Racebook Terms
The following is a list of common horse wagering terms. If you have questions, please visit our Help section or FAQs page.
- Leak
- To lose part or all of one's winnings due to questionable gambling habits. See also blow back.
- Length
- The margin equal to the length of one horse. Length is used to describe the position of a horse, relative to his competitors during calls or at the finish of the race.
- Limit
- The maximum wager accepted by the house or bookmaker before the odds, points or price will be changed. Essentially, it is a cap on the amount a player can wager.
- Line
- Refers to the listed odds, points, money line or point spread for any given event.
- Linemaker
- The person who establishes the original and subsequent betting lines for an event.
- Long Odds
- Relatively small odds given that an event will occur.
- Long Shot
- An extreme underdog.
- MTP
- An acronym for minutes-to-post, i.e., the time remaining before the start of a particular race.
- No Action
- The situation where no wagers can be accepted by the house because a game has already started. Also, all sporting events must be played on the date and site as scheduled unless otherwise specified. Any event postponed, rescheduled or moved to another site will automatically constitute "No Action".
- Nose
- A racing term for the slimmest margin of victory.
- Oddsmaker
- The person who establishes the original and subsequent betting lines for an event. Also known as the linesmaker.
- Odds On Favorite
- A horse, team or contestant so favored by the public that the odds for the event are less than even.
- Overlay
- A horse going off at a higher price than he appears to warrant based on his past performances.
- Past Performance
- An accurate record of the performance of specific teams, horses or contestants when participating in sports events similar to those scheduled.
- Past Post
- A wager made after an event has begun.
- Perfecta
- A wager on two thoroughbreds, in a single designated race, to finish first and second in a specific order. Also see, Exacta and Straight Forecast (UK).
- Photo Finish
- When a camera is used to accurately determine the winner of a very close race.
- Pick Six
- A combination wager on the six winners of six consecutive races.
- Pick Three
- A combination wager on the three winners of three consecutive races.
- Place
- A wager that a specific dog or horse will finish in first or second place, i.e., if the player's selection crosses in first or second place, he collects.
- Post
- A horses box or post position number. The horse's number always corresponds to the number of his starting box. The term also is used to identify the exact time the horse breaks from the starting box.
- Post Time
- The time the race begins.
- Press
- To wager a greater amount than usual.
- Pressing
- Wagering winnings along with the original bet. A player is pressing a bet when he lets winnings ride.
- Probability
- A branch of mathematics measuring the likelihood an event will occur. Probabilities are expressed as numbers between zero and one. The probability of an impossible event is zero, while an event that is certain to occur has a probability of one.
- Program
- A printed guide to the day's races including detailed data to assist players to handicap the races.
- Quinella
- A wager on two horses to finish first and second, in any order, in a single designated race. Also see Reverse Forecast (UK). This type of wager is also spelled Quiniela.
- Racing Secretary
- tAhe track official whose major functions include determining how many races of each grade are to be run over each distance for any given program. The racing secretary also conducts the random draw for post positions.
- Reverse Forecast (UK)
- A wager on two horses, in a single designated race, to finish first and second in either order. Also see, Quinella.
- Roll-over
- Refers to the number of times you need to wager funds before a withdrawal of funds in order to keep your bonus winnings.
