Horse Racing Betting Action Terms
Get A Glossary for the Race Track Window; Know a Bomber From a Hole
Oct 25, 2007
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.
