Horse Racing Glossary

HORSE RACING GLOSSARY

Age - On the 1st of January every year, every horse - irrespective of its' actual date of birth, will celebrate a Birthday. Thus, a horse born on the 31st of March would, on the 1st of January, be a Yearling! The breeding season however is timed by the industry to start in February, thereby neatly avoiding this problem, as mares also carry their foals for about 11 months.

3-year olds only race against other 3-year olds - A 3-year old would normally only race against other 3-year olds during the 1st half of the year, and thereafter only begin to challenge the older horses as they become more skilled. It usually takes an exceptional 3-year old to challenge the older horses and win, so many handicappers watch for older horses competing against the 3-year olds. They also watch the 4-year olds come of age, as most 3-year olds are cosseted for most of their racing lives, they occasionally have trouble making the move to converting to a competitive older horse.

Chalk - A horse is known as the "chalk" when it is the favorite, or has the most money bet on it. The term "chalk" comes from a pre-computer age, when bookies used to record bets on a chalkboard. The odds would change constantly as more and more people bet on the favorite, and as the bookie frequently erased and lowered the horse's odds, the horse became known as the "chalk", as its' name vanished in the chalk dust.

Condition Book - A Condition Book, written every fortnight by the Racing Secretary at all tracks, documents all upcoming races. The Book allows horsemen to plan and schedule their horses for races, and also serves as a reminder to horsemen of upcoming stakes and nomination deadlines. Some Books' are available on-line ie: Del Mar's Condition Book.

Entry - "Entries" or "coupled" horses are terms given in California, when 2 or more horses are entered in a race, that belong to the same owner. Other states define a "coupled" entry when 2 or more horses are trained by and/or owned by the same person. The "coupled" entry is comprised of 2 or more horses and represents a single betting interest. i.e.: In California - Mr Smith owns horse A and horse B. Mr Smith's entry would therefore be 1 and 1a. This is considered a bet on #1 for betting purposes. Once in awhile, there will be more than one coupled entry: Mr Smith owns Horses A and B while Mrs. Jones owns Horses C and D. Mrs. Jones' entry would be numbers 2 and 2a. In other states, if the same trainer, trains Horse A and Horse B, these horses will be "coupled", and/or if the 2 horses are owned by the same person, they will be "coupled".

The system is not that complicated, it basically means is that you get 2 horses for the price of 1. But, it also usually means that a horse you thought would be at long odds, may also be affected by the other "coupled" entry. The racing industry has not yet determined how to address this issue. Some bettors believe that due to common interests, the horses should automatically be coupled, to prevent a conflict of interest, whilst other bettors believe it isn't fair that the other horse has lower odds because of common ownership or a common trainer. It is for this reason that each State has its' own rules on entries / coupling.

Handle - The total amount of money bet on a single race or a full-day of racing. i.e: the handle for the day was $2,000,000)

Handicapping - For some people, this is the hardest game of skill, other think it can be calculated on a computer, selected and then bet. Some take ages studying the racing pages before they go to the races, others bet per race. Well, whatever works for you, the DRF has put together some "lessons", so that you can at least learn how to handicap. These "lessons" can also be learnt with someone experienced at the track.

Morning Line - This is the prediction made by the Track Line Maker of what the final odds will be, based on how the public wagers. The accuracy of the prediction will depend on the line maker. Most people believe incorrectly, that the Morning Line is an indicator of the likely winner. This is a critical area of handicapping.

The public can, and often does, choose the wrong horse. This is known as a "false" favorite. Most gamblers will bet exclusively on favorites without handicapping the races. If the horse is a false favorite, other bettors, specifically those who don't like to bet low odds, would look for a more qualified horse, where the payoff is usually much better. The trick is to find the false favorites, and not to believe a favorite is not qualified to win.

Past Performance - The past performance is also known as the "pp.", and represents the history of each horses' racing performance, i.e: how the horse ran, placed, the jockey, at what track, etc. Reading the Daily Racing Form, or any document containing pp's, is not very difficult.

Post position - This is known as the position from which the horse breaks out of the gate. Generally, a horse will come out of the same gate number as his or her program number. Though that is not possible if there are coupled entries in the race, at which time 1 and 1a will draw for the post positions as they cannot both break from the one slot. The program will show which post position the horse will break from. Some handicappers believe there is a track bias, and keep note of post positions, observing i.e: that the outside is playing better than the inside or vice versa. The result being, they might wish to bet on a specific horse that is not quite as good as the others, due to its post position.

Post Time - This is known as the time the race starts, once the horses are expected to reach the starting post"

Race Card - The schedule of races on a specific day.

Race Types :

Stakes or Handicap Races - The Del Mar race track has one of the richest stakes schedules in the US, covering almost every racing distance, surface and Stakes Schedule. The highest level of racing at any race track is the graded stakes and handicap races, The best horses will normally compete in the stakes competition, where their owners have to pay nomination and entry fees, for the horses to be allowed to run. The Breeders Cup, for instance, has an early nomination fee of $500 that is payable in the foal's weaning year. Other fees are due a month or a couple of weeks prior to the race being scheduled to run. There may also be a fee to enter the horse during the entries - these fees are usually paid back in the purse. The nominations usually include many horses, and the race conditions will decide which horse gets to race. Currently, the horse racing industry is experiencing a horse shortage, and thus, most horses generally get to race as it is currently unnecessary to omit any.

The Racing Secretary allocates weights to horses in the handicap race - the toughest horse must carry the greatest weight, and the least competitive horse will be allotted the lowest weight. Weight allocation is an attempt to level the racing field between the horses - just like in a game of golf! Younger horses or filly's racing against colts will also get weight breaks or advantages. A Stakes or handicap race can also list age as a race condition or factor - 2-year olds, 3-year olds, 4-year olds or 3 and up.

Overnight Stakes - The main point of distinction between an overnight stakes race and a stakes race, is the amount of entry fees payable by a trainer, to enter the horse in the race. Overnight stakes don't normally need nomination, entry and starting fees, and nominations are commonly taken up to a week or less, before the race. Overnight stakes bring out quality horses to race for excellent winnings, though generally, not as much as in the highest quality stakes races.

Claiming Races - A claiming race means that the horses may be bought by a qualified, licensed buyer or trainer for the claiming price listed in that race. Most people can't understand why anyone would want a horse to be claimed. As in other pro-sports, not every horse is good enough to be in the top racing stakes level. Competing in the claiming ranks allows horse owners, and the horses, the chance to win against horses of the same calibre. A horse may be entered for anything ranging from $10 000 to $100 000, depending on the track. Then there is the optional claimer. This is another type of race where the horses are entitled to be claimed or they may be allowance horses - racing under allowance conditions and thus not eligible to be claimed. This type of race was created to combine 2 types of races and assist the Racing Secretary with having a fuller field of horses.

Starter Allowance Races - A horse entered in a starter allowance race can't be claimed, it must however have run at a specific claiming level through a designated time (dependant on how the conditions were written i.e "since March 2025". The starter allowance will usually bring the best of the claiming-level competitors together.

Allowance Race - Allowances can be made or "conditions set" to allow for a horse to be eligible for a race. i.e. Non-Winners of 2 (races), Non-Winners of 3 (races), Non-Winners of 4 (races). Each level can be more competitive, such that a horse that has never won 2 races, might find it difficult winning a race against horses that have won 3. There are frequently other conditions as well : "of a race since March 5th, 2025" or "at a mile or over." Monetary conditions for the race can also be set, such as "Non-Winners of $3 000" or "Non-Winners of $5 000 lifetime." A good handicapper must note these conditions. i.e. : in one race, some horses entered may be competitive against Non-winners of $5 000 lifetime, but not at all competitive against Non-Winners of 3 races.

These races are excellent for both the industry and the player, as it allows both to see whether a horse is going to be good enough to carry on to the stakes racing level. Depending on the trainer and owner, a horse will often be run through all of the conditions before they are even entered in a stakes race. Some think this is the way to "season" a horse, others think it better to go after the higher winnings in stakes level racing straight away. Some horses are just not up to this standard and go from the allowance to the claiming ranks and back, over their short racing careers.

Maiden Races - "Maiden" is the term for non-winner or a horse that has never won a race. Some maiden horses have in fact, never even raced at all - non-starters. There are 2 types of maiden races. The maiden special weight race is usually the best as a horse can't be claimed out of a maiden special weight Race, and the winnings are much better. Generally the maiden special weight races will have the best 'youngest horses' on the racetrack. Usually these horses are the best bred with the best connections -owners, breeders and trainers.

Scratch - "Scratch" is the term used when a horse is withdrawn from a race it was scheduled to run in. Depending upon the type of bet placed, a player will either be refunded or his bet will be automatically rolled to the betting favorite.

Horsemen are entitled to "scratch" their horses up to 24-hours after the entries have been taken, and this is usually done as a more suitable race has become available. Other reasons included illness or injury. If the scratch happens pre program writing, the numbers of the other horses change, and this is generally where the misunderstanding lies between entry and program numbers. If the scratch happens after the program writing and after it has been sent to the printer, the scratch is then termed a "program scratch." The numbers of the other horses in the race will not and do not change the program numbers.

Many rules apply to scratches. Should a horse be scratched due to injury or illness, the horse can't immediately be entered in another race. Depending upon the injury or illness i.e. if the horse was given medication or drugs, there may be a time period when a horse may not be entered.

Simulcast Wagering - This defines the option of watching and betting on the races live via a television broadcast. Should players or bettors be unable to go to the track to see live racing, they can go to any one of the hundreds of simulcast betting facilities nationwide that carry the Del Mar television broadcast. This includes California's own Southern and Northern California Off-Track Wagering network.

Tote Board - The infield graphics or tote board, makes the following information available to punters; the amount of money bet on each individual horse in the win, place and show pools, updated odds, fractional and final race times, the results of the previous race and any additional messages, including any program changes, post time for the upcoming race and the present time of day. The tote board is continuously updated.

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