BRITISH 2yo RACING
Racing Glossary


The Glossary has two main purposes :-
  • To explain the acronyms and standard phrases used on the B2yoR website.
  • To provide simple explanations of the jargon used in British racing which are not widely understood. For example in the context of 2yo racing trainers will often talk about "open knees". What does that actually mean are what are the implications?

This will be a 'living' document and additions will be made when necessary. If you have a description to contribute or a piece of jargon or a phrase you would like to see included then please send an e-mail to the Contact address for the website.

The Glossary is a single web document and the alphabetical sections can be navigated to using the letter links below.

A B C D E
F G H I J
K L M N O
P Q R S T
U V W X Y / Z

LETTER A:
Description
AUCTION RACES See Median and Maiden Auction Races.

< Back to Top of Page

In 2014 the Goffs sale moved to a new date on the eve of Royal Ascot.
LETTER B:
Description
BHB RATING, BHA RATING See "Official Rating"
BHA      British Horseracing Authority. Organisation responsible for the overall running of racing. For example the Race Fixtures planning & implementation, Official Handicapping, etc. [ Website = www.britishhorseracing.com. ]
     Formed on July 31st, 2007 by the merger of the British Horseracing Board (established 1993 to take over much of the role of The Jockey Club) and the Horseracing Regulatory Authority (formed 2006 to take over the the development of the Rules Of Racing and their implementation in place of The Jockey Club).
      Weatherbys continue to be contracted to the BHA to provide the day-to-day administration of racing. For example, receiving race entries & declarations from trainers, collecting and paying jockeys' riding fees, and so forth.
BHB British Horseracing Board, took over from the Jockey Club (q.v.) the overall running of British Racing in the 1990s. Superceded by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).
BLACK TYPE RACE Horses which have won, or placed in, important races are printed in Bold Text (as opposed to normal text) in Sales Catalogues, capitalised for winners of such events. This has led to the use of the term 'Black Type' to refer to the races which can engender the use of bold text. In British flat racing the important races are the Group (1-3) and Listed races. [See the - Article - on this site which gives the history of Classic, Pattern, Group & Listed race names.]
BLINKERS See also 'Headgear'.
One of the types of Headgear used in British Racing whose use must be declared in advance with the letter 'b' being used on the Racecard to denote that use. Made up of a cloth head mask which fits over the horses head with holes cut for the eyes and ears. The mask then has blinkers attached to it on the rear edge of the eye holes. Each Blinker is a solid, usually plastic, curved half cup which prevents the horse from being able to see behind it, and also in some part to the side depending on the size of the cups.
The following Section of this website gives more details on Headgear including example Pictures.
BOX-WALKER  [See also - Stall Vices.]
 As it sounds, a horse who paces the stall when they are kept in stables. Often a sign of a nervous horse and can be detrimental to their development as a racehorse.
BREATHING PROBLEMS  [See also - Hobday (Operation), Tie-Back (Operation), Tracheotomy (Operation), Firing (Acid & Hot)]
 The racing horse should only breath through it's nose and not through the mouth. Much of the use of nosebands and tongue-ties relates to trying to stop them breathing through the mouth (which increases the contamination of the lower airways and is usually a sign of a problem with the horse's upper airways and/or soft palate) and keeping the correct air paths open & clear. 
 The air from the nasal passages goes to the lungs via the Pharynx (a collapsible muscular tube which closes when swallowing to ensure food doesn't 'go down the wrong way' in human terms), then the Larynx (the 'voicebox) and then down the windpipe to the lungs. The larynx has a muscular double-gate entrance which needs to be held open for the horse to breathe. 
 The horse can get damage, paralysis, infections etc. which mean that the Pharynx and/or the Larynx do not operate properly. In the case of the Pharynx the 'tube' is not held open fully and restricts breathing for example, in the Larynx it is common to see paralysis of the left side and this means that the double-gate does not open properly and causes an obstruction. 
 There are various operations that can be done to stiffen up themuscles, connective tissue etc. in the Pharynx or Larynx to ensure they are held open fully (if not correctly). For instance if the paralysis means the muscular flap is not retracting correctly it can be 'fired' to stiffen it so that it does. This can be done in either area. 
BREEZE-UP SALE   Public Sales for 2yo horses usually held early in the turf season. The horses will perform a gallop/canter (the 'breeze-up') at a public location  before the sales to enable potential buyers judge them. Yearling sales will only allow a potential buyer to see the horse being 'trotted up' at most.
  The two original British breeze-up sales are held in April by Tattersalls (Newmarket, the Craven Breeze Up Sales) and Doncaster Bloodstock Sales (Doncaster) with the nearby racecourses being used for the 'breeze-up' in both cases. The success of those sales led to two new events in 2007 - Tattersalls held a second sale in early May (called the Guineas Breeze Up) and the Irish sales company Goffs held a new sale at Kempton Racecourse on March 9th with the 'breezes' being done one the polytrack home straight.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER C:
Description
CHEEKPIECES See also 'Headgear'.
One of the types of Headgear used in British Racing whose use must be declared in advance with the letter 'p' being used on the Racecard to denote that use. Made up of a pair of Sheepskin rolls which are wrapped around the cheekstraps of the bridle to run down the horse's cheek and stand out by around 2-3 inches. The idea is to limit the vision that the horse has behind it and to the side, similar to blinkers. A relatively new addition to the tack used on racehorses in Britain with their use first having to be declared in the early 2000s as their use increased.
The following Section of this website gives more details on Headgear including example Pictures.
CLAIMING RACES   A race in the which the weight carried reflects the price which the horse may be claimed for after the race. For example, a class 5 Claimer may have a maximum claiming price of £12,000 and runners will be allowed a 2lb reduction for each £1,000 below the maximum which they allow their horse to be claimed for (down to a minumum price level). In effect, this allows the horse's connections to 'handicap' the horse themselves in a race which reflects the horse's ability.
  After such a race is run there is a period during which claims can be made for any runner. This used to have to be done at the course but registered people can now make telephone claims. If multiple claims are received then a draw will be made from the highest claims made (it is possible to put in a claim above the advertised level). The existing owners of the horse may make a claim (or via an agent) if they do not wish to lose the horse. These are termed 'friendly claims'.
  Claiming races are common in other countries and are the basis of the racing structure in America for example. There has been a different outlook in Britain with claiming races seen as an opportunity for poor horses to get a win. Claiming another trainer's horse was seen as ungentlemanly and intimidation (direct & indirect) was quite common to stop people claiming horses out of these (and selling) races.
  There has been a drive to make claiming races more open in recent seasons and making claiming a horse a normal occurence. Higher quality 'Premier Claimers' have been introduced to try to extend the claiming race structure. In these races the maximum claiming price may be £50,000 or higher, therefore lifting claiming races out of their bargain basement associations.
CLASSIC RACE    The historical name for the five races which became identified as the most prestigious tests of the 3yo throughbred. They are the 2,000 Guineas (8 furlongs), 1,000 Guineas (8 furlongs & fillies' only) run in May at Newmarket; The Derby (12 furlongs) and The Oaks (12 furlongs & fillies' only) run at Epsom in June; the St Leger (14.6 furlongs) run at Doncaster in September.
   [See the - Article - on this site which gives the history of Classic, Pattern, Group & Listed race names.]
COUNTRY ABBREVIATIONS B2yoR uses a set of two letter codes for the countries where racing takes place. These are:  (AB) = general code for 'Abroad' meaning 'Not UK nor major racing country'; (Ar) = Argentina; (As) = Australia; (Au) = Austria; (Be) = Belgium; (Bz) = Brazil; (Ch) = Switzerland; (De) = Germany; (Fr) = France; (Ho) = Netherlands; (It) = Italy; (Jp) = Japan; (Jr) = Jersey; (KS) = Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; (NZ) = New Zealand; (SA) = South Africa; (Tr) = Turkey; (UA) = United Arab Emirates; (US) = United States;
COURSE ABBREVIATIONS B2yor uses a set of four letter codes for racecourses. These are mostly obvious such as EPSM, LEIC, etc. Racecourses with two tracks have two different codes, these are NMKT and NMKJ for the Newmarket Rowley Mile and July courses; and LING and LNGA for the Lingfield Turf and AW courses. 
 The same for letter format is used for international racecourses so that LONG = Longchamp (Fr); CURR = The Curragh (Ir); SIRO = San Siro in Milan (It); BADN = Baden-Baden (De); NASH = Nad Al Sheba (UA); etc.
CRIB-BITER See Stall Vices.
  Activity whereby a horse grabs hold of a structure (door edge, side of the food tray (i.e. the 'crib' and hence the name), etc.), arches its neck and pulls on it. A displacement activity and can be detrimental to the development of the racehorse. The horse often takes in gulps of air (see Wind-sucker) during this activity and this can affect feeding, digestion and general wellbeing.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER D:
Description
DISTANCE [Sense 1] = by how far one horse beats another in a race. See 'Finishing Distance'
[Sense 2] = In British racing to be 'beaten by a distance' means to be 20 lengths or more behind the comparison horse.
[Sense 3] = In British racing a point on a racecourse that is 240 yards before the finishing line. A Furlong is 220 yards so this point is 20 yards before the start of the final furlong in a race.
DONCASTER BLOODSTOCK AUCTIONS
[DSL, DOC, DBU]		 Major thoroughbred sales company with it's current base close to Doncaster racecourse. Have plans to move to a new purpose built facility.
 B2yoR uses a small set of abbreviations to identify the individual sales run by the various companies. [DSL], [DOC] & [DBU] are those for the main three sales at which future 2yo runners will be sold. See 'Sales Company Abbreviations'.
DOPING    Administering hormones, drugs or chemicals to improve a horse's performance on the racecourse. Many substances are allowed to be used as part of veterinary treatment but must have cleared from the horse's system before they race. Others are totally banned.
   Different jurisdictions will have a different list of banned substances. In Britain keeping this list and administering the testing to check for misuse is part of the British Horseracing Authority's (BHA, q.v.) remit.
   [See also EPO & Milkshaking.]

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER E:
Description
EPO    Short-form for the naturally occurring hormone Erythropoietin. Considered to be a performance enhancer because it increases the quantity of red blood cells in a horse (or human). The red blood cells contain the Haemoglobin molecule which carries oxygen around the body which helps with increased stamina and energy output during exercise. Living at high altitude will result in a similar increase in the red blood cell count as the body tries to deal with the 'thinner' air (and less oxygen). The use of EPO is said to increase the oxygen supply by 7-10%.
    Since it occurs naturally it is difficult to test for. Similar molecules have been developed which act like EPO but provide even greater improvements. In the US the hormone Aranesp has been cited as the likely cause for unusually good performance for certain stables.
    If it is naturally occuring why bother to test for it? The red blood cells are relatively large and dense and 'thicken' the blood (make it more viscous) and the heart has to work harder to pump the blood around the body. It's harder to pump treacle through a pipe than water. This puts the heart under stress and can lead to strokes and heart attacks. [See Doping] 
[ESTIMATES] B2yoR uses the term [Estimate] to identify the performance ratings given to 2yos during the season. This is shortened to [Est] in many of the listings tables.
EYESHIELDS See also 'Headgear'.
  One of the types of Headgear used in British Racing whose use must be declared in advance with the letter 'e' being used on the Racecard to denote that use. The term describing a number of different types of tack with the defining feature being that the aid covers the entire eye, unlike blinkers. Historically in British racing this usually referred to a full, half sphere, blinker cup which completely covered an eye socket. These were used rarely and on horses with one eye missing or damaged with the horse having little or no vision on that side.
  In the early 2000s a number of high-class Australian sprinters came to run in Britain with a number wearing an aid called a 'Pacifier' in that country. These are made up of the usual 'face mask' with two wire mesh half spheres studded into the mask to cover each eye. The horse is then looking out through the mesh but has the full range of vision to the side and behind. The most famous example was Choisir winning Group 1 sprints at Royal Ascot wearing this headgear. Some British trainers took up the use of this aid and they were put into the 'Eyeshield' category. In 2014 only 9 runs, for 3 different trainers, were made by 2yos in Eyeshields.
  The following Section of this website gives more details on Headgear including example Pictures.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER F:
Description
FINISHING DISTANCE     The distances between horses at the finish of a race. In Britain until February 24th, 2008 these began, from the 'least' end, as Short-Head, Head, Neck, Quarter Length, Half Length, Three-Quarter Length, Length and so on. Quarter Lengths where used up to one-and-three-quarters and half lengths up to 4.5 lengths.
    A good question to consider is how these finishing distances are assigned? When a pair of horses contest the finish and one is beaten a 'Head' into second it encourages you to think in purely visual terms and take the distance to be the gap that you see. But, if you 'freeze' the picture as the winner passes the line as the method to assign finishing distances you get the wrong answer in many cases. To take one example, when the horse ten lengths behind the battling pair in third is pulling up lame and ends up going past the post in fifth place behind two stronger finishers that freeze-the-picture approach is clearly incorrect.
    In human athletic races the competitiors have their finishing positions reported with a time next to their name. The Olympic 100 metres Champion beats his rivals by tenths, or hundredths, of a second, not by noses, arm's lengths or thicknesses of vests.
    Similarly, in racing, each horse has a time recorded at the end of the race. This could be reported in the Form Books but instead people expect the winning time to be given along with distances back to the beaten horses. This is partly through historical reasons when times weren't recorded until modern machinery was available and finishing distances were assessed by visual guesstimates and later by inspection of the photo-finish strip.
    Which means that the BHA Judge at the course currently assigns the distances by turning the beaten total times into the distances we are used to. The distances beaten clearly then depend upon how quickly the 'average' horse is finishing in a race. In a 5f sprint on firm going at downhill Epsom the horses may be doing in excess of 40 mph while at uphill Towcester on heavy ground over 3 miles it may be under 20mph. A horse covers half as much ground during one second in the latter example and 'One Length' is a different beaten time difference. [Again, human athletics bypasses these issues by just reporting the total time each competitior took.]
    On February 25th, 2008 the BHA implemented an amended method for reporting finishing distances. Until that date the mathematical formula the BHA Judge used took one second to equal five lengths beaten by in Flat Races and four lengths in Jumps Races. You can form your own view as to how accurate that reporting was.
    After that date the reported state of the going was factored in (i.e. by the Clerk Of The Course using their heel-and-prodder or perhaps the Going Stick along with their personal biases and agenda). In Flat Races on Fibresand or turf easier than Good-to-Soft the Judge will use five lengths per second and on Polytrack and turf at Good-to-Soft or firmer it will be increased to six lengths per second. 
     For Jumps Races the change was to use five lengths per second when the reported going was good or firmer.
     At the same time the BHA introduced a new shortest beaten margin to be a Nose and extended the use of quarter lengths up to four and a quarter lengths beaten.
FIRING    'Firing' in general refers to the cauterising of some tissue (usually connective tissue such as tendons) to encourage scar tissue to form to stiffen the tissue which may be damaged or paralysed and not performing correctly. The 'cauterising' is usually done by applying either acid or a heated piece of metal to damage the tissue and encourage scar tissue formation.
   In the past this method has mostly been used on the long tendons in the lower part of the horse's front leg. You'll be aware of the phrase 'tendon injury'. The tendons are built out of zig-zag collagen strands in the young horse to give an elastic effect. If they are damaged or overstretched the natural scar tissue that forms doesn't have the zig-zag orderliness and is often less effective and will not stand racing. Thus the 'firing' to try to toughen up the tendon.
   With the increase in breathing problems seen in thoroughbred in the last 30 years there has been an increase in operations. At the simpler end of the scale this may involve 'firing' tissue in the horse's airway to assist it to work correctly if it is damaged, paralysed or malfunctioning. See - Breathing Problems
FURLONG    British racing still uses Imperial Measures rather than the Metric Scale (i.e. metres) to report the distances that races are run over. There is pressure from some other countries to standardise on the Metric system. The US still uses the Imperial scale.
    The Mile is made up of 1,760 yards. The Furlong is one eighth of a mile = (1,760 divided by 8) = 220 yards. This distance is normally equated to be approximately 200 metres in the metric system. So that the equivalent of a British '5 furlong race' in France would be run over 1,000 metres (i.e. (5 x 200 metres) = a Kilometre which is roughly five eighths of a mile). 5 furlongs is actually a few feet short of a Kilometre but a close enough approximation.
  [See also - Distance (sense 3)]

< Back to Top of Page

LETTER G:
Description
GROUP RACE   The highest class of races in the major racing countries in Europe are split into three levels which are termed Groups. This was originally introduced in the late 1960s to enable the quality of top level races in the countries to be compared.
  The Group Race System categories are roughly defined as :- 
Group 1 - Championship races of international significance. Run without penalties and to a weight for age/sex scale. 
Group 2 - Major races just below Championship standard and also noteworthy internationally. Penalties for previous Pattern Race wins. 
Group 3 - Other important races, usually of domestic significance, including Classic Trials. Penalties for previous Pattern Race wins. 
   In other areas a version of this categorisation is used but with the 'Groups' called 'Grades'. An American Grade 1 race for example would be of similar quality to a British Group 1 (that's the theory....).
   [See the - Article - on this site which gives the history of Classic, Pattern, Group & Listed race names.]

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER H:
Description
HAND, HANDS HIGH Horses heights are usually reported in 'Hands' and a horse is often described as being, for example, "16 hands high" in the same way we would say a human is "6 feet tall". 
  The height of the horse is measured to the top of the Withers and not to the top of it's head. The Withers refers to the bony projection which forms the highest part of the back. If you imagine a rider sitting on a saddle then this is nestled into the dip in the horse's back. If the rider places their hands in front of them on the the raised part of the horse's back then they are leaning on the Withers.
  A 'Hand' refers to the width of a notional, average, hand and is defined as being Four Inches in length. 3 hands make up one foot (approx 0.3 metres). [Try this with your own hand and foot and you ought to get roughly three hand widths to your foot length].
  Therefore a horse noted as being "16 Hands High" is 16 x 4 = 64 inches (5 foot 4 inches) to the top of their Withers. The top of their head will be around six foot depending how they carry their neck.
   16 hands would be a good size for a Throughbred racehorse on the Flat.
   A horse height can include fractions of a hand. For example a horse given as 15.2 hands high is 15 x 4 = 60 inches plus the 2 inches that the .2 refers to. Therefore 62 inches high. You will normally only see these fractions as .1, .2 or .3 because the 4 inches of the hand can only be split in 3 lesser inch categories.
HEADGEAR  In British Racing there are 6 types of Headgear for the horse whose use currently have to be declared when the horse is declared to run at the 48-hour stage. They are Blinkers ('b'), Cheekpieces ('p'), Hoods ('h'), Visors ('v'), Eyeshields ('e') and Tongue Ties ('t'). The lowercase letters in brackets indicate the abbreviation used in most British Racecards and Form Books to denote the use of each type. If the number '1' is added to the letter, for example 'b1', it indicates the first time that a horse has worn the aid.
 The entries in this Glossary for each headgear type briefly describe them. The following Section of this website gives more details including example Pictures.
[ See also - Blinkers, Cheekpieces, Hoods, Visors, Eyeshields & Tongue Ties. ]
HOBDAY OPERATION  [See also - Breathing Problems, Tie-back, Tracheotomy, Firing]
 Problems with getting air to the horse's lungs can be caused by damage or malfunctioning tissue obstructing the airways at some point. There are various operations that can be done to stiffen up the muscles, connective tissue etc. in the Pharynx or Larynx to ensure they are held open fully (if not correctly). For instance if an area of paralysis means the muscular flap is not retracting correctly it can be 'fired' to stiffen it so that it does. This can be done in either area. 
 The hobday operation involves surgically removing a piece of tissue (often paralysed) which makes more room and, again, causes scar tissue to form. This is done in more severe cases.
HOOD See also 'Headgear'.
One of the types of Headgear used in British Racing whose use must be declared in advance with the letter 'h' being used on the Racecard to denote that use. Made up of a cloth head mask which fits over the horses head with holes cut for the eyes and with no vision restriction aids, such as Blinkers added. Instead of holes for the ears the defining feature of a 'Hood' is that the ears are encased in shaped cloth covers attached to the mask. The idea being that reducing the amount of sound the horse can hear will help to keep it calmer and more focussed on racing. Horses may also run with cotton wool, or similar material, stuffed in the ears to try to produce the same calming effect.
The following Section of this website gives more details on Headgear including example Pictures.
HORSE 
STANDARDISATION		 Method for assessing the relative level of form achieved in individual 2yo races by taking into account the physical capabilities of the runners (as assessed by Paddock Review). See 'Race Standardisation'

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER I:
Description
 

< Back to Top of Page

LETTER J:
Description
THE JOCKEY CLUB     Formed around 1750 and soon moved from the its initial meeting place at the Star And Garter in Pall Mall, London to the current buildings on the High Street in Newmarket. The rules for fair racing this group of "Noblemen & Gentlemen" produced for the events on Newmarket Heath proved successful and were adopted across Britain as the standard for horseracing. Over time The Jockey Club took on the responsibility of being the official governing body for racing in Britain.
     The Jockey Club is a self elected body of around 130 people which, of course, can lead to criticism of the decisions they take. In 1993 the British Horseracing Board (BHB) was formed to take over the government and development of British Racing. The Jockey Club retained a role as regulator, with responsibility for devising and enforcing the Rules of Racing. In 2006 they passed this role onto the Horseracing Regulatory Authority (HRA). On July 2007 the BHB and HRA merged to form the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).
     The Jockey Club now concentrates on three commercial activities. It owns and manages 14 racecourses under the name of Jockey Club Racecourses (formerly the Racecourse Holdings Trust) including Newmarket and Cheltenham. Jockey Club Estates manages 4,500 acres of land and property around Newmarket and 500 acres in Lambourn. These are nearly all racing oriented such as training gallops and stables. It also runs the not for profit "Racing Welfare" charity to provide support for people working in the racing industry. 
[ Website =   www.thejockeyclub.co.uk   ]

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER K:
Description
 

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER L:
Description
LISTED RACE    The level of higher quality races below those classified as Group Races. Until the mid-1980s under the control of a variety of organisations including Breeders' Associations and Sales Catalogue Committees. Control and standard setting passed to the parts Jockey Club Race Planning Committees and their successors in the BHB (which has become the BHA in 2006).
   [See the - Article - on this site which gives the history of Classic, Pattern, Group & Listed race names.]

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER M:
Description
MAIDEN AUCTION RACE 2yo race whereby the horses carry different weights depending upon the prices they cost at the yearling or breeze-up sales.
MEDIAN AUCTION RACE 2yo race whereby horses qualify to run in the races depending upon the median price their sire achieved at the yearling and breeze-up sales.
MEDIAN PRICE   The Median figure is produced by ranking all the sire's yearling sales in a group from highest to lowest. The 'middle' figure down this ranking is then chosen as the Median figure. If there are an even number of figures in the list the middle two are chosen, added together and divided by two to get the Median.
  Why bother with a Median figure? The main reason is that averages can be misleading and distorted by a small number of notably high prices. If a sire has 5 yearlings sold, for example, and four sell for 10,000 gns and one sells for 60,000 gns the average figure is 20,000 gns but 80% of his yearlings made much less than that so it is not a representative figure. The median in the example would be a representative 10,000gns.
MILKSHAKING     A method of trying to improve a horse's performance by passing an alkaline substance (often similar to Bicarbonate of Soda and hence the name) into the stomach before a race.
   The horse (and humans) produce Lactic Acid as a bi-product of the production of energy during exercise. The build-up of this acid acts as a feedback mechanism and induces fatigue and muscle pain and decreased performance. If the build-up could be limited or the feedback mechanism lessened the muscles can perform at a higher level for longer. However, the feedback mechanism is there fore a reason and this practise can cause negative side effects.
    The HRA (q.v.) introduced random pre-race testing for this in early 2007 although some said it was not in use in Britain. 

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER N:
Description
NURSERY RACE  2yo Handicap race. The bulk of British 2yo races during the turf season, such as maiden and novice events, have the weights carried by the runners set by the race conditions. Since there is no established 'form' for juveniles at the start of each season the dedicated BHA handicapper (Matthew Tester) starts to build a handicap for the 2yos. By early July enough 2yos will have run enough times to allowed handicap races to be framed. 
 The runners in these races have the weights they have to carry set by their Official Rating (q.v.) they have. Around 20% of the 2yo races from July through to the end of the season will be Nurseries.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER O:
Description
OFFICIAL RATING  (OR) The BHA (formerly BHB, and Jocley Club prior to that) handicappers keep the official set of ratings of racehorses in training. For the flat these are on the scale 0-140 (i.e. up to 10 stones which equals 140lbs with 14 pounds (lbs.) to one Stone in Imperial Measures). The official rating that is given to a horse by the BHA handicapper will determine what weight it will carry in handicap races. It will also determine what races a horse is qualified to run in where the race conditions have a range of ratings for eligible runners.

The official ratings for 2yos are developed during the first three months of the season as the BHA 2yo handicapper collects enough collateral form indicators. The 2yo handicap races (nurseries) start in early July at which point the BHA handicapper will not publish the official ratings while they assess the form in the early 2yo nurseries.

The BHA number is termed the 'Official Rating' to distinguish it from the large variety of other handicap ratings that are available.

The abbreviation "OR" is used on this site for Official Rating.
OPEN KNEES [Corrections should be sent to Contact address] When a bone grows (in humans, horses, etc.) it does so by producing new bone cells at particular points on the bone. On long bones such as those in the leg the growth points are at either end of the bone. This means that in a growing horse new bone will being produced at the ends of the bones which make up either side of the knee joint. The new bone cells are less dense than normal bone and show up on X- Rays. 

A trainer will therefore have 2yos knees X-rayed to check whether they are still growing. They will probably not want to stress the horse with hard training/racing until the growth has minimised or stopped. 

A horse's bones stop growing, in sequence, from the ground up at different times during their development over a range from 18-36 months old or more.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER P:
Description
PADDOCK RATING Single figure given to a 2yo after Paddock Review which related to the Official Rating level it is likely to be able to run to as a 2yo.
PADDOCK REVIEW The activity of judging a 2yo horse as a physical specimen by visual inspection. This will lead to a Paddock Rating for the horse and a summary of it's likely aptitude and development.
PATTERN RACING, 
The 'PATTERN'		   In British Racing 'Pattern Races' are the same set of events as the 'Group Races' (Groups 1-3). The people tasked by the Jockey Club in the mid-1960s to investigate and make recommendations on race planning at the top level was called "The Pattern of Racing Committee". The success of their work led to a European level Committee and the 'Pattern' term continued.
  Pattern Races and 'The Pattern' came to decribe the top level races as a whole, spread through the season with championship tests and progressions through the season at various distances for different ages and genders of thoroughbred.
   [See the - Article - on this site which gives the history of Classic, Pattern, Group & Listed race names.]
PINHOOKING Term used to describe the practise of buying foals at public sales and then preparing them to sell as yearlings at the sales. The aim is to choose foals who will develop well as physical specimens and/or whose pedigrees will be more fashionable in a year's time so that they can (hopefully) be sold at a profit.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER Q:
Description
 

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER R:
Description
RACE STANDARDISATION Generally used handicapping technique whereby the relative level of form achieved in a race is assumed to be similar, in similar races, year in and year out. In 2yo races it can lead to misleading estimates of the strength of form from maiden races. It also often means that 'black-type' races are given ratings well above the actual achievement because that is what is 'expected' in that type of race. See Horse Standardisation.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER S:
Description
SALES COMPANY ABBREVIATIONS There are a small number of Thoroughbred Sales Companies which sell most of the 2yos that run in Britain each year. A number of these run more than one sale that will produce 2yos at different times of the year. B2yoR uses a set of abbreviations to identify an individual sale that a 2yo was bought at. These are - [TO1], [TO2], [TO3], [TDC], [TBU] for Tattersalls (Newmarket) October Sales parts 1-3, December and Breeze up sales; [DSL] and [DOC] for Doncaster Bloodstock Auctions St Leger and October Sales, [DBU for Doncaster Breeze-up sale; [TIE] for all Tattersalls Ireland Sales; [GOF] for all Goffs (Fairyhouse) Irish sales; [ASC] for Ascot Sales (a minor sale despite the venue); [DEA] for a Deauville (France) sales & [DVA] for Deauville August; [KES] for Keeneland (US) September Sales; [CLD] for Calder (Florida) 2yo sales; [FST] For a Fasig Tipton company US located sales, [FSK] Fasig-Tipton Kentucky sales; [SAU] Saratoga (US) August Sales.
STALL VICES   Activities and traits shown by horses kept in training stables which are seen as likely to be detrimental to their development at racehorses. They have similarities to the 'displacement activities' that animals held in zoos show (think of the zoo Lion pacing backward & forward and shaking it's head..
  These vices will have to be noted at the sales and may put off some buyers.
  See Crib-biter, Windsucker, Box-walker.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER T:
Description
TATTERSALLS SALES COMPANY, 
[TO1, TDC, TBU, etc.)		 The largest throughbred sales company in Europe with their main offices and sales facility in Newmarket. They also have an Irish sales facility.
 B2yoR uses a small set of abbreviations to identify individual sales. [TO1], [TDC], etc. represent the set for the Tattersalls company. See 'Sales Company Abbreviations'.
TIEBACK OPERATION  [See also - Breathing Problems, Hobday (Operation), Tracheotomy, Firing ]
  Problems with getting air to the horse's lungs can be caused by damage or malfunctioning tissue obstructing the airways at some point. There are various operations that can be done to stiffen up the muscles, connective tissue etc. in the Pharynx or Larynx to ensure they are held open fully (if not correctly). For instance if an area of paralysis means the muscular flap is not retracting correctly it can be 'fired' to stiffen it so that it does. This can be done in either area. 
  In more severe cases stitches may be used to hold open the airway and this is termed a tie-back operation and is often done along with a hobday procedure.
TO, Time Out; Acronym used to identify a particular run by an individual 2yo. The "TO" is normally used with a qualifier to denote which run is being addressed. For example :-
  • FTO = First Time Out, i.e. the horse's debut run.
  • STO = Second Time Out, the horses second 2yo run.
  • 3TO, 4TO,......10TO,.......19TO, etc. to identify a third time out or later run.
  • NTO & LTO are used for Next TO (the next run after the current one being addressed.) and Last TO (the previous run to the one being addressed).
TONGUE TIES See also 'Headgear'.
  One of the types of Headgear used in British Racing whose use must be declared in advance with the letter 't' being used on the Racecard to denote that use. Runners wear Tongue Ties to keep the tongue in place and to stop it moving back into the throat and interfering with the horse's breathing ("swallowing the tongue"). The tongue tie can be made out of a variety of materials with strips of ladies' tights and specially made leather straps amongst the most common types. They are fitted across the top of the tongue, and then secured under the horse's bottom jaw tightly enough to hold the tongue down.
  The following Section of this website gives more details on Headgear including example Pictures.
TRACHEOTOMY   [See also - Breathing Problems, Hobday (Operation), Tie-back (Operation), Firing ]
   Problems with getting air to the horse's lungs can be caused by damage or malfunctioning tissue obstructing the airways at some point. There are various operations that can be done to stiffen up the muscles, connective tissue etc. in the Pharynx or Larynx to ensure they are held open fully (if not correctly). For instance if an area of paralysis means the muscular flap is not retracting correctly it can be 'fired' to stiffen it so that it does. This can be done in either area. 
   In the most severe cases a tracheotomy is done where a plastic or brass tube is put directly into the windpipe and out through a valve on the underside of the neck (i.e. bypassing any of the compromised nose-pharynx-larynx route). A bung will normally be placed into the tube in everyday conditions but removed when the horses is exerting itself to allow clearer breathing.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER U:
Description
 

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER V:
Description
VISORS See also 'Headgear'.
One of the types of Headgear used in British Racing whose use must be declared in advance with the letter 'v' being used on the Racecard to denote that use. Very similar to Blinkers which are made up of a cloth head mask which fits over the horses head with holes cut for the eyes and ears. The mask then has blinkers attached to it on the rear edge of the eye holes. Each Blinker is a solid, usually plastic, curved half cup which prevents the horse from being able to see behind it, and also in some part to the side depending on the size of the cups. The defining feature which makes a Blinker into a Visor is that two narrow slits are cut into the centre of the plastic cup. This allows the horse to have some, very limited, backwards vision.
The following Section of this website gives more details on Headgear including example Pictures.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER W:
Description
WEATHERBYS Company contracted to the BHA to provide the day-to-day administration of racing. For example, receiving race entries & declarations from trainers, collecting and paying jockeys' riding fees, and so forth.
The company also produce other products including Bloodstock related books and listings. The origins of the company go back to the 18th century when the original 'Mr Weatherby' undertook work on recording pedigrees.
WEIGHT-FOR-SEX Term used to describe the weight allowance Fillies get from Colts/Geldings because of their gender. This is currently 5lb in most 2yo races. It is reduced to 3lb in some higher class 2yo races.
WIND-SUCKER See Stall Vices and Crib-biter.
Activity whereby a horse takes in gulps of air and this can affect feeding, digestion and general wellbeing. Usually associated with some form of 'Crib-biting' whereby the horse grabs hold of some structure, aches it's neck and pulls on it.

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER X:
Description
 

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER Y:
Description
 

< Back to Top of Page
LETTER Z:
Description
 

< Back to Top of Page
© British 2yo Racing. All rights reserved.