How to read a horse racing program

1. The race header

Each race starts with a short header. It tells you what kind of race you are looking at.

• Race number and post time: the order of races and the scheduled start.
• Distance: usually in furlongs. One furlong is an eighth of a mile, about 201 metres. Six furlongs is a sprint. A mile or more is a route.
• Surface: dirt, turf (grass) or a synthetic surface. Woodbine, for example, races on turf and on a synthetic surface called Tapeta.
• Race type: maiden (horses that have never won), claiming (every horse is for sale at a set price), allowance (a step up, with conditions) or stakes (the top level).
• Purse: the prize money. Bigger purses usually attract better horses.

2. A horse's entry, line by line

• Saddle cloth number: the number you bet on. Two horses with the same owner or trainer may be coupled as 1 and 1A and run as a single betting interest.
• Post position: the starting gate stall. It is usually the same as the saddle cloth number.
• Morning line: the track's forecast of the final odds. See odds explained.
• Name, age, sex and colour: for example "4 f b" is a four-year-old filly, bay coloured.
• Sire and dam: the father and mother. Some sires' offspring do well on turf, in mud or at longer distances.
• Owner, trainer and jockey: the trainer prepares the horse, the jockey rides it. Both have win percentages worth knowing.
• Weight: in pounds, including the jockey. A small number such as "(5)" can mean an apprentice jockey's weight allowance.
• Medication and equipment: "L" often means the diuretic Lasix. "b" means blinkers. A change, such as "blinkers on" for the first time, is often highlighted.

3. Past performances

Past performances, often called PPs, list a horse's recent races, newest first. Each line is one race. The columns vary by publisher, but most include:

• Date and track, as a short code.
• Distance, surface and condition, such as "6f fm" for six furlongs on firm turf.
• Race class, such as a claiming price or "Alw" for allowance.
• Fractional times, the leader's time at each stage of the race.
• Speed figure, a single number for how fast the horse ran, adjusted for track and distance. Higher is better. Figures from different publishers use different scales, so compare within one source.
• Running positions, where the horse was at each call, with lengths behind the leader.
• Finish, the final position and margin.
• Odds the horse went off at, and the jockey that day.
• A short comment, such as "wide trip" or "rallied late".

Look for patterns across several lines, not one standout race.

A horse with steady figures of 80, 82 and 81 is easier to read than one with 70, 91 and 74. The second horse might be the better bet or the worse one, but the uncertainty is much larger. StableBet turns that uncertainty into a wider range, so you can see it at a glance.

4. Track conditions

Track condition can change how horses run. Common abbreviations:

5. Workouts

Below the past performances you will usually see recent workouts: the date, the track, the distance and the time. A "bullet" marks the fastest workout of the day at that distance. Workouts are most useful for horses returning from a break or making their first start.

What to look at first as a beginner

1. The race type and distance, so you know what kind of race it is.
2. Each horse's last three speed figures, from the same publisher.
3. Whether each horse has run well at this distance and on this surface before.
4. Trainer and jockey win percentages.
5. Scratches and changes announced on race day.

StableBet's beginner mode does this reading for you and explains each horse in one sentence, with the evidence one tap away.

Frequently asked questions

Next: Win, place and show explained, or look up any term in the glossary.