Commentary Terms and Phrases

Horse racing has its own unique language and if you’re not familiar with it you might draw a blank while watching a race or listening to horse racing commentary.  To someone new to the world of racing some terms and phrases are easy to understand, while others may result in you drawing a blank. Below we explain several horse racing terms to help you understand as you’re cheering on your selection

Below is a quick guide commonly used terms in race commentary:

• Also ran – A horse that finishes outside the top three in a race.

• Boxed in – A horse that can’t make move or get into a better position because it’s surrounded by other runners.

• Brought down – A horse that falls due to contact with another horse, not due to a fault of its own

• Covered up – When a jockey holds a horse back and behind others to keep it from using too much energy early on in a race.

• Course specialist – A horse that has an impressive track record at a specific racecourse.

• Clip heels – When a horse’s front legs hit the back legs of the horse in front of it.

• Dead heat – When two (or very occasionally more) horses finish level and can’t be separated by the judge.

• Distance – The winning or losing margin between horses, such as “won by two lengths (of a horse).”

• Draw – A horse’s starting stall number.

• Form – The horse’s past race performance, shown as numbers and letters on a racecard.

• Front-runner – A horse that likes to lead the race or be near the front early on.

• Furlong – A unit of race distance, equal to one-eighth of a mile.

• Get the trip – When a horse has the stamina to last the full race distance.

• Going – The condition of the racecourse surface (e.g., soft, firm etc).

• Hacked up – This term is used when a horse wins easily.

• Hard-ridden – When the jockey is pushing the horse to its limit, often using the whip.

• Home straight – The final straight section of a race track leading to the finish line.

• Neck – A margin of victory, which is the length of a horse’s neck.

• Non-runner – A horse that was entered for the race but was withdrawn begin it begins.

• Nose – The smallest possible official winning margin in a horse race.

• Off the bridle – A horse that isn’t travelling well and needs encouragement.

• Off the pace – A horse that is behind the leaders in the early to middle part of the race.

• One-paced – A horse that can’t accelerate when the speed of the race picks up.

• Outsider – A horse with low chances of winning, usually with high betting odds.

• Pacemaker – A horse that runs to set a steady pace, often to help a teammate.

• Photo finish – A very close race result that needs a photo to determine the winner.

• Pulled up – A horse that the jockey stops from continuing the race.

• Pulling – When a horse is eager to run faster than the jockey wants.

• Pushed out – A horse that wins easily without significant effort from the jockey.

• Ran out – When a horse veers off and refuses to jump a fence.

• Rails – White rails that mark the boundary of the racetrack.

• On/against the rails – A horse running close to the rail, often a strategic position.

• Right-handed track – A track where horses race in a clockwise direction.

• Short head – A very narrow winning margin, just slightly bigger than a nose.

• Sprinter – A horse that races best over short distances.

• Staying on – A horse that finishes strongly towards the end of a race.

• Stewards’ inquiry – An official post race review occasionally used to check for rule breaches during the race.

• Turn of foot – A horse’s ability to suddenly speed up during the race.

• Trip – Another word for race distance; if a horse has the stamina, it’s said to “get the trip.”

• Well-held – A horse that was clearly beaten by the winner.

• Weighed in – An official confirmation of the race result, once all jockeys have weighed in after the race.