Horse Racing Betting Terms: Simple and Easy for Beginners

The amount being put down or placed by the bettor on the bet. Kempton, Chelmsford and Lingfield are Polytrack surfaces while Newcastle, Southwell, and Wolverhampton use a Tapeta surface. Trifecta – Predicting the first three horses in exact order.In the 2019 Preakness, a trifecta with War of Will, Everfast, and Owendale paid out handsomely.

Note that normally you won’t get your stake refunded if the horse doesn’t run for any reason, unless there is a non runner, no bet offer in place. The ‘Yankee’ consists of four selections, with 11 individual bets across those picks. In this bet you will have six doubles, four trebles and a four-fold accumulator, meaning you requires a minimum of two winning selections to gain a return.

Winnings

Oaks – A stakes event exclusively for 3-year-old females. Minus pools – Betting pools to satisfy minimum legal payouts, funded by those who took the bets. Listed race – A stakes race graded in quality to be just below that of a group or graded race. Leaky roof circuit – A derogatory term for unkempt, minor racetracks. Jumper – A horse trained to run steeplechase events. In play bet – A bet placed between the start of a race and its conclusion.

The second favourite is the horse with the shortest odds apart from the favourite itself. In other words, the horse with the second-shortest odds. If the odds do get longer and the horse has a higher Starting Price (SP) than the odds you took, bookies offering BOG will pay you out at the higher odds. Equally, if the odds get shorter and the SP is lower, you’ll still get the bigger odds you initially accepted. A horse which has shortened significantly in the market prior to a race. This refers to a horse whose price changes prior to the race, either lengthening or shortening.

As such a 10p Canadian would cost £2.60 as an overall stake, and would consist of 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-fold accumulators and 1 five-fold accumulator. Similar to the Trixie bet, a ‘’ also contains three selections, though this bet type has seven bets within it, due to it including three singles. In this bet you have three singles, three doubles and a treble, meaning just one winner is needed to get a return. Take a look at ourpatent example for more information on this multiple. The amount of winnings depends how much was staked and the odds the bet was taken at.

Listed Race – One step below Group or Graded races, but still high quality. It’s a favourite that bookies reckon is more likely to sink than win. Backstretch – The far straight section of the track, opposite the grandstand. When a horse travels at the same pace through a race without quickening. A horse is described as a ‘maiden’ when it has not yet won a race.

The Starting Price, or SP, refers to the official odds on each horse at the start of the race. These are determined centrally by various methods in different countries but broadly speaking are the average odds available trackside at the beginning of a race. Evens, or even money, simply refers to odds of 1/1 in fractions or 2.0 in decimal betting odds. This means your profit is the same as your stake if you win, meaning you double your money. For example, if you make a £10 double and the first horse is 2/1 and the second horse is 4/1, your winnings are worked out as follows.

• Weigh-in – Before a race, the clerk of scales weighs each jockey and certifies their weight.
• A ‘Guineashorse’ is one that is considered capable of running in one of these Classic races.
• Hunter chases will usually be contested by older horses.
• Next is the trainer, who oversees the horse’s fitness, diet, and racing schedule.
• Describes a horse’s suitability for different conditions e.g. going, racecourses etc.

A bet offers value when the odds are higher than they “should” be, based on the chance a horse has of winning. For example, if we flip a coin and you are offered odds that are higher than evens, this is a value bet. A Lucky 31 uses five selections to create a total of 31 bets and a Lucky 63 has six selections and 63 bets. All the bets effectively have their own stake, so a £1 Lucky 15 will cost £15 in total. The favourite is the horse or selection at the shortest odds in the market.

Group/Graded Races

Names cannot be longer than 18 characters (including spaces) and must not be the same, in spelling or pronunciation, as a name already registered. In addition, there is a list of ‘protected’ horse names that cannot be used – these include past winners of big races such as the Grand National and the Classics on the Flat. A unit of measurement for the distances between each horse at the finish of a race; the measurement of a horse from head to tail. Each horse, once it has run a few times (usually three), is allocated an official handicap rating by the BHA, which is used to determine its weight if it runs in a handicap.

If they finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd, in exact order, you win. If they finish 1st or 2nd, in either order, you win. So next time you’re at the track or tuning in, you’ll not only know what’s happening — you’ll be speaking the sport’s language like a pro. But knowing a few betting terms like “each-way” or “across the board” can make the experience more interesting – especially when following the action. While some concepts are similar, many terms differ or have different meanings.

A bet placed on four horses to finish in the top 4 positions in the exact order. The odds a horse is given when the race starts, reflecting how much money has been bet on it. This is often the odds you will receive if you place a bet at the last minute before the race begins.

Decimal odds show the returns you will receive from a bet of one unit, be that £1, €1, $1 or whatever. From a double, you progress up to a treble (three picks), a fourfold, fivefold and so on. The returns on accas can be huge, even from a small stake, making them a very popular racing bet. However, the more legs you add, the harder it is to win, because all picks must be successful for you to get anything back.

Check out our latest expert tips, how-to guides, and top-rated bookies with exclusive promotions, such as bet365 UK, Amwager and Betrivers. The smaller of the two obstacles on a jumps racecourse. These races are used to educate future jumps horses, before they try to race 22bet app over hurdles or fences.

Post time is simply when the race is supposed to start. Once it’s post time, all betting shuts down, and it’s time to race. Horse racing has its own language, and it can sound like code to new bettors.

Another term for a horse who has finished in the places. A horse who leads the market with one or more horses. Taking a payout offered by your bookmaker before the completion of a bet. A betting website whereby you are betting against other people, rather than against the bookmaker. A bet on a race well in advance of the day of the race.

The jacket (silks) worn by the jockey to identify the horse. The silks design/colour is chosen by the owners of the horse. The hind part of the horse, measured from the horse’s hip to the tail. This usually happens early on in a race, and is due to the horse using too much energy. A class of race that is just below Group/Graded level. Each horse turns two on January 1 in the second full calendar year following its birth – for example, a horse born in 2023 will turn two on 1st January 2025.