What are familiar words and phrases to us at DRB are not as widely known to the casual horse player- or so we’re told.  We’ll pick up where we left off alphabetically last time out in our quest to acquaint track-side tyros.

Eased:  A horse pulled up during the course of a race before the finish line.  Usually due to injury.

Entry:  Two or more horses owned by the same stable, or (in some cases) trained by the same trainer and thus running as a single betting unit.  Entries are usually listed as horse number 1 & 1A and so fourth.

Equipment:  Whip, blinkers, horseshoes, etc.  Any gear carried by a horse and/or rider.  Sometimes an equipment change is a good betting angle.  For example, if a horse is adding blinkers for the first time, he/she might run better than last time out because of less distractions and more focus.

Exacta:  A wager in which the first two finishers in a race must be picked in exact order.  In the more popular exacta box the two chosen horses can finish either way, first or second.  But the exact box will cost you twice the money of a straight exacta.

Field:  The horses running in any given race.

Filly:  A female horse age 4 or younger.

Firm:  The condition of the turf course portion of the racetrack.  It is equivalent to the dirt track being listed as fast.

Fractional Time:  More commonly heard as just “fractions”, which is the intermediate time(s) in a race.  As at the quarter, half, three quarters, and so on.

Front-Runner:  A horse that usually leads (or tries to lead) the field for as far as they can go.  Sometimes all the way to the finish.  It is best to look for front-runners in shorter distance races, the 5-7 furlong range.

Furlong:  One eighth of a mile.  Or 220 yards. Or 660 feet.  You get the idea.

Gate:  The starting mechanism.  When the track announcer says;  “They’re at the gate.”  You best have your wagers already taken care of.

Gelding:  A castrated male horse.  One of the all-time great gelding’s was 1918 Kentucky Derby winner EXTERMINATOR.

Graded Race:  Races designated as the most prestigious.  Thoroughbred racing has Grade 1, 2, and 3 level competitions.

That’s it for now, but there are more definitions to come in the old learning (horse) barn.  If ever you have questions don’t hesitate to ask.  Hope you were paying attention Melinda and Jerry, there will be a quiz in near future.