Derby Glossary
Apprentice – A young jockey tied to a trainer whilst gaining race-riding experience. When racing against professional jockeys apprentices receive weight concessions to compensate for their relative inexperience.
Black Type - Informal term referring to a horse that is placed in a group or listed race. That placing will be highlighted in bold black type in a sales catalogue as an unofficial sign of quality. This is especially important for fillies, who may well be breed from in the future.
Blinkers - This is a type of hood that fits over a horse’s head to prevent the horse from seeing sideways and helps it concentrate its attention ahead during a race. A visor is an alternative type of blinker.
Blown up - When a horse starts to drop out of contention in a race due to lack of fitness.
Classics - The collective term for the 1,000 Guineas, 2,000 Guineas, Oaks, Derby and St Leger. These races are only open to three-year-olds, with the 1,000 Guineas and Oaks just for the female of the species.
Clerk of the Course - The person responsible for the overall management of a racecourse during the raceday.
Clerk of the Scales - The person responsible for checking a jockey's weight against the allocated weight the horse is allowed to carry.
Colours - Shirts or ‘silks’ worn by jockeys to identify a horse to a particular owner.
Colt - A young, ungelded male horse aged four years old or younger.
Conditions - The make-up of a race, as in the number of runners, the ground conditions, if it’s a sharp or a galloping track, etc. Different conditions suit the physique and running style of different horses.
Connections - Term used to refer to a horse’s jockey, trainer and owner.
Cut in the ground - A description of the ground condition, when there is give in the surface, also called ‘soft going’.
Dam - The mother of a horse.
Declare - When a trainer formally notifies the authorities that he/she intends to run a horse in a certain race. The runners and riders for each meeting are usually "declared" the day before.
Distance - The length of a race. Five furlongs is the shortest.
It can also refer to the margin by which a horse wins or is beaten. This can range from ‘a short head’ to ‘a distance’ which is in excess of 30 lengths.
Draw - The position a horse takes in the stalls prior to a flat race. The draw always goes from left to right, so on a right-handed or clockwise course the draw goes from outside to in but on a left-handed or anti-clockwise course the draw is inside to out.
Entire - Term for a thoroughbred aged five and above who hasn't been gelded.
Field - Term for the runners in a race.
Filly - A female horse up to five years of age.
Form - A horse's race record. Denoted by figures next to its name in a racecard e.g. 1=1st, 2=2nd etc.
Furlong - The measure of distance used for all flat races in the British Isles. One Furlong equates to 220 yards and there are eight Furlongs in a mile.
Galloping track - Generally a wide-open track that suits bigger horses with big strides e.g. Newbury or Ascot.
Gelding - A male horse that has been castrated.
Get the trip - Usually said of a horse that stays the particular distance of the race.
Going - The official description of the state of the ground. This can range from heavy to hard, with variants in between.
Green - A horse is described as "green" or "running green" when he or she shows signs of inexperience.
Guineas – Despite being phased out by the rest of the country during decimalisation in the early seventies, horses are still bought and sold at public auction in the UK in Guineas. A Guinea is the equivalent of 21 shillings or £1.05.
Hacked up - When a horse has won easily.
Handicap - Probably the single most important term used in racing. After it has raced a few times and been adequately assessed a horse is awarded a handicap mark that allows it to be compared to all other horses under that code (horses can have different handicap marks for turf, all-weather, chase and hurdles races). A horse's handicap figure is then adjusted by the official handicappers judged on its subsequent racing performances.
The mark a horse receives relates to the weight it carries in handicap races – the idea being that if all horses perform to their handicap mark on the day they will all dead heat for first place. For example, if a colt is allotted a mark of 94 (130 is the mark of a top-class horse on the flat) and he wins a race, the handicapper may give him a 5lb rise meaning next time he runs his mark is 99 and so on. Remember this is a theoretical mark and does not relate to the physical weight a horse carries. The actual weight a horse carries is defined by the horses he races against.
As a very rough rule of thumb, 1lb equates to one Length, so if a horse wins a race by 4 Lengths, all other things being equal, he can expect his handicap mark to rise by a similar amount.
If a horse continues to run poorly, its handicap mark will eventually start to drop – although often not quickly enough to please the Connections of that horse!
Hands and heels - Riding a horse without using a whip.
Handy - A description of a horse who is in a prominent position during a race.
Judge - The official responsible for declaring the finishing order and declaring the Distances between runners.
Juvenile - A two-year-old horse.
Length - The measurement used to describe the distance between horses in a finish with one Length equating to the body length of an average horse. Where a horse wins a race by a distance of less than one length, the winning margin will be described as anything from a short head (the closest of margins) to ¾ of a length.
Listed - A race just below group standard but above that of handicap and conditions races.
Maiden - A race for horses that have not won previously and also the name given to all horses without a victory.
Mare - Female horse aged five and above.
Objection - A complaint by one jockey against another regarding breach of rules during a race.
Off the pace - When a horse isn't keeping up with other horses in a race.
Over the top - A horse past his peak for the season.
Pace - The speed at which a race is run. Up with the pace means close to the leaders, off the pace means some way behind.
Pattern - In order that the best races across the continent do not clash, the various governing bodies of the major European racing nations got together to create the pattern in 1971. The idea was to co-ordinate the racing programme, so as to give the season a set pattern.
Pattern races are categorised as Group Three, Group Two and Group One with the latter being the most important and prestigious. They include the Classics.
Races can move up and down the scale judging on the quality of horses winning them. If a race is not producing the quality required then it can be downgraded and vice versa.
Penalty - An addition to a horse's weight when it has won a race after the entries for a future race have closed and therefore before the official handicapper has had a change to reassess their handicap mark. The amount of the penalty depends on the value of the race won.
Permit holder – A trainer who is only qualified to train for members of their family.
Photo finish - Electronic photographic equipment which decides who has won in a close finish.
Racing plate - Lightweight horseshoes specially fitted for racing.
Run free - A horse going too fast too early, which then can’t settle into the race.
Scope - A horse is said to have scope if it is likely to improve with age and as it grows into its frame.
Sire - The father of a horse.
Spread a plate - When a racing plate or horseshoe comes off, sometimes causing delay to the start of a race as the horse is re-shod.
Starting Stalls - Used to accommodate horses in a line at the start of a race.
Stayers - Horses who have a lot of stamina.
Stewards - The group of people responsible for ensuring adherence to the rules of racing.
Stiff track - A track that requires a lot of stamina, such as one with a long home straight or an uphill finish.
Tight track - Generally a narrow track with tight turns that suits smaller, nippier horses like Chester.
Weigh in/out - Weighing the jockey before and after the race to make sure the horse carried the right weight. The ‘weighed in’ announcement means the result is official and all bets can be settled.
Weight cloth - A cloth with pockets for lead weights placed under the saddle.
Weights - Lead strips placed in a weight cloth to bring the jockey and tack up to the handicap weight.