The Australian and New Zealand punting glossary explains some of the terms, jargon and slang which are commonly used and heard on Australian and New Zealand racecourses, in TABs, on radio, and in the horse racing media. Some terms are peculiar to Australia, such as references to bookmakers, but most are used in both countries.
The emphasis in this list is on gambling terms, rather than the breeding or veterinary side of horse racing.
0-9
- 750s : Binoculars with magnification of 7x50 mm.
- 10-50s : Binoculars with magnification of 10x50 mm.
A
- Acceptor : A horse confirmed by the owner or trainer to be a runner in a race.
- Aged : A horse seven years old or older.
- Apprentice : A young Jockey, usually under 21 years of age, who is still in training. Recent rule changes allow older riders just starting out to work their way through their "apprenticeship".
- Apprentice allowance : Reduction in the weight to be carried by a horse which is to be ridden by an apprentice jockey. Also called a "claim". It varies from 4 kg to 1.5 kg depending on the number of winners the apprentice has ridden. Recent rule changes have resulted in an increase in the maximum amount able to be claimed—from 3 kg to 4 kg.
- Approximates : The TAB prices horses are showing before a race begins.
- Asparagus : Name given to a punter who arrives on course with a stack of ‘mail’, hence: more tips than a tin of asparagus.
B
- Back : To bet on a horse.
- Backed In : A horse whose odds have shortened.
- Backed off the map : A horse which has been heavily supported resulting in a substantial decrease in odds.
- Back up : To race a horse soon after its latest engagement. Also, punters who keep backing a particular horse are said to "back up."
- Bagman : Bookmaker's employee responsible for settling bets on course.
- Bank teller job : A horse considered such a near certainty that a bank teller could invest ‘borrowed’ bank funds and replace them without detection.
- Banker : A key selection in an exotic bet which must win, or run a particular place to guarantee any return.
- Barriers : Starting gates used to keep horses in line before the start of a race. Each horse has a barrier randomly allocated in the barrier draw for the race.
- Battler : A trainer, jockey or bookmaker who just manages to make a living from his full time involvement in horse racing.
- Best Bet : The selection that racing journalists and tipsters nominate as their strongest selection of the day. In the UK, it is known as the nap.
- Bet back : Action taken by a bookmaker when he is heavily-committed to a horse and spreads some of the risk by investing with other bookies or the totalisator.
- Bet until your nose bleeds : Confident instructions to a commission agent or advice to a punter indicating that the horse is so certain to win that betting should only be halted in the unlikely event of a nose haemorrhage.
- Better than bank interest : Justification by a punter for backing a horse that is very short odds on.
- Betting exchange : Internet based organisations which broker bets between punters for a commission. The largest is Betfair.
- Big bickies : A large amount of money.
- Big note : To skite or exaggerate a position or status - to "big note" oneself.
- Big Red : Nickname of the champion race horse Phar Lap.
- Binos (pronounced "by-nose"): Binoculars.
- Birdcage : Area where horses are paraded before entering the racetrack.
- Bite : To ask someone for a loan.
- Black type : Thoroughbred sales catalogues use boldface type to highlight horses that have won or placed in a stakes race.
- Bleeder : A horse that bleeds from the lungs during or after a race or workout. In Australia a first-time bleeder is banned from racing for three months. If it bleeds a second time the horse is banned for life.
- Blew like a north wind : Said about a horse whose odds have lengthened dramatically during the course of betting.
- Blinkers : A cup-shaped device used to limit a horse's vision during a race and improve concentration.
- Bloused : To be caught on the line or defeated in a photo finish.
- Blow : When the odds of a horse increase during betting.
- Blown out the gate : Odds have extended dramatically due to lack of support.
- Boat race : A race with a number of non-triers which is said to be fixed for one horse to win.
- Bolter : A horse at long odds.
- Box : Betting term denoting an exotic combination bet whereby all possible numeric outcomes are covered.
- Box seat : A position in a race which is one horse off the fence and one horse behind the leaders.
- Bridle : A piece of equipment, usually made of leather or nylon, which fits on a horse's head and includes a bit and the reins.
- Bred : A horse is bred where it is foaled. Thus a foal conceived in New Zealand but foaled in Australian is regarded as being bred in Australia.
- Breeder : A breeder is the owner of a mare when it is foaled. He may not have had anything to do with the mating of the mare.
- Broodmare : A filly or mare that has been bred and is used to produce foals.
- Buying money : Term used by a punter when required to bet ‘odds on’.
C
- Calcutta : Sweepstakes conducted prior to a big event with each horse being raffled and then auctioned to the highest bidder.
- Carry the grandstand : Said of a horse allocated a big weight in a handicap race.
- Cast : A horse situated on its side or back, and wedged in the starting stalls, such that it cannot get up.
- Cast a plate : Lost a racing plate.
- Chaff burner : Derogatory term for a horse.
- Checked : Incident during a race when a horse is blocked, causing it to change stride, slow down or change direction.
- Claim : see apprentice allowance.
- Clerk of the Course : Mounted racecourse officials who manage horses and jockeys on the race track, and lead the winner of a race back to the mounting yard.
- Coat-tugger : A racecourse conman who will tip a horse to a punter, and if the horse wins, is always present when the punter collects, to demand a portion of the winnings.
- Colourful racing identity : Euphemism for a criminal.
- Colours : Racing jacket and cap worn by jockeys to indicate the owners of a horse.
- Colt : A male thoroughbred under 4 years of age.
- Connections : The owners and trainer of a horse.
- Cop a minty wrapper : To receive a very light "sling" or gratuity.
- Correct weight : After a race the weight carried by at least the placegetters is checked, and ‘correct weight’ is the signal by the stewards that bets can be paid.
- Could not lay it with a trowel : Said by bookmakers of a horse that has been completely neglected in the betting ring.
- Cricket score odds : Very long odds, usually 100 to 1 or better.
- Crucified : see Slaughtered.
- Crusher : A bookmaker who takes top odds from his colleagues and then offers prices on the same horse or horses at reduced odds.
- Cuts his own hair : An expression to indicate a person is very careful about investing any money.
D
- Daily double : Type of wager calling for the selection of winners of two nominated races.
- Dam : The mother of a horse.
- Daylight : Often called as second place getter in a race where the winner has won by a wide margin.
- Dead cert : Dead certainty, a horse or team that is considered highly likely to win.
- Dead ‘un : A horse deliberately ridden to lose.
- Deductions : The percentage reduction in odds, for win and place bets, when a horse is scratched from a race after betting on that race has commenced.
- Derby : A stakes event for three-year-old colts and geldings. In Australia 3YO fillies are also permitted to start in an open derby.
- Desperate : A hopeless gambler; one who has no control over his or her tendency to bet.
- Dip : A pickpocket on a
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