The plethora of terminology associated with horse racing can leave people unfamiliar with the sport completely baffled.
If you visit sites where you can bet on horse racing, you will find a host of common betting terms which may be confusing.
With that in mind, we have produced this definitive guide to horse betting terminology, starting with the different types of bets you can place.
Horse racing bet types
There are loads of different types of bets you can place on horse racing. Here are some of the most popular options with punters:
- Single: A wager on a horse to win a race.
- Double: A bet on two horses to win their respective races.
- Treble: A wager on three horses to win their respective races.
- Accumulator: Also known as a multiple, this is a bet on four or more selections.
- Yankee: A bet involving four selections and 11 bets – six doubles, four trebles and an accumulator.
- Lucky 15: Similar to a Yankee, but with four singles added.
- Lucky 31: Five selections and 31 bets – five singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, five four-folds and one five-fold.
- Forecast: A straight forecast requires you to predict the first and second finishers in the race.
- Reverse forecast: Correctly select the first two horses in either order. This bet is double the stake of a straight forecast.
- Each-way: A two-part bet. Half your stake is on the selection to win and half on it to place.
- Placepot: Select a horse in each of the first six races at a racecourse on a single day. If all six selections win or are placed, you win a share of the total pool.
- Jackpot: Correctly predict the first six winners at a racecourse on a single day to win a share of the pool.
Popular betting terminology
To unravel the mystery of betting on horse racing, here are some of the most popular terms:
- Ante-post: A bet placed well in advance on a race or races.
- Back: A bet on a horse to win or be placed.
- Banker: A horse that is supposedly certain to win.
- Bar: Horses not mentioned in the betting forecast as listed as ‘bar’. For example, ‘25/1 bar’ means horses not quoted as 25/1 or bigger.
- Best odds guaranteed: Many bookmakers offer best odds guaranteed on horse racing. This means if you take early odds and the starting price is bigger, the bookie will settle your bet at the higher rate.
- Cash out: Taking a payout offered by your bookmaker before an event concludes.
- Co-favourite: A horse who leads the market with one or more other horses.
- Drifter: A horse whose odds increase before the race starts.
- Evens: Fractional odds of 1/1 or digital odds of 2.00.
- Favourite: The horse with the shortest odds in the race.
- In-running: A wager placed during the race.
- Joint favourite: Used when two horses have the same odds at the head of the market.
- Lay: A bet on a horse not to win or place.
- Market mover: A horse whose odds drift considerably before a race.
- Monkey: A slang term for £500.
- Nap: The best bet of the day for a horse racing tipster.
- Odds-against: A price that is bigger than Evens.
- Odds-on: A price that is shorter than evens.
- Place: Betting on a horse to finish in the places.
- Price: Another term for odds.
- Return: The amount of money you receive if your bet is successful.
- Rule 4: A percentage deduction from your winnings if a horse or horses are withdrawn from a race.
- Stake: The amount you wager on a race or races.
- Starting price: Commonly shortened to SP, these are the final odds for each horse when the race starts. These determine your payout unless you took a price when placing the bet.
- Steamer: A horse whose odds shorten considerably in the market.
- Ton: A slang term for £100.
- Void bet: A wager which is declared invalid. Your stake is returned in this scenario.
Betting odds
Betting sites in the United Kingdom generally use fractional odds. Here are the most common odds you will encounter in horse racing.
- 1/10
- 1/9
- 1/8
- 1/7
- 1/6
- 1/5
- 2/9
- 1/4
- 2/7
- 3/10
- 1/3
- 4/11
- 2/5
- 4/9
- 1/2
- 8/15
- 4/7
- 8/13
- 4/6
- 8/11
- 4/5
- 5/6
- 10/11
- 1/1
- 11/10
- 6/5
- 5/4
- 11/8
- 6/4
- 13/8
- 7/4
- 9/5
- 15/8
- 2/1
- 85/40
- 11/5
- 9/4
- 12/5
- 5/2
- 13/5
- 11/4
- 3/1
- 10/3
- 7/2
- 4/1
- 9/2
- 5/1
- 11/2
- 6/1
- 13/2
- 7/1
- 15/2
- 8/1
- 17/2
- 9/1
- 10/1
- 11/1
- 12/1
- 16/1
- 20/1
- 25/1
- 33/1
- 40/1
- 50/1
- 66/1
- 100/1
The odds effectively inform you how much you will receive if you bet is successful. The figure on the right represents your unit stake, while the figure on the left is the potential return.
For instance, a £2.00 bet at 5/2 would return £7.00. This figure comprises £5 winnings and your £2 stake returned because the bet is successful.
