TELETIMER
An electronic timer that flashes the fractional times and final time of a race on the tote board

TRA
Thoroughbred Racing Association The trade association of track owners and managers

TRPB
Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau. The TRA's security arm; an investigative watch dog intended to combat corruption and crime at the racetrack

TIGHT
A fit and ready horse

TIGHTENER
A prep race intended to help a horse attain its peak condition

TONGUE TIE
A leather or cloth strap intended to hold a horse's tongue down to prevent swallowing during a race or workout

TOP WEIGHT
The heaviest weighted horse in a race

TOTALISATOR
The system of automated pari-mutuel machines that records bets as soon as they are processed and tickets or vouchers are dispensed

TOUT
To give or sell betting advice

TRACK SUPERINTENDENT
The track employee who maintains and manages the racing strip

TRAINING TRACK
A track for workouts only, usually inside the main track at race tracks

TRIAL RACE
A non-betting exhibition where a horse is asked for speed in simulated competition, usually for two-year-olds

TRIPLE CROWN
An honor to any three~year-old that wins the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes in succession

TROUBLE LINE
Words and phrases in the past performances which describe any mishaps a horse encountered in the race

TURF COURSE
The grass track inside the main track

TURN OUT
To rest a horse by sending it to the farm or training center, away from the race track

UNDER WRAPS
A horse that has not be allowed to do its best, usually due to the trainer's instructions or the jockey's judgment

UP
An order to the jockeys to mount their horses

USED UP
A horse that has become exhausted prematurely in a race

VALET
An employee who cares for a jockey's clothes and equipment

VAN
A truck in which horses are shipped

VET'S LIST
The list of ill or injured horses ineligible to races until cleared by the track veterinarian

WALKING RING
The oval near the paddock where owners gather, horses walk in view of the public, and jockeys mount to begin the post parade

WALKOVER
An uncontested race; one horse wins by making the course

WARM-UPS
The pre-race gallops

WASHY
A horse sweating from nervousness

WEANLING
A young horse recently separated from its mother

WEIGH IN
The official weighing of jockeys with tack in hand following a race

WEIGHT-FOR-AGE RACE
A race in which the weights are prescribed by the official scale of weights, and not by the racing secretary's judgment as to the horses relative abilities

WHEEL
A form of betting in which one horse is coupled with every other horse in the field. A horse turns sharply