Betting terminology differ from country to country and sometimes even within the country. However, some terms are similar everywhere. Below are some commonly used betting terms in the US and the UK. The main difference is that in the UK, the primary odds making mechanism is a an average price of a number of on course bookmakers to calculate the SP (starting price) which will be the odds of the horse unless you have taken a price prior to the race. In the US like in France, it is a mutuel or a pool system where the odds are dependent upon how much money is being placed on a particular horse relative to all the other horses in the race. Generally what happens is that a certain set percentage has to be paid out to the punters of all the bets taken. The mutuel system is favoured by some but in our opinion, the UK system is far fairer as it is actually possible for punters to win against a bookmaker (for example if all the favourites win at a meeting or Frankie Dettori winning all 7 races at a Royal Ascot meeting).

ACROSS THE BOARD
A bet on a horse to win, place and show. If the horse wins, the player collects three ways; if second, two ways; and if third, one way, losing the win and place bets.

BREAKAGE
In pari-mutuel payoffs which are rounded out to a nickel or dime, those pennies that are left over. Breakage is generally split between the track and state and, in some cases, breeding or other funds, in varying proportions.

DAILY DOUBLE
Type of wager calling for the selection of winners of two consecutive races, usually the first and second.

EXACTA (or PERFECTA)
A wager in which the first two finishers in a race, in exact order of finish, must be picked.

FIELD HORSE (or MUTUEL FIELD)
Two or more starters running as a single betting unit, when there are more entrants than positions on the totalisator board can accommodate.

IN THE MONEY
Finishing first, second or third.

INQUIRY
Reviewing the race to check into a possible infraction of the rules. Also, a sign flashed by officials on tote board on such occasions.

LOCK
Slang for a "sure thing" winner.

MINUS POOL
A mutuel pool caused when one horse is so heavily played that, after deductions of state tax and commission, there is not enough money left to pay the legally prescribed minimum on each winning bet. The racing association usually makes up the difference.

OBJECTION
Claim of foul lodged by rider, patrol judge or other official. If lodged by official, it is called an inquiry.

ODDS-ON
Odds of less than even money. In England it is simply called "on," thus a horse "5-4 on" is actually at odds of 4-5.

OFFICIAL
Sign displayed when result is confirmed. Also racing official.

ON THE NOSE
Betting a horse to win only.

OVERLAY
A horse going off at a higher price than he appears to warrant based on his past performances.

PHOTO FINISH
A result so close it is necessary to use a finish-line camera to determine order of finish.

PICK SIX (or more)
A type of wager in which the winners of all the included races must be selected.

PLACE
Second position at finish.

PLACE BET
Wager on a horse to finish first or second.

QUINELLA
Wager in which first two finishers must be picked, but payoff is made no matter which of the two wins and which runs second.

SHOW
Third position at the finish.

SHOW BET
Wager on a horse to finish in the money; third or better.

STRAIGHT
Betting to win only.

TAKE (or TAKEOUT)
Commission deducted from mutuel pools which s shared by the track and local and state governing bodies in the form of tax.

TOUT
Person who professes to have, and sells, advance information on a race.

TRIFECTA (or TRIPLE)
A wager picking the first three finishers in exact order.

UNDERLAY
A horse racing at longer odds than he should.

WIN
Cross the finish line first.

WIN BET
Wager on a horse to finish first.

ACCUMULATOR
A bet involving more than one horse with the winnings from each selection going onto the next.

ANTE-POST
Betting on an event well in advance of the day of the race - in the case of the Classics or big National Hunt events this could be a year or more before the race takes place.

ASIAN HANDICAPS
Mainly used in football, Sides are awarded anywhere between a fraction of a goal start to 3 goals dependent on how good or bad they are. The bookies may also award a side half a point start which effectively eliminates the draw. This form of betting is particularly common in the Far East.

BANKER
A selection that is fancied very, very strongly indeed. Will often be the cornerstone of combination bets.

BAR
This shows what the lowest odds of horses not mentioned in the betting forecast are likely to be - '50-1 bar' means those not quoted are 50-1 or bigger.

BEST-PRICE PERCENTAGE
The bottom line is that the odds available are balanced in favour of the bookmaker. A simple example is the toss of a coin where the chances of heads or tails are 50:50. However if the bookmaker were to offer even money on either event there would be no profit margin. Hence odds of 5-6 each of two would probably be offered. The Best Price Percentage figure at the bottom of most of our odds tables calculates the percentage in favour of the bookmaker (ie. 111 per cent means 11% in bookmaker's favour). Sometimes when firms wildly disagree the percentage will drop below 100% and therefore be in the punter's favour.

BOARD PRICES
This refers to the currently available odds displayed on the boards of on-course bookmakers. It is from these that the starting price is derived.

BOTTLE
The 'tic-tac' term for 2/1.

BURLINGTON BERTIE
The 'tic-tac' term for 100/30.

CARPET
The 'tic-tac' term for 3-1. Double carpet is 33/1.

CO-FAVOURITE
A horse that shares its position at the head of the market with at least two other horses.

COCKLE
The 'tic-tac' term for 10/1.

DONKEY
Ever wondered if the horse that you backed actually was a donkey?

EACH WAY or E/W
A bet that covers both win and place (see PLACE below for definition). Place bets on a place is either 1/4 or 1/5 of the odds. That means that any E/W bet struck at less than 4/1 will always pay less than even money on a place. If the horse finishes first, you get paid both on the win and place. If it does not win but gets placed, the "win" part of the bet is lost but you win on the place. If the horse had odds of less than 4/1 or 5/1 (depending on the number of horses in a particular race and whether it is a Handicap or other race), you will actually lose money even if the horse gets placed.

FAVOURITE
The selection that the bookmaker rates as most likely to win the event.

FIRST PASSED THE POST
Some bookmakers pay out on the first horse that crossed the winning line even if there is a stewards enquiry and the horse gets disqualified. With most bookmakers, you have to write "First Passed The Post" whilst a very small minority has it as a general shop rule; if a horse is disqualified from a win, both the backers of the disqualified horse and the promoted winner gets paid. Definite advantage to the punter. This only is applicable to single bets. Any multi horse bets are settled at the weigh-in.

GamCare
The national centre for information, advice and practical help with regard to the social impact of gambling

HANDICAP
The handicap system is where a Handicapper checks the performances of all racehorses and gives them a handicap rating. If a particular horse wins a race, then the Handicapper is likely to raise the handicap rating. In a "Handicap" race, the rating determines what weight the horse has to carry. Handicap races theoretically are races where the weights even out the differences in ability. A perfectly handicapped race is where every horse crosses the winning line within a length of each other.

HANDICAP SNIP
A horse that has been entered in a race well below its actual rating or based upon its past performances. This can occur when the horse runs prior to a revised official handicap rating has been put into force or if it has run well without winning. This means that it carries much lower weight than it will in the future.

IBAS
(Independent Arbitration Betting Service). An arbitration service which was launched to deal with betting disputes between punters and bookmakers.

JACKPOT
The Tote runs a jackpot every race day. It consists of 6 races and you have to pick every winner to win the Jackpot. They determine which 6 races (normally all at one race meeting) but sometimes spread amongst 6 major races from several tracks on a particular day.

JOINT FAVOURITE
When a bookmaker cannot split two selections for favouritism.

JOLLY
Another term for the favourite in a race.

LUCKY 15
A popular 4 horse selection bet consisting of 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebbles and 1 fourfold = 15 bets.

NAP
A racing tipsters best bet of the day.

NB or NEXT BEST
A racing tipsters next best bet of the day after his/her NAP. Generally most major newspapers that cover racing have a racing pundits NAP and NB for the entire day which is the norm or per race meeting.

NO OFFERS
When bookmakers are unwilling to offer a price on a horse N/O is chalked up on their board.

PATENT
A simple multi bet where 3 horses have to be picked. It is a total of 7 bets consisting of 3 singles, 3 doubles and 1 trebble.

PLACE
In the UK, the place rules are a bit complicated. The general rule is that in 4 or less runner races, only win is paid out. In races with 5-7 horses, first two places are paid out as place. In races with 8 or more horses, the first three places are considered as being placed (in the money). However, in HANDICAP races with 16 or more horses, first four places are considered as placed.

PLACEPOT
A Tote run wager where you have to pick 1 horse in the first 6 races at a particular meeting which all have to be in the money to win the Placepot. The payout of the placepot is determined on the total value of placepot bets.

PONY
Bookmakers' slang for £25.

REVERSED FORECAST
Pick two horses or greyhounds in a race to come first and second in any order.

RULE 4
If a horse is withdrawn and there is insufficient time to form a new market the remaining horses in the race are subject to a deduction if they win or are placed. These are calculated according to the starting price as follows: 3/10 or longer odds - 75p in the £, 2/5 to 1/3 - 70p, 8/15 to 4/9 - 65p, 8/13 to 4/7 - 60p, 4/5 to 4/6 - 55p, 20/21 to 5/6 - 50p, Evens to 6/5 - 45p, 5/4 to 6/4 - 40p, 13/8 to 7/4 - 35p, 15/8 to 9/4 - 30p, 5/2 to 3/1 - 25p, 10/3 to 4/1 - 20p, 9/2 to 11/2 - 15p, 6/1 to 9/1 - 10p, 10/1 to 14/1 - 5p, 14/1 - unchanged

STARTING PRICE
This is often abbreviated to SP. These are the returned prices of the horses which form the basis of the pay out to winning punters if they haven't taken a specified price themselves.

STEAMER
A horse whose odds are continually shortened in the face of heavy support.

STRAIGHT FORECAST
Pick two horses in a race to come first and second in a particular order.

TOTE
Same as the mutel system in the US (or pari mutuel in France) where all bets in a particular race is put into a pool which then determines the odds of a horse. The disadvantage with the Tote or Mutuel system is that you cannot take a price like you can in the UK system.

TRICAST
Picking 3 horses to finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in a particular order. Longshot bet with high payouts.

TRIFECTA
Pick three horses in a particular race to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The payout is determined by the betting pool on the turnover of the particular bet. It can pay more or less than the computer determined straight tricast

WEIGHED IN
The weighed in is called when all the jockeys have been weighed by the racing authorities to ensure that they have carried the correct weight during the race. Once the weighed in has been called, any large wins can be paid out. Often smaller bets are settled before the weighed in is called but payouts over £500 normally requires the weighed in to have been called.

YANKEE
A popular 4 horse selection bet consisting of 6 doubles, 4 trebbles and 1 fourfold = 11 bets.