Horses Racing Terms

You will find the most used terms people betting on horse races are familiar with below.

Across the Board
(See ‘Place’) a bet on a horse to win, place or show. Three wagers combined in one. If the horse wins, the player wins all three wagers, if second, two, and if third, one.

Box
A wagering term denoting a combination bet whereby all possible numeric combinations are covered.

Chalk
Wagering favorite in a race. Dates from the days when on-track bookmakers would write current odds on a chalkboard.

Daily Double
Type of wager calling for the selection of winners of two consecutive races, usually the first and second.

Dead Heat
A tie. Two or more horses finishing equal in a race.

Exotic (Wager)
Any wager other than win, place or show.

Favourite
The most popular horse in a race, which is quoted at the lowest odds because it is deemed to have the best chance of winning the race.

Handicapper
The official who decides the weights to be carried in handicap events, and the grading of horses and greyhounds.

Late Double
A second daily double offered during the latter part of the program. See ‘Daily Double’ above.

Oddsmaker
A person who sets the betting odds. (Sportsbooks or Bookies don’t set the odds. Most major sportsbooks use odds set by Las Vegas oddsmakers.)

Parlay
(Also, Accumulator) A multiple bet. A kind of ‘let-it-ride’ bet. Making simultaneous selections on two or more races with the intent of pressing the winnings of the first win on the bet of the following race selected, and so on. All the selections made must win for you to win the parlay.

Standing Start
In harness racing, starters start from a standing position, once the barrier across the track is released.

Stewards
The group of people who control the day’s racing by ensuring that every runner competes on its merits and imposing penalties for any breach of the rules of racing.

Super Robin/Flag
A bet consisting of 23 bets on 4 selections in different events (6 Doubles, 4 Trebles, 1 Fourfold, plus 12 single stake cross bets).

Totalizator (Totalisator)
The system of betting on races (an automated system that dispenses and records betting tickets, calculates and displays odds and payoffs and provides the mechanism for cashing winning tickets) in which the winning bettors share the total amount bet, minus a percentage for the operators of the system, taxes etc. Synonyms: Tote, Parimutuel.