The Language of Horse Racing

A surprisingly large number of people make a living from horse-racing: jockeys, trainers, stable staff, valets, clerks of courses and their staff, racing journalists, bookmakers, settlers, tic tacs, betting-shop managers and counter clerks, compilers of form guides, and even a few professional punters. One man’s career is another’s hobby, and for many more people racing is a pleasurable pursuit. A list of these would include punters of the armchair and more active varieties, amateur jockeys, members of the Jockey Club, stewards, and, most of all, racehorse owners, very few of whom ever make any kind of profit from the game. Neither of these lists is remotely complete. Think of handicappers, commentators, starters and their assistants, among those whose careers are in racing, and among the hobbyists are book-makers like myself. The racing connections stretch on and on, each group having its own stock of words and phrases which make up the language of horse-racing.