Cheltenham Festival: Jargon buster

Horses being ‘given the office’, beasts getting a taste of ‘the gentleman’s persuader’, what does it all mean? Here are just some of the terms in the racing lexicon that we could hear this week.

Accumulator

Multiple bet involving more than one selection where winnings roll over on to subsequent selections. All of the selections must win for the bet to be realised.

Act on track

Horses often exhibit preferences for certain racecourses. Tracks can be left-handed or right-handed, flat or undulating, sharp (tight) or galloping, testing or speed-favouring. Cheltenham is left-handed, galloping, undulating and testing. Also widely used in the United States as a description for gambling.

Action

Horses’ knee action can often indicate their preferred ground conditions. Those with a high knee carriage hit the ground harder and are often discommoded by faster ground, but their stride can prove highly effective on softer ground. Those with a smooth daisy-cutting stride that exhibits little knee lift are mostly best suited by firmer ground, but are more likely to get bogged down in testing ground.

Age

All horses in the northern hemisphere celebrate their official birthdays each year on 1 January. Almost all are foaled (born) between January and July following a gestation period of around 11 months, with the vast majority of those born between February and May.

Ante post

Betting prior to the final declaration stage when the entries are known. If a selection fails to contest the race, any bet struck is a almost always treated as a loser. Bookmakers often offer a non runner no bet concession in the run-up to major races whereby stakes on such runners are refunded. However, prices on the potential runners are slashed to offset the potential risk