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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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Age:

Horses all have the same birthday no matter the exact date of the foaling.

This is set in order to allow the configuration of races according to age groups. The date is set as 1 January each year in the northern hemisphere.

Until 1834, the fixed date was 1 May, in line with the end of the foaling season.

The next year the official date was shifted for New market horses, to the present one, which occurs before the foaling season has properly started.

The majority of races on the flat are for two year olds only, or for three year olds only, with a fair proportion also confined to three year olds and four year olds only, or three year olds and upwards.

A horse of either sex before its first birthday is known as a foal; between that date and its next birthday it is called a yearling.

All Weather:

Not exactly All Weather in that horses still cannot race in fog. The surfaces are synthetic and the courses are currently at Lingfield, Southwell and Wolverhampton. They do provide protection against the frost.

Introduced in 1990 it was mainly aimed at offsetting the losses made by the Levy, which were being caused by the canceling of race meeting through the winter periods.

There was a problem early on with the number of horses killed during hurdles races, but since then it has become well established and has its own set of followers and advocates.

The performances are generally not as good as on turf, but some horses really appear to do well on it.

The surface at Lingfield is made up of hard graded sand which is then covered by a polymer and this produces a sort of cushioning effect. It is known as Equitrack and allows water to run off of it, as oppose to more traditional All Weather surfaces which allow rainwater to run through them.

Ante post betting:

This is a type of betting which occurs days, weeks or months before a big race, as oppose to the traditional sort of betting which takes place only in the few hours before a race.

There have been various suggestions for the origins of the term, but when one looks at early pictures and studies the history of races, one can see that bets were usually struck on New market Heath around what can only be described as “Betting Posts”.
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