PRIMER
Allowance races
Races for winners who have shown promise. Purses are scaled higher than most claiming races. Often, the feature race or supporting feature race. Also used as entry-level races.
Betting handle
Total amount wagered on a race, a day or the meet.
Belmont Stakes
The third jewel of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown.
Blinkers
Eye cups worn to help race horses focus on running straight and true. Sometimes helps accent a horse's gate-breaking ability or to maintain speed longer.
Breeders' Cup
Thoroughbred bred racing's one day world series, with seven championship races worth $1-$3 million apiece all run at one track.
Breeding
The art of matching thoroughbred "sires" to "mares" or "dams" to produce "foals" of which there are about 38,000 born each year. The gestation period for horses is about 11 months.
Breezing
A horse going through the paces of a workout without whipping. Another popular workout term is "handily," which implies very light urging or light whipping.
Butazolidin
Also known as Bute, a legalized anti-inflammatory agent for racing purposes. Use is strictly controlled by racing rules and not permitted in New York. Reduces minor inflammation in knee, ankle and shoulder joints.
Chalk
Race track slang for the public betting favorite -- i.e. the "chalk horse."
Claiming race
In such races, every horse is eligible to be bought or claimed before the race by any registered owner or trainer on the track for the designated claiming price. A few facts: a) more than 60 percent of all races are claiming races; b) higher purses are scaled to higher-priced claiming races, which helps keep horses of similar ability matched together; c) when a horse is claimed, any purse money earned goes to the owner who entered him, but the horse itself immediately becomes the property of the new owner; d) newly claimed horses must step up in claiming price a minimum of 25 percent for the next 30 days.
Colt
A male horse four years old or younger who is not a gelding.
Condition book
Bi-weekly publication by the racing office listing possible races for each racing day. Trainers and jockey agents use this book to determine where to enter horses.
Daily Racing Form
"The horseplayer's bible," contains complete past performances, result charts and national racing news. Published price is $2.85, plus tax per day. It's indispensable if you want to make accurate comparisons between horses or just hope to look like you know something.
Dam
"The mother of a horse, also called a "broodmare."
Dead heat
A tie at the finish that can't be separated by the photo finish camera. The payoffs will be smaller on winning tickets involving either horse.
Disqualification (DQ)
This is what happens when the 20-1 shot you bet on gets taken down by the three stewards because he bothered a horse or two en route to victory. Frequently, but not always, the stewards also will give the jockey aboard the disqualified horse a five-day suspension.
Entry
Also known as "stablecoupling," an entry is two or more horses coupled on the same wagering ticket due to common ownership. Buying a $2 pari-mutuel ticket on one horse in an entry gets you both for the same $2 bet.
Exotic wagering
Refers to wagers that require two three or more correct selections on the ticket -- i.e. daily double, exacta, trifecta, etc. [See "Betting choices"]
Filly
Female horse four years old or younger.
Furlong
An eighth of a mile.
Gelding
A colt that has been surgically altered to where he cannot reproduce. Often done to settle down an overly fractious racehorse who has limited stud potential.
Graded stakes
Each year, the top 250-350 stakes in America are assigned Grade 1, Grade 2 or Grade 3 status by a national committee that evaluates the quality of competition during recent years. It normally takes two or three years for a stakes to earn graded status.
Handicapping
The art of picking winners using something besides your favorite number, name or color. Indeed, many handicappers do hours of research before making their selections. For instance, a public handicapper who makes his selections in the newspaper will a) study races as they are being run; b) analyze trainers and their methods; c) develop a variety of mathematical formulas to measure speed, pace and overall class. Handicapping also is the art of assigning weights to be carried by each horse in a handicap race. Theoretically, the best horses are assigned the most weight.
Inquiry
An official review of the race by the presiding stewards.
Jockey
Vastly underrated athletes who risk their lives every day riding 1,000-pound thoroughbreds in traffic at 35-40 mph.
Jockey agent
Under contract to book mounts for their rider(s) . Also tend to develop alliances with trainers to help select races in the condition book.
Kentucky Derby
The world's most famous race, the "Run for the Roses" is the first jewel of the Triple Crown. At 1-1/4 miles for 3-year-olds, the Derby always is run on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Ky.
Lasix
The controversial legalized drug for racing purposes that flushes out watery substances from the horse with great efficiency. Administered four hours before race time. Lasix dries out and controls capillary bleeding in the pulmonary system that can occur during the stress of heavy exercise. It is deemed most effective with proven bleeders in hot, humid weather. It is permitted under tightly controlled supervision in Texas. Barred only in New York because of conflicting evidence it may boost performance.
Maiden
A colt, filly, gelding or horse who has not yet won a race. Maiden races for non-winners are carded on most racing days at every track in America.
Mutuel field
When there are more than 12 separate betting interests in a single race, such as often happens in the Kentucky Derby, the track will lump together the extra horses for betting purposes into one designated number, usually No.12. A pari-mutuel ticket on No.12 then would be treated as an "entry."
Objection
A jockey has claimed foul and the stewards will rule on the alleged incident before the result is made official.
Paddock
The area behind the grandstand, near the entrance gates where horses for each race are saddled and walked prior to entering the track for the post parade.
Pari-mutuel wagering
In this system all monies wagered to win are lumped into the Win Pool, while all monies wagered to place are lumped in a separate Place Pool, etc. After the "takeout" of about 20 percent is removed from these pools, payoff odds are proportionately calculated.
Past performances
Compact representation of a given horse's relative running positions from start to finish in recent races. Available in the Daily Racing Form and the official track program.
Points of call
The quarter-mile and one-eighth mile markers where Daily Racing Form "Trackmen" and other chart callers record the positions of all horses for result charts and past performance lines.
Preakness Stakes
The second jewel of the Triple Crown, The 1-3/16 miles race runs at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Quarterhorse
Special breed of horse that has been bred for short bursts of raw speed. Typical quarterhorse races range between 250 and 870 yards.
Quarter pole
Short for quarter-mile pole.
Result charts
Racing's box scores, these contain invaluable handicapping tidbits from which past performances are extracted.
Scratches
Horses withdrawn from a given race prior to post time. May be voluntarily withdrawn by the owner or trainer at "scratch time," before the official track program is printed, or by the track veterinarian or one of the three stewards.
Speed figures
A method to measure the true speed of a given race by factoring out the relative speed of the race track.
Stakes race
A race in which the best horses compete and the owners must pay an entry fee or stakes to be eligible. The Kentucky Derby is a stakes race.
Stewards
Officials of the race meeting responsible for enforcing rules.
Teletimer
Electronic means to clock all races, including fractional splits at various points of call. The lead horse in every race trips an electronic beam of light, and the clockings are transmitted instantly to the tote board.
Thoroughbred
A closely controlled breed of horse tracing to three recognized foundation sires of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
Tote board
The board in the infield that records all bets and flashes approximate odds, payoffs and clockings along with late scratches and special information.
Track announcer
Among other announcing duties, calls the races in progress over the loudspeaker system.
Track bias
A racing surface temporarily favoring one running style over another -- i.e. when it rains, the track may favor front-runners. Other biases may favor inside or outside post positions at certain distances according to the position of the starting gate relative to the first turn.
Veterinarian
Actively involved in thoroughbred racing, assisting trainers with medical advice, treatments and prescriptions and administration of approved drugs. The track veterinarian reports to the stewards and racing commission.
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