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• Non-runner – A horse that was entered for the race but was withdrawn begin it begins.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