Betting Glossary

Ante-post - Betting on an event well in advance of the day of the race.

Banker - A strongly fancied selection that will often be the cornerstone of combination bets.

Bar - This shows what the lowest odds of the horses not mentioned in the betting forecast are likely to be – for example, '20 - 1 bar' means those not quoted are 20-1 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 head 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 odds tables calculates the percentage in favour of the bookmaker (i.e. 111 per cent means 11% in bookmaker's favour). Sometimes, the percentage will drop below 100% and therefore the odds turn in the punter's favour.

Board prices - This refers to the currently available odds as 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.

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.

Double Carpet - The 'tic-tac' term for 33-1.

Drift - When the price of a selection moves out (gets bigger), often due to a lack of support. That selection is said to be "on the drift".

Ear'ole - The 'tic-tac' term for 6-4.

Enin - The 'tic-tac' term for 9-1.

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

Flip Flop - Favoured saying of John McCririck! It relates to the situation in the on-course betting market when two horses switch places, with one's price getting larger and the other’s getting smaller. .

Handful - The 'tic-tac' term for 5-1.

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

Joint favourite - When a bookmaker cannot split two selections for favouritism.

Jolly - Another term for the favourite in a race.

Monkey - Bookmakers slang for £500.

Nap - The best bet of the day from a particular tipster.

Neves - The 'tic-tac' term for 7-1.

No offers - When bookmakers are unwilling to offer a price on a horse N/O is chalked up on their board.

Over-round - In theory a betting book should be 100%, so a toss of a coin would be even money heads, even money tails. However the bookmakers' profit margins mean the figure is usually above 100%. In cases where it is less (one bookmaker betting 11/8 against on Horse A, another going evens on Horse B in a two horse race) this is referred to as 'over-broke'.

Pony - Bookmakers' slang for £25.

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 - unchanged.

Roof - The 'tic-tac' term for 4/1.

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.

Tic-tac - The sign language with which bookmakers on the racecourse communicate.

Tissue - The betting forecast of how an on-course bookmaker thinks the betting on a race will open.

Xis - The 'tic-tac' term for 6/1.

TYPES OF BET

Single - 1 bet on 1 selection in one event.

Double - 1 bet involving 2 selections in different events. Both must be successful to get a return.

Treble - 1 bet involving 3 selections in different events. All must be successful to get a return.

Accumulator – 1 bet involving any number of selections from 4 upwards in different events. All must be successful to get a return.

Trixie - 4 bets involving 3 selections in different events. The bet includes 3 doubles and 1 treble. A minimum of 2 of your selections must be successful to get a return.

Patent - 7 bets involving 3 selections in different events. The bet includes a single on each selection, plus 3 doubles and 1 treble. Just one successful selection guarantees a return.

Yankee - 11 bets involving 4 selections in different events. The bet includes 6 doubles, 4 trebles, and an accumulator. A minimum of 2 of your selections must be successful to get a return.

Lucky 15 - 15 bets involving 4 selections in different events. The bet includes 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles, and 1 fourfold. If only one selection wins, as a consolation returns are paid to double the odds. If all four selections win, a bonus of 10% is added to total returns. For the bonus to apply, all selections must win (no void or non-runners). For each-way bets the consolation is paid only on the win part of the bet. Lucky 15 bets are accepted on horse racing and greyhounds only.

Canadian - (also known as a Super Yankee) 26 bets involving 5 selections in different events. The bet includes 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 fourfolds plus an accumulator. A minimum of 2 of your selections must be successful to get a return.

Heinz - 57 bets involving 6 selections in different events. The bet includes 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, 6 fivefolds and an accumulator. A minimum of 2 of your selections must be successful to get a return.

Lucky 63 - 63 bets involving 6 selections in different events. The bet includes 6 singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 fourfolds, 6 fivefolds and an accumulator. If only one selection wins, returns are paid to double the odds. If all six selections win, a bonus of 20% is added to total returns. For the bonus to apply, all selections must win (no void or non-runners). For each-way bets the consolation is paid only on the win part of the bet. Lucky 63 bets are accepted on horse racing and greyhounds only.

Super Heinz - 120 bets involving 7 selections in different events. The bet includes 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 fourfolds, 21 fivefolds, 7 sixfolds and an accumulator. A minimum of 2 of your selections must be successful to get a return.

Goliath - 247 bets involving 8 selections in different events. The bet includes 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 fourfolds, 56 fivefolds, 28 sixfolds, 8 sevenfolds and an accumulator. A minimum of 2 of your selections must be successful to get a return.

Forecasts - A forecast bet is one where you predict the first and second in a horse or greyhound race.

Straight Forecast - 2 selections in 1 race finishing 1st and 2nd in the order named. A Straight Forecast (FC) dividend is declared based on the Starting Prices (SP’s) of all the horses in the race. (A Straight Forecast is known in many countries as an Exacta).

Reversed Forecast - 2 selections in 1 race finishing 1st and 2nd in either order. As such it is two straight forecasts.

Straight Forecast Doubles - SFC doubles are staked in exactly the same way as ordinary doubles. The only difference is that you take 2 selections per race. Both SFC predictions must be successful for there to be any return.

Straight Forecast Trebles - SFC trebles are staked in exactly the same way as ordinary trebles. The only difference is that you take 2 selections per race. All three SFC predictions must be successful for there to be any return.

Combination Forecasts - This bet involves 3 or more selections in a race, with any 2 to finish 1st and 2nd in any order. For example, a £5 combination forecast (or CFC) equates to a total stake of £30 That's 6 x £5 forecasts. The easiest way to calculate the number of bets in a CFC is to multiply the number of selections by the preceding number. So, for 3 selections, 3 x 2 = 6. If you picked 5 selections in a race, you would have 20 combination forecast bets (5 x 4 = 20).

Combination Forecast Doubles and Trebles - Combination Forecast (CFC) doubles give you a better chance of getting a winning Forecast Double or Forecast Treble because you choose more than 2 selections in each race. To win you must have included the first two finishers in 2 races for doubles or 3 races for trebles.

Tricasts - Tricasts are only accepted on horse racing handicaps with 6 or more runners:

Straight Tricasts - This bet involves 3 selections in a race finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the order named. (The closest equivalent to a Tricast in many countries is a Trifecta or a Tierce).

Combination Tricasts - This bet involves 3 or more selections in a race finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in any order. To calculate the number of bets in a Combination Tricast multiply the number of selections by the preceding number. For example, a £10 Combination Tricast (CTC) with four selections would cost £240. That’s 4 x 3 x 2 = 24 bets.

TOTE BETTING

Betting on the Tote offers a slightly simpler way for punters to place a bet. They have outlets all over every racecourse and are easy to find.

The major difference between betting with the Tote and in the Betting Ring is that when you place a bet with the bookmakers you know the price you are getting. That is not the case on the Tote because it is pool betting.

Pool Betting is the system whereby all the money gambled on a particular bet – for instance a single win – goes into a pool. The Tote takes out its percentage and the rest of the money is divided between the winning tickets. The odds are often similar to those offered by the bookmakers because punters will watch both and not allow one to be overly different to the other – especially on those near the top of the betting (the Tote have screens allowing punters to see what the odds are on each horse but no-one can tell the final odds until after the race).

One thing to note about the Tote is that because it attracts more inexperienced punters, those horses with popular sounding names or connections, especially on big days, are a lot shorter odds than they should be.

The different type of Tote bets are as follows:

Pick the winner of the race. Minimum bet £2.

Pick a horse to be placed in the race. Minimum bet £2. Your selections need to be placed as follows:

Up to 4 runners – no place betting

5 – 7 runners – 1st and 2nd

8+ runners – 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Handicap 16+ runners – 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

A very popular way of betting, this is simply a totewin bet and a toteplace bet on the same horse. Minimum total stake £4 (i.e. £2 win and £2 place).

Pick the horses to finish 1st and 2nd in the correct order. A reverse toteexacta or a combination toteexacta will increase the chances of winning. This is obviously more difficult than just picking the winner, but the rewards are potentially much greater. Minimum total spend £2.

Pick the horses to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the correct order in a totetrifecta race. Minimum total spend £2.

Pick a horse to be placed in each of the six toteplacepot races (normally the first six races on the card). You can choose more than one horse in any of the races to increase your chances of winning. Minimum total spend £2.

A popular bet if you’ve missed the start of the toteplacepot or it has fallen by the wayside before the 3rd race. As before, just pick a horse to be placed in each of the four totequadpot races which are normally races 3, 4, 5 and 6. Minimum total spend £1.

Pick the winners of the six totejackpot races at the nominated totejackpot meeting each day. You can choose more than one horse in any of the races to increase your chances of winning. Minimum total spend £2.

Tote Scoop 6

Pick at least one horse in the six nominated televised races each Saturday. Get all six winners to scoop a potentially massive dividend and qualify for a big money bonus. Even finding a placed horse in every race pays an average dividend of over £500 to a £1 stake. Minimum spend £2 per line.