Glossary

Racing terms in plain English

Every «?» on the site opens one of these notes.

1 in N: the same chance written as odds against: 25% is 1 in 4.
A/E: actual winners divided by the winners the market expected from the starting prices. Above 1.00 means more winners than the prices suggested.
All-weather: an artificial surface such as Polytrack or Tapeta, raced on all year round.
Betfair SP: the starting price on the Betfair exchange, the fairest benchmark for what the market thought.
Calibration: when we say 30%, it should win about 30% of the time. The chart compares our stated chances with what actually happened.
Claim: the weight allowance an inexperienced jockey takes off the horse's back, in pounds.
Class: the grade of the race, 1 (best) to 7. A horse dropping in class faces easier company.
Closing line value: whether the price we advised was better than the price at the off. Beating the closing price consistently is the earliest sign of an edge.
Confidence: how sure our analyst is about the call: High (Tier A), Medium (Tier B) or Low (Tier C).
Decimal odds: your total return per 1 staked, stake included. 5.0 pays 5 for every 1 bet and implies about a 20% chance.
Distance: the race length in miles (m), furlongs (f) and yards (y). A furlong is 220 yards, an eighth of a mile.
Draw: the starting stall number in Flat races. On some courses low or high stalls have an edge.
Each-way: two bets in one: to win and to place. Place terms depend on the number of runners.
Expert consensus: agreement among proven tipsters weighted by their long-term record, from 0 to 5.
Experts: how many proven public tipsters back this horse. We score every tipster on years of results and show only the combined picture, never names.
Flat: racing without obstacles, on turf from spring to autumn and on all-weather tracks all year.
Form: finishing positions in recent races, latest on the right. P, F or U mean the horse did not finish.
Front-runner: a horse that likes to lead from the start.
Going: how soft or firm the ground is, from Firm to Heavy. Some horses only show their best on soft ground; all-weather tracks are rated Standard.
Handicap: a race where better horses carry more weight to level the field. The weights come from each horse's official rating.
Hash: a fingerprint of the verdict text and numbers, taken before the off. Anyone can recompute it to check the record.
Headgear: blinkers, visor, cheekpieces, hood or tongue-tie. First-time headgear can change how a horse runs.
Hold-up horse: a horse ridden at the back early and produced late.
Jumps: National Hunt racing over hurdles or fences, mostly in winter.
Level stakes: profit or loss if you had bet one unit on every selection at the stated price.
Locked: the verdict was published and hashed before the race started, so it cannot be changed afterwards.
Market chance: the win probability the price implies, after removing the bookmaker's margin.
Minimum price: the lowest odds at which the bet is still worth it. Below it, the value is gone.
Non-runner: a horse withdrawn before the race. Bets on it are refunded.
Official rating: the handicapper's mark for the horse. One point of rating equals one pound of weight in a handicap.
Our chance: the win probability our analyst gives the horse after reading the form, pace, draw and market.
Pace: how fast the early part of the race is likely to be run. A strong pace helps horses that finish fast; a slow one helps front-runners.
Place: finishing in the first two, three or four, depending on the field size and race type.
Return on investment: profit or loss per unit staked, as a percentage.
Runners: how many horses take part. Bigger fields mean more place positions and harder races to read.
SP: the starting price, the official bookmaker odds at the off.
Strike rate: the share of selections that won.
Suitability: how well today's distance, going, course and class match what the horse has done before.
Tier: our confidence grade: A is high, B is medium, C is low. Higher tiers have earned it on the record.
Weight: what the horse carries, jockey and saddle included, in stones and pounds (9-2 is 9 st 2 lb).