Race horse terminology: how different kinds are classified and described

Horse racing is a world with its own language, definitions and categories. Ordinary words often have a specific meaning that may be different to how you’d expect them to be used. This is most obvious when describing the race horses themselves. Although some of the terms will be easily understood by anyone with a passing interest in horses, others may seem counter-intuitive and only really make sense within a racing and horse-breeding context.

Place informed bets

With this in mind, here is a brief guide to some of the terms used to describe horses in the racing world. Knowing these will help you to make informed decisions on which horse to back if you’re thinking of having a flutter this season. You’ll be able to get the most out of betting tips for Cheltenham 2021 as well as the daily updates and expert commentary available on the same site.

Although due to lockdown rules crowds are not allowed, the 2021 Cheltenham Festival will be going ahead with full coverage on radio and TV, and of course, bookies will be taking bets and competing for custom with special offers and favourable odds. With this in mind, it’s worth reading expert tips on all of the events, and understanding the language used.

Classification by age

Age is one of the most common factors by which race horses are classified and described. In this category, the term ‘horse’ actually refers to a male horse aged five years or older. Before this, it would be a colt: a young male horse up to the age of four.

Female horses are fillies up to the age of four and mares aged five and over. A foal refers to a newborn horse up to the age of one, and a yearling is a one-year-old horse of either gender.

All horses have an official birthday of January the 1^st in the year that they were born, so some horses may be more mature than others even though they’re classed as being the same age. The youngest they can start racing is when aged two, and while flat racers may be retired as young as four, others, especially jump horses which peak later, may continue racing till the age of 12 or older.

Breeding

The father of a horse is called a sire, and the mother is called a dam. In the case of horses used exclusively for breeding, the males are referred to as stallions and the females as broodmares. A broodmare sire is a male horse whose daughters are broodmares, and a broodmare dam is a female horse that has produced more broodmares.

Performance

A horse that has yet to win a race is called a maiden, regardless of its gender. If its performance is improving, it is called a progressive. A backward is a horse that is physically immature for its age, while a gelding is a male horse that has been castrated to improve its temperament.

A sprinter is a horse that is best suited to shorter distances. They usually have strong, prominent muscles and a rapid stride. A miler is a horse best suited to one-mile courses, while a stayer is a long-distance runner, best suited to courses of one mile and six furlongs or longer. These are usually lean and supple with a long stride.

A banker is a horse considered likely to win. The phrase “off the bit” or “on the bridle” is used during a race to describe a horse being encouraged along by its jockey. “On the bit” or “off the bridle” means a horse that is doing well and still has plenty of energy, and doesn’t necessarily need extra encouragement.

Official colours

All race horses are classed as being one of seven official colours. Grey (Gr) covers everything from bright white to battleship grey, while Bay (B) essentially means a brown horse with a black mane and tail. A Bay may be any shade from bright to very dark brown, where it appears to be black. Horses that are actually classified as Black (Bl), that is pure black, are actually very rare however, as are pure White (Wh) horses.

A Brown (Br) horse is one with a brown mane and tail as well as a brown coat. The last two categories are Chestnut (Ch), which is a reddish-brown or ginger horse with a matching tail and mane, and Roan (Ro), for a horse that has an even mix of white hair with any other colour.

Hopefully, this handy guide will help you to sort out the potential winners from the also-rans. In any case, it should make perusing the racing guides much more interesting and informative.