Scoop 6
In the UK, a Tote bet you win by picking the winners of six consecutive races, which are run each Saturday. The pool regularly exceeds a million pounds.
scorecast
A scorecast bet is a combination of two bets: a first goal scorer bet and a correct score bet. Both the first goal scorer bet and the correct score bet need to win in order for a scorecast bet to pay out. Scorecast bets are popular because they offer high odds.
Read morescratch
A cancellation. In horse racing, for example, a declared runner that doesn’t actually participate in a race is a scratch.
selection to win
In horse racing, a selection to win betting market offers two sets of odds for each horse in a race – odds that the horse will win, and odds that the horse won’t win. You can bet either way.
sex allowance
A weight allowance given to female horses when they’re raced against male horses.
sharp
A professional gambler.
shorten
The process of odds getting shorter, or lower. Bookmakers may shorten odds in response to heavy betting, which indicates that the market thinks the likelihood of winning is higher than the original odds that are quoted.
show
In the United States, the act of a horse coming first or second in a race. In the UK, a horse is said to place if it comes first, second, or third (and sometimes fourth, depending on the number of runners in a race).
show bet
US term for a bet that a horse will come either first or second in a race.
silks
The colours worn by a jockey.
Silky Sullivan finish
In horse racing, a late charge from far back. It’s named after a horse known for using this strategy in the late 1950s.
single bet
A single bet is a wager on a single outcome in an event. The bet is unrelated to any additional bets you may place at the same time.
Read moresingle stakes about
Abbreviated as SSA, a term describing an any-to-come (ATC) bet in which the original stake placed on one selection will be placed on a second selection if the first one wins.
sire
The father of a horse.
sophomore
A three-year-old horse.
SP
See starting price
split race
A race that’s split into two separate races because it’s oversubscribed.
spread
Also known as a point spread or handicap, points given to an underdog and deducted from the favourite to level the odds. For example, a sportsbook might predict that team A will beat team B by 20 points. This means that 20 points will be added to team B’s final score to create a spread result. Team A is said to have covered the spread only if it wins by 21 or more points. Also see spread betting.
spread betting
Spread betting is betting on whether an outcome will be above or below a specified margin, or spread.
Read moresprint
A race over a short distance. In horse racing, it’s a race of 7 furlongs or less.
SSA
stake
The amount of money you put on a bet.
stakes
A horse race that horses must be nominated to run in advance, and for which there’s usually a nomination and entry fee. In the UK, the top horses compete in stakes races. Horses with fewer or no previous wins are entered in non-stakes races.
stallion
A male horse used for breeding purposes.
starter
The official responsible for ensuring a fair start to a horse race.
starting gate
In horse racing, the mechanical steel gate and stalls from which the horses break at the beginning of a race.
starting price
Abbreviated as SP, the starting price reflects the official odds for a horse that are quoted at the start of a race. They’re determined based on an average of the on-course bookmakers odds for the horse.
Read moresteamer
A selection that has attracted heavy betting, resulting in significant shortening of its odds.
steeplechase
A National Hunt race in which entries are required to jump fences. The term dates from early countryside races for which a church steeple provided orientation. Read more
steward
Any official who enforces the rules of racing at a racecourse.
stooper
A person who hunts for accidentally discarded winning tickets at a racecourse.
straight forecast
A straight forecast (SF) is a bet on which selections will finish first and second, in the correct order. It’s also known as an exacta or perfecta in tote betting.
Read morestraightaway
In horse racing, the straight part of a course (with no turns).
stretch
The final stretch in a horse race. Also known as the homestretch.
Super Flag
Popular among horse racing and football punters, a Super Flag bet is a combination bet that comprises all possible multiple bets that can be placed on five selections in five different events.
Read moreSuper Heinz
The Super Heinz bet is a slight variation on the popular Heinz bet type, named after the ’57’ varieties slogan coined by ketchup manufacturer, H.J. Heinz. Whereas the standard Heinz features a total of 57 bets on six selections, covering every one of the bet types from doubles to a seven fold, the Super Heinz bet goes a step further by adding another selection to the mix.
Read more
