B
Bay
A horse that has a brown body and black
legs, mane and tail. White markings may be
present.
Black
A horse that is black over its entire body,
except for a few white markings.
Boxed In
A horse that is racing along the inside
rail and is surrounded by other horses in front,
outside and behind.
Break
A horse who begins galloping, and who
loses his trotting or pacing gait is said to "go off
stride" or to be on a "break."
Broodmare
A female horse, generally retired from
racing, used for breeding purposes.
Brown
A horse that is a uniform brown over its
entire body. White markings may be present.
C
Card
Another term for a racing program.
Catch-Driver
A driver hired by a trainer to drive
horses on a freelance basis.
Chestnut
A horse that has a reddish coat color.
White markings may be present.
Class
The category of racing in which a horse
competes such as a claimer, conditioned event,
stakes race, etc.
Closer
A term used to describe a horse that
finishes well at the end of a race, despite being
behind in the early part of the race.
Colt
A male horse 3 years of age or younger.
Cover
A horse that races with
another horse in front of him"
the leading horse cuts the wind
resistance.
D
Dam
The mother of a horse.
Dead-Heat
A situation in which
the judges, using a photograph,
cannot separate two or more horses
when judging the outcome of a race.
Distanced
A horse that is more than 25 lengths
behind the rest of the other horses in the race.
Driver
The person who steers a horse in a race.
Drivers are required to be licensed for this activity.
E
Early Closer/ Late Closer
A race requiring
payments weeks or months prior to the race date
in order to start.
Elimination
A race held prior to a major stakes
where only enough top finishers to complete a full
field move on to the race final.
F
Fast
A track in ideal condition.
Field
All of the horses in a race.
Filly
A female horse 3 years of age or younger.
First-Over
The first horse to make a move on the
leader in a race, moving up on
the outside.
Foal
A newly born horse. Also
describes the act of a mare
giving birth.
Free-legged
A pacer that
races without wearing hobbles.
G
Garden Spot
When a horse
is in second place, directly
behind the leader. A favorable
position because the front
horse blocks wind resistance.
Gelding
A castrated male horse of any age.
Good
When the track condition has deteriorated
slightly due to precipitation to where it is no
longer "fast."
Grey
A horse that has a mixture of white and
black hairs.
H
Hand
A unit of measurement used to measure a
horse"s height from the ground to the top of its
shoulder, or withers. A hand equals four inches.
Handicap
A race in which post positions are
assigned; the best horses are given the outside
posts.
Handicapping
The art of attempting to determine
the outcome of a race.
Heats
In a heat race, a horse must win two or
more times in a single day before being declared
the overall race winner.
Homestretch
The straight length of the track,
nearest the spectators, where the finish line is situated.
Horse
An unaltered male horse 4 years of age or older.
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I
Inquiry
A situation where the judges re-examine
a race to determine if any rules infractions have
occurred.
Invitational
A race for the top horses at a track.
The contestants are invited by the race secretary to
participate.
L
Lame
An adjective describing a horse who has a
leg injury.
Lease
In the same way that some people lease a
car instead of paying the money up front, leasing
a horse gives people use of a horse without large
capital outlay.
Length
A unit of measurement used to determine
a horse"s distance from the leader. A length is equal
to the length of a horse.
M
Maiden
A horse which has not yet won a purse race.
Mare
A female horse 4 years of age or older.
Muddy
A track condition that has deteriorated
due to precipitation to where it is no longer "fast,"
"good," or "sloppy."
O
Off the Pace
A horse who is racing near the
back of the field of horses, and improves his finish
position late in the race.
P
Pari-Mutuel Race
French for "among ourselves,"
a race in which wagering is allowed, held at a
track licensed by a state"s racing commission. The
track, conducting a service, accepts the wagers,
determines the odds, and pays out the winners,
after taking a percentage for operating costs.
Parked
A horse racing on the outside, with at
least one horse between it and the inside rail.
Photo Finish
When two horses cross the finish
too closely to identify a winner, officials call for a
photograph of the race, taken at the finish line, to
help them determine the winner.
Pocket
A horse racing directly behind the leader.
A "pocket trip" allows a horse to draft on the
back of the race leader and save more energy for
the final push to the finish line.
Post Position
A horse"s starting point in a race.
Purse
The amount for which a race is contested.
The distribution of a purse is usually 50 percent to
the winner, 25 percent to the second-place finisher,
12 percent to third, 8 percent to fourth, and 5
percent to fifth.
Q
Qualifier
A race in which a horse must go a mile
in an established time standard to prove itself
capable of competing in pari-mutuel races.
R
Roan
A horse"s coat color that is a mixture of
white hairs over a darker base color, such as
chestnut, black or brown.
S
Scratch
A horse that is withdrawn before the start
of a race.
Sire
The father of a horse.
Sloppy
A track condition that has deteriorated
due to precipitation to where it is no longer "fast"
or "good."
Slow
A track condition that has deteriorated due
to precipitation to where it can no longer be called
"fast," "good," "sloppy," or "muddy."
Sound
An adjective describing a horse"s good
physical health.
Stakes Race
A race where owners make a series
of payments in advance to keep a horse eligible.
Start
One horse"s performance in one race.
T
Three-Wide
The third horse out from the inside
rail during the race.
Tote Board
An electronic board, usually in the
infield of a track, which posts the odds, amount of
money bet, results of a race and the wagering payoffs.
Time-Trial
An attempt to have a horse beat its
own best time in a non-competitive event. A time
trial is not a race. Galloping horses hitched to
sulkies, called prompters, may be used to push a
horse to its best effort.
W
Weanling
A foal, less than 1 year of age, who has
been weaned from its mother.
Wire-to-Wire
When a horse leads a race from
beginning to end.
Y
Yearling
Any horse between its first and second
birthday. Regardless of their birthdate, all horses
become one year older on January 1.
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