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CLASS A:

Flat race classifications are from Class A through to Class G. This determines the methodology for framing conditions races.

CLASSICS:

Reference to a horse race that has been around for a very long time. These races of longstanding tend to attract the best horses and have become regarded as the highest quality of racing. The classics are open only to 3 yo’s and above and there are 5 of them in England.

The Classics are currently:

New market, spring, 2000 guineas colts and fillies, first run in 1809
New market, spring, 1000 guineas, fillies only, first run 1814
Epsom 1.5 miles, summer, derby colts and fillies, 1780
Epsom 1.5 miles, summer, oaks, Fillies only, first run 1779
Doncaster 1 ¾ miles, autumn, st ledger, Colts and Fillies, first run 1776

Fillies rarely contest the 2000 guineas or the oaks nowadays with trainers tending to run them only in the classic equivalents for Fillies only: the oaks (fillies) and the 1000 guineas.

Originally nobody set out to establish a set of classic races, they merely evolved, and became universally acknowledged as a pattern sometime around the middle of 19th Century.

Classic winners have had a major impact on the overall development of the thoroughbred. They have achieved high prestige and have proved that they are best of their breed and age.

The classics tend to provide excellent betting opportunities, as the form advertised tends to work out quite accurately; horses which are well backed tend to do very well, and given the strong ante post markets there are opportunities for overly long prices.

CLEVERLY:

When a horse wins more easily than the winning distance suggests it is said to have won “cleverly”. Alternatively he or she may be said to have won with “Something in hand”.

Often flat jockeys will do just enough in order that their charge wins. This means that the full distance by which a horse would have won is never actually known to the public or the handicapper, who then has no real way of judging a horse’s true capability.

Professional punters and Betfair professionals can benefit from making notes regarding this sort of evidence. It will be noted in the form book and in the detailed comments in Raceform and Chaseform. Other analysis worth noting will be in the Racing Post and Superform or Timeform.
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CAME AGAIN
Used in the formbook, this phrase is used to indicate when a horse renews its effort after dropping back in a race.

CAMERA PATROL
Introduced officially 30th June, 1960 at Newmarket.

Originally, cameras just photographed the latter stages of a race from varying different angles, often head on. Later the coverage was extended to provide a complete visual record of a race using a mobile camera.

The objective is to obtain evidence for use when an objection is filed, or when there’s a Steward’s inquiry. There is now extensive usage of closed circuit television on race courses, and the video replay is used to back up the evidence from the camera patrol.

The combination of the two has been instrumental in recent years in reducing underhand practices at race meets, that had been occurring for many years.

CARD
Short for race card, the official runners and riders program which is on sale at race courses.

The “Card” also appears in newspaper headings, for example “The Chepstow Card” or the “Card for Uttoxeter”.

Phrases may read for example “The best bet on the card” or “going through the card”, which refers to selection or association with all the winners on the card.

CARPET
For anyone who doesn’t understand John McCririck’s presentation of betting on C4, specifically the slow motion tic tac, and odd betting terms he uses, the phrase “carpet”, a favourite of his, is derived from convict slang for a three month prison term.

In other words “carpet” is three to one in the betting. John O Neill (RIP) had a huge repertoire of betting terminology and his return of the starting prices in the press room at the Northern race courses is badly missed.

CAST IN HIS/HER BOX
Sometimes when a horse lays down in their traveling horse box or stable loose box, they can have problems getting up again off the straw. They are said to be “cast in the box”. This is obviously not very beneficial on race day.
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Bookmakers

There are several subdivisions of bookmaker:

• Some operate spread betting services
• Some operate a telephone credit service or postal betting service
• Some operate betting shops off-course
• Some make a book on the racecourse

Bigger bookmakers will offer two or three of the above activities. At the racecourse bets are agreed with the backer at starting price, and are settled at the quoted price.

Bookmakers activities on or off the course are determined by what is occurring in the market on the racecourse.

Immediately before a race, a betting market is formed. The total amount of money being wagered on a horse causes the price to move up and down.

Significant larger amounts, are signaled by tic tac between the rails, Tattersalls, the silver ring and bookmakers out on the course itself.

The level of this fluctuation within the market depends largely upon the strength of the market.

In the early stage of a betting market being formed, the prices are not generally decided by the amount of money wagered, but rather on what the larger Tattersalls board operators think the price of each horse should be.
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Bad Legs:

Bad Legs are a very common condition amongst racehorses

To really get to grips with what is involved when training a horse in preparation to race, we should make a comparison with the process that is undergone when training human athletes.

For example, what might have happened if Seb Coe had tried to run in the 100m?

Did you ever see Seb Coe turning up on the track without his tracksuit on, or would he have raced if he had badly injured his legs?

Horses exactly like humans have distances that they favor and are competitive at, and this is very important in deciding how a horse will fare in a race against the competition.

When sweating up before or after a race, horses have blankets thrown over them because just as humans pull muscles, strain tendons and in severe cases pull up during a race, so do horses.

Trainers get really anxious about a horses forelegs. It is these in particular that take a great deal of punishment during a race, and especially when jumping fences or when the ground is very hard.

Sometimes the condition “bad legs” can be put down to being inherited, and often it can be protected against by wearing bandages on the forelegs to provide additional support.

Betting on the rails:

Bookmakers are not allowed to make a book in the member’s enclosure on racecourses.

Many of the annual members or those who pay on the day to enter the members enclosure, do obviously want to have a bet, so to get around this problem bookmakers set up pitches right next to the rails that separate members from Tattersalls ring.

A lot of business on the rails is done on credit, but cash is usually also taken

Rails bookmakers are essential to the price shifts in a market, but they are no longer able to control the movements exclusively. This is because 90% of betting today takes place off course.

The balance of power has been disrupted by the Betting Exchanges, such as Betfair and Betdaq.

Rails Bookmakers have their own association, and are generally considered to be at the top end of the market.

Solid support for a given betting shop horse will force the price down on the racecourse as the money for it filters through to the racecourse, and in particular the rails by telephone by tic tac, and now by wireless computer networks. Instantly the shorter price is relayed to the other betting rings on the course.

The interaction between the 3 main betting sources nowadays includes Betting shops, the Betting Ring and the Betting Exchanges. The use of live websites and Satellite Information Services enables these 3 sources to interact simultaneously, and the experienced trader will have to establish the delicate balance between these 3 sources to succeed at his trade.
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