baby
In horse racing, a two-year-old horse; also known as a juvenile.
baby race
A horse race for two-year-old horses. It's usually run over a short distance in spring or summer.
backstretch
At a racecourse, the straightaway alongside the homestretch. Typically it runs from the three-quarter-mile pole to the three-eighths pole.
backward
A horse that's too inexperienced or unfit to perform at its best.
banker
A bet that's considered a near-certain winner.
bar
Also referred to as the bar price, the shortest, or lowest, odds of entries not included in a betting forecast. For example, a bar of 20/1 specifies that all contenders not listed in the forecast have odds of 20/1 or greater.
bar price
bay
A tan to auburn-coloured horse with a black mane and tail.
beard
A slang term for a person who places a bet on behalf of someone else in order to hide the real bettor's identity.
beeswax
A UK slang term for betting tax.
best book
The betting market that provides the lowest over-round or book percentage figure, and so provides the best margin for punters.
best odds guaranteed
Best odds guaranteed doesn’t mean that a bookmaker guarantees to give you better odds than you might get elsewhere. It means that the bookmaker guarantees to pay out winning bets at the SP if this is higher than the price you took when you placed your bet.
bet
Risking a sum of money on the outcome of a future event in the hope of having the sum returned with a profit.
bet calculator
An online tool for calculating the returns on specific bets.
Betfair
The largest betting exchange in the world, currently licensed and registered in Gibraltar.
betting bankroll
Funds available, or set aside, for betting.
betting dispute
A betting dispute is any disagreement over a bet, how it was placed, its outcome or its financial settlement.
betting exchange
A betting exchange is a website that enables punters to offer and request back and lay prices directly with other punters, instead of via a bookmaker.
betting limit
The maximum amount that a bookmaker allows punters to bet on an event.
betting market
A betting market is a specific type or category of bet on a particular event. Bookmakers typically offer multiple betting markets on each event.
betting slip
A betting slip is a paper or electronic form that records the bets you place, the bet amounts and the odds for the bets.
betting syndicate
A group of individuals who pool their money for betting purposes.
betting tax
Tax on a bookmaker's turnover. In the UK, it takes the form of a duty payable to Customs and Excise for each pound that's wagered.
bettor
The US term for someone who places a bet. The more common UK term is punter.
Beyer number
In horse racing, a measure of a horse's performance, as listed in The Daily Racing Form. The claim is that it measures how fast a horse actually ran, rather than just its final time.
BHA
Bill Daly
In horse racing, a term that describes the lead position. It's derived from the name of a trainer who used to advise jockeys to take the lead early on.
Bismarck
A horse that a punter predicts will be thoroughly beaten - or sunk, like the German World War II battleship of the same name.
bit
A rubber or metal bar attached to a bridle and fitting in a horse's mouth. It's used to help control the horse.
blanket finish
In horse racing, a finish in which multiple horses are very close together.
blind bet
In horse racing, a bet made by a bookmaker to divert bookmakers' attention away from significant betting on another horse. The goal is to prevent odds on the other horse from being shortened.
blinkers
Also sometimes called blinders, leather or plastic devices attached to the bridle of a horse harness to restrict a horse's field of vision, to prevent it from being distracted.
bloodline
A horse's lineage.
boil-over
In horse racing, a win by a longshot or a loss by a heavy favourite.
bomber
A longshot; a selection with high odds.
book
1. A bookmaker's record of the amounts bet on each selection for an event and of the applicable odds for those bets. 2. The mares bred to a stallion in a specific year.
book percentage
The profit margin for a bookmaker in a particular market.
bookie
bookmaker
A bookmaker is an individual or company that creates odds and accepts bets from the public. Also referred to as a bookie or sportsbook.
bore draw special
A bore draw special is an offer by a bookmaker to refund the stakes on certain losing bets if no goal is scored during a match.
bottle
A slang term for odds of 2/1.
bounce
An unusually weak performance immediately after an unusually strong one.
break
A term used for the start of a race.
bridge jumper
A punter who bets a large sum on a short-priced favourite.
British Horseracing Authority
Abbreviated as BHA, the regulatory authority for horse racing in Britain. It was formed in 2007 through a merger between the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Horseracing Regulatory Authority (HRA).
bug boy
Slang for an apprentice jockey.
bullring
Term describing a small racetrack with sharp turns.
bumper
A National Hunt race with no hurdles or fences.
Burlington Bertie
Slang for odds of 100 to 30.
betting without
The betting without market is designed to remove top contenders from a horse racing market to improve your chances of winning a back bet on one of the other horses in the field.