Experience adds knowledge in any sport. Learning one's way around horse racing betting terms increases one's chances to score.

To get in on the real betting "action" at a horse racing track, one would need to know what action means in the unique world of Thoroughbred and Standardbred competition. It helps to know what a bomber, and a hole, and a hangin' pig are at the track before one lays down his hard earned cash.

Following are some helpful hints:

Action: the amount of betting money laid on a particular horse

Action bet: a bet on a horse who doesn't have a strong chance of winning

Bomber: a horse who is a long shot to win

Bounce: said of a horse who runs a poor race after a tough win. If he might bounce in this race, one wouldn't want to bet too heavily on him.

Box: to bet on two, or more horses to finish in any order in the exacta, or trifecta

Broke his maiden: the race in which a horse won for the first time

Bullet work: the horse who had the fastest workout of the day at a particular distance is a hint to his current conditioning

Card: a complete listing of the day's races

Chalk: the betting favorite for a race

Chalk-eater: a bettor who bets on (plays) the favorites

Chalky: a day when betting favorites are consistently winning races

Cheap: a slow horse

Choking point: a betting level beyond the bettor's ability to exact good judgment

Dead on the board: refers to a horse who isn't receiving any action

Daily Double: (the Double), a wager requiring the bettor to pick the winners in the first two races of the day

Exacta: wagering on the exact order of finish of the first two horses

Gate to wire: (wire to wire; wired the field), when a horse runs in front from the starting gate to the race's finish wire for his win

Hammer: to place a large bet on any one horse

Hangin' pig: a horse who menaces the leader, but can never pass him

Hole: a horse's post position in the starting gate

In the money: (on the board), a horse runs in the money if he comes in first, second, or third

Key: betting on a horse on top of two, or more horses in the trifecta

Maiden: a winless horse

Numbers players: one who bets the same numbers, race after race

OTB: an offtrack betting facility where wagers can be made on televised races

Overlay: an underbet horse

Play: bet

Qunella: a bet requiring the player to choose the first two finishers, in either order

Saver: an exacta bet with one's winning horse in second place, requiring a pay back of your bet money if the horse loses

Short form: the Daily Racing Form edition that features listings of horse's performances at their home track and at two other high profile tracks

Shut out: arriving at the betting window too late to place a bet

Stalker: a horse who likes to run just behind the leaders before he tries to make his own move

Superfecta: a wager requiring the bettor to choose the exact order of finish of the first four horses

Trifecta: a wager requiring the bettor to choose the order of the top three finishers

Two and two: betting two dollars to win, and two dollars to place

Undercard: races on the card that precede the feature event

Wheel: to bet a horse on top of two, or more horses in the exacta, or in the Daily Double

Learn more of race track and horse racing terminology, bet more knowledgeably, and win more often.