Horseracing Glossary and Key Terms

• TAB - Totalisator Agency Board. The body appointed to regulate off-course betting (bets made by people who are not present at the race track).
  
• Take (Takeout) - Commission deducted from mutuel pools which is shared by the track, horsemen (in the form of purses) and local and state governing bodies in the form of tax.
  
• Taken Up - A horse pulled up sharply by his rider because of being in close quarters.
  
• The Jockey Club - An organization dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing. Incorporated Feb. 10, 1894 in New York City, The Jockey Club serves as North America's Thoroughbred registry, responsible for the maintenance of 'The American Stud Book', a register of all Thoroughbreds foaled in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada; and of all Thoroughbreds imported into those countries from jurisdictions that have a registry recognized by The Jockey Club and the International Stud Book Committee.
  
• Thick'un - A big bet.
  
• Thoroughbred - A Thoroughbred is a horse whose parentage traces back to any of the three 'Founding Sires' the Darley Arabian, Byerly Turk and Godolphin Barb, and who has satisfied the rules and requirements of The Jockey Club and is registered in 'The American Stud Book' or in a foreign stud book recognized by The Jockey Club and the International Stud Book Committee. Any other horse, no matter what its parentage, is not considered a Thoroughbred for racing and/or breeding purposes.
  
• Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA) - An industry group comprised of many of the racetracks in North America.
  
• Ticket - The betting slip or ticket which is received by the bettor from the bookmaker or totalisator, as proof of his or her wager. The ticket is necessary to collect the dividends.
  
• Ticketer (US) - A forger of bookmakers' tickets.
  
• Tic-Tac - The secret and complex sign language used by bookmakers at racecourses to indicate movements in the price of a horse. See BBC's Tic-Tac guide.
  
• Tierce - A French combination bet in which the bettor predicts the horses that will finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
  
• Tips - The selections chosen by an expert to bet on (also known as Picks). See 'Selections'.
  
• Tipster - A person who makes selections for a race, providing tips on which horses they believe will win the first three places.
  
• Top Weight - See 'High Weight'.
  
• Totalizator (Totalisator) - The system of betting on races (an automated system that dispenses and records betting tickets, calculates and displays odds and payoffs and provides the mechanism for cashing winning tickets) in which the winning bettors share the total amount bet, minus a percentage for the operators of the system, taxes etc. Synonyms: Tote, Parimutuel.
  
• Tote - Totalizator. The organisation appointed to receive bets and supply dividends in proportion to the amount of the investment. A body in the UK set up to operate pool-betting on all racecourses.
  
• Tote Board - The (usually) electronic totalizator display in the infield which reflects up-to-the-minute odds. It may also show the amounts wagered in each mutuel pool as well as information such as jockey and equipment changes, etc. Also known as the 'Board'.
  
• Tote Returns - Returns from a tote pool (also known as a Dividend), calculated by taking the total stake in each pool (after the take out) and dividing it by the number of winning tickets. A dividend is declared to a fixed stake, for various win, place and forecast pools.
  
• Tout - Person who professes to have, and sells, advance information on a race. Also used as a verb meaning to sell or advertise.
  
• Track Condition - Condition of the racetrack surface. Slow; Fast; good; muddy; sloppy; frozen; hard; firm; soft; yielding; heavy.
  
• Track Record - Fastest time for a distance at a particular track.
  
• Trail - Racing immediately behind another horse. A trail is also known as a sit.
  
• Trainer - The person responsible for looking after a horse and preparing it to race. A trainer must hold a license or permit to be entitled to train.
  
• Treble - A bet consisting of 3 selections, all of which must win for the wager to be successful.
  
• Tricast (UK) - See 'Trifecta' below.
  
• Trifecta - A wager picking the first three finishers in exact order. Called a 'Triactor' in Canada and a 'Triple' in some parts of the U.S. ('Tricast' in the UK.)
  Trifecta Box - A trifecta wager in which all possible combinations using a given number of horses are bet upon. The total number of combinations can be calculated according to the formula (x3)-(3x2)+(2x), where x equals the amount of horses in the box. The sum of the formula is then multiplied by the amount wagered on each combination.
  
• Triple - (Also 'Treble') See 'Trifecta' above.
  
• Triple Crown - Used generically to denote a series of three important races, but is always capitalized when referring to historical races for three-year-olds. In the United States, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. In England the 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Derby and St. Leger Stakes. In Canada, the Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes and Breeders' Stakes.
  
• Trixie - A Trixie consists of 4 bets involving 3 selections in different events, i.e. 3 doubles plus 1 treble.
  
• Trotting - A term for harness racing in general. It also describes the specific gait of a trotter.
  
• Turf Accountant - The UK euphemism for a bookmaker.
  
• Turf Course - Grass course.
  
• Unbackable - A horse which is quoted at short odds that punters decide is too short to return any reasonable amount for the money they outlay.
  
• Underlay - A horse racing at shorter odds than seems warranted by its past performances.
  
• Under Starters Orders (or Under Orders) - The starting of a race.
  
• Under Wraps - Horse under stout restraint in a race or workout.
  
• Union Jack - A bet consisting of 8 trebles on 9 selections A to I: ABC, DEF, GHI, ADG, BEH, CFI, AEI, and CEG.
  
• Value - Getting the best odds on a wager.
  
• Wager - Another term for bet.
  
• Walkover - A race in which only one horse competes.
  
• Warming Up - Galloping horse on way to post.
  
• Weigh In (Out) - The certification, by the clerk of scales, of a rider's weight before (after) a race. A jockey weighs in fully dressed with all equipment except for his/her helmet, whip and (in many jurisdictions) flak jacket.
  
• Welsh/Welch - To fail to pay a gambling bet.
  
• Wheel - Betting all possible combinations in an exotic wager using at least one horse as the key. See 'Part Wheel'.
  
• Wheeling - A racing system devised for the daily double bet in which the bettor backs one horse in the first race and every horse in the second (also known as Baseball or Locking).
  
• Weight-For-Age - The purpose of weight-for-age is to allow horses of different age and sex to compete on equal terms. The weight a horse carried is allocated on a set scale according to its sex and age.
  
• Whip - Instrument or a stick, usually of leather, with which rider strikes horse to increase his speed.
  
• Win - The term used to describe a 1st place finish.
  
• Win Bet - Wager on a horse to finish first.
  
• Winning Post - The finishing line of a race. (Also, The Post.)
  
• Wire - The finish line of a race.
  
• Wise Guy - A knowledgeable handicapper or bettor.
  
• With the Field - Having one horse linked with all the other horses in an event. It can apply to forecasts or in doubles.
  
• Yankee - A multiple bet consisting of 11 bets (6 doubles, 4 trebles and 1 4-fold) on 4 selections in different events.
  
• Yap - Yankee Patent. The same 11 bets as a Yankee, but with singles on each of the 4 selections as well, making 15 bets in all (also known as a 'Lucky 15').
  
• Yearling - A horse in its second calendar year of life, beginning January 1 of the year following its birth.
  
• Yielding - Condition of a turf course with a great deal of moisture. Horses sink into it noticeably.
  
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