From runners to riders, horse racing is full of jargon and lingo that the average newcomer to racing might not be able to immediately translate.
So with the Cheltenham Festival kicking off later today and attracting tons of first-time attendees and punters, this is your guide to deciphering all of the most used terminology in horse racing.
Runners and non-runners
Terms especially important for first-time betters: a runner is simply a horse that is currently set to run in a race, and alternatively a non-runner is a horse that has been taken out ahead of a race.
Market movers
Also rather self-explanatory to some, a market mover is a horse that has been single-handedly fluctuating the odds on a certain race.
Market movers tend to be a favourite of their race and have commonly not started there, but have fluctuated to the top of the odds via fan/market support.
The GoingStick and ‘the going‘
The GoingStick is a device that Clerks at the course use in order to measure ‘the going’ of a racecourse.
‘The going’ – synonyms for this term include track condition and track rating; this bit of lingo essentially indicates the state of the track ahead of a race and is an official assessment by a steward which determines the amount of moisture on a track.
Chases and hurdles
Yet another semi-self-explanatory term, a hurdle race is one which includes horses jumping over hurdles.
But a chase is short for steeplechase, and is a race where horses run over fences.
Hurdles are smaller, as they only need to be a minimum of three-and-a-half feet high, but fences are a minimum of four-and-a-half feet high.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is an example of a chase.
‘Making the running‘
Making the running is one of those bits of jargon that makes less sense, the term is used to describe a horse as setting the pace for the race.
“El Fabiolo made the running” for example, would be translated to layman’s terms as “El Fabiolo set the pace.”
The Cheltenham Festival’s first race is set to start at 13:30 today, the Supreme Novice’s hurdle.
Facile Vega is a market mover and runner in the hurdle, and reports say the GoingStick for today is 5.1.
After heavy rain on Monday and a dry morning today, the ground remains soft for the first day of races.
