NZTBA Kewl Dictionary

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Words in italics have their own listing.
Please send any questions about thoroughbred
racing and breeding terms and jargon to
Sally Cassels-Brown: sally@nzthoroughbred.co.nz A

"A"

Age
All thoroughbreds foaled in the southern hemisphere celebrate their birthday on 1 August, no matter when they were actually born. In the northern hemisphere all horses share 1 January as their official birthday.

Agent
A person who acts for another, for instance, buying and selling horses on behalf of. their owners, or booking rides on behalf of jockeys.

Aggregate
The total amount of all sales made at a horse sale. For example, 500 horses may be sold for an aggregate of $10 million.

Agistment
Racehorses are agisted when they spell or rest from training or racing; and broodmares are agisted when they are being cared for when they are pregnant and after they give birth. Agistment usually refers to spelling services provided for a fee by professional horse farms.

Apprentice
Refers to a young jockey serving an apprenticeship to a licensed trainer while learning the skills of race-riding. Apprentice jockeys may claim weight allowances in specially allocated apprentice jockey races and handicap races.
The current apprentice allowances in New Zealand are:
0 - 5 wins       4 kg
6 - 30 wins     3 kg
31 - 60 wins   2 kg
61 - 100 wins 1 kg

Allowance
The weight concession a horse is given to compensate for its rider’s inexperience (an apprentice allowance), its sex or age.

Auctioneer
The person who conducts the sale of horse through a sale-ring, receiving and calling bids from potential buyers of each horse.

Average
A key indicator of the success or otherwise of a horse sale. The average price is calculated by dividing the aggregate by the number of horses sold. For example, if 550 horses are sold for a total of $10 million, the average price is $20,000.

"B"

Barrier
The metal gates where the horses are assembled to start the race; also known as the starting gates.

Bay
Colour of a horse: brown, from a yellow-tan to bright auburn, with black ‘points’ (nose, mane, tail, bottom part of the legs).

Bidder
A person attempting to buy a horse at an auction sale. Bidders indicate their bids to bid-spotters around the sale-ring, or the auctioneer.

Bid-spotter
A person whose job it is to stand just outside the auction ring, spot bids made by bidders sitting or standing around the ring and convey them accurately and quickly to the auctioneer.

Birdcage
The fenced area where horses parade just before going out onto the track. Jockeys sometimes mount up here, hence its other name, mounting yard. Birdcage is a term peculiar to New Zealand racing and no-one is sure where it came from. Perhaps the old-fashioned yards with their wrought iron fencing looked like birdcages?

Bit
Piece of metal which is placed in the horse’s mouth over its tongue and is attached at either end to the bridle.

Black
A relatively rare - and therefore much-admired - colour in horses. A true black horse has no trace of brown hair on its body.

Black type
Bold face type, used in sales catalogues and industry publications, to distinguish horses that have won or placed in stakes races. Stakeswinners are printed as: ETHEREAL; while stakesplaced horses are printed as: Ebony Honor.

Blaze
Large, white vertical marking on a horse’s face. Depending on its shape and exact location a blaze may be described more exactly as a snip, stripe, star etc.

Bleeder
A horse that bleeds from the nose. In New Zealand a horse that bleeds in this way cannot race for three months after a bleeding attack. If it bleeds a second time it is not allowed to race again in this country.

Blinkers
A cup-shaped device used to limit a horse’s vision to keep his mind on the task of racing and prevent him from moving towards or away from other horses around him. Also called a "hood". A trainer must get permission from the stipendiary stewards before using blinkers on a horse, and again before removing them.

Blood-typing
A way to check a horse’s parentage. All registered thoroughbreds in New Zealand must be blood-typed in the first year of their life.

Book

The group of mares being served by a stallion in a season.
The number of rides accepted by a jockey on a raceday.

Bred
A horse is considered to be bred in the country where it is born, regardless of the nationality of its owners, the location of its sire or where it ends up racing. So a New Zealand-bred horse is one that is born in New Zealand. This is shown by (NZ) printed after the horse’s name.

Breeder
The owner of the dam of the foal at the time it is born is the foal’s breeder.

Breeze up
A moderate gallop, usually over 200 metres, used to display a horse’s athleticism, or "readiness to run" before it is offered at a sale. Breeze ups are usually held before sales of broken but unraced two-year-olds.

Bridle
A piece of equipment, usually made of leather or plastic, which fits on a horse’s head. Other pieces of equipment (eg reins, bit) used by the rider to control the horse are attached to the bridle.

Broken (in)
Educated – that is, the horse has been taught to wear a bridle and bit, and carry a saddle, to bear a rider on its back and respond to the rider’s commands. A horse’s education will also include being boxed in a stable, transported in a horse float, tied up in an open stall, hosed down and undergoing procedures such as drenching for worms – as well as all the skills required to race.

Broodmare
A female horse that has been served by a stallion and is used to produce foals. A female racehorse may continue to race for a short period of time – usually no more than three months - after she conceives to a stallion. Quite often mares that have been highly strung racehorses calm down and race more successfully when they are in foal. For instance, Smiling Like won the 2000 New Zealand Cup and 2001 Wellington Cup after she had conceived. Once she has given birth a mare is retired to stud and does not return to racing.

Brown
A horse colour that is distinguished from bay by the absence of black on the lower legs, and from black by the presence of brown hairs around the muzzle and belly.

By
Refers to the sire of a horse, as in "This horse is by Centaine" – meaning Centaine is its sire, or father

"C"

Cannon (bone)
The long, straight bone between the fetlock and the knee on the leg of a horse.

Catalogue
The book published by a sales company containing pedigrees and family race records for each of the lots to be offered at an upcoming sale. The lots are numbered and the catalogue order is usually determined alphabetically by the names of the horses themselves or (in the case of eg yearling sales) the names of the horse’s dams. Catalogues are usually freely available at the sale.

Chestnut
Horse colour that may vary from a red-yellow to a golden-yellow.
If two chestnut horses are mated, the resulting foal must be a chestnut.

Classic
Strictly refers to the major three-year-old races held in many countries but originating in England: the Oaks, Derby, 1000 (for fillies) & 2000 (for fillies, colts and geldings) Guineas and St Leger. Runners in these races carry set weights – the only weight allowances given are to fillies racing against colts and geldings.
More loosely used to refer to a major race, especially one at the classic distance (2000 metres in North America, 2400 metres in Europe).

Colours
The coloured jackets and hats worn by jockeys in a race. Sometimes called "silks" because they were traditionally made of silk; nowadays they’re made of a silky synthetic material. Owners usually have their own colours, but can choose to use their trainer’s colours.
Horses come in colours too, of course! Approximately, sixty per cent of thoroughbreds are bay, brown or black, 25 per cent chestnut and 15 per cent grey.

Colt
A male horse before the age of four that has not been castrated.

Commentator
The person who gives a verbal commentary on the race which is broadcast through the on-course sound system, on radio and/or television.
The best commentators become racing celebrities in their own right eg Bill Collins in Australia and Dave Clarkson and Peter Kelly in New Zealand. Well-known modern commentators include Bryan Martin in Melbourne and Tony Lee in New Zealand.
Also known as the racecaller.

Conformation
The physical make-up and proportions of horse; how it is "put together."

Crop

The number of foals by a sire in a season eg "His second crop was especially good."
A group of horses born in a single season eg "This is a very good crop of three-year-olds."

"D"

Dam
The mother of a horse.

Damsire
The sire of a horse’s dam; in human terms, the maternal grandfather. Also known as broodmare sire.

Dead-heat
Two or more horses finishing in an exact tie at the finish of a race.

Distance
The length o a race. Race distances in New Zealand range from 800 metres (=a metric half-mile) for two-year-olds in the spring, to 6400 metres (=four metric miles), the distance of the Great Northern Steeplechase held at Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckand every June.

New Zealand uses the metric system to measure race distances; so does Australia, France, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and South America.
England, Ireland and the United States use miles and furlongs to measure race distances.

Draft
A group of horses presented for sale by a stud, agent or breeder.

"E"

"F"

Favourite
The horses that punters have bet most money on to win a race.

Fetlock
Joint found between the cannon bone and the long pastern bone – equivalent to the human ankle.

Field
The horses in a race.

Filly
A female horse before the age of four. In the northern hemisphere "filly" also applies to a four-year-old female horse.

Flank
A very sensitive area between the horse’s ribs and hip.

Flat race
A race contested on level ground, rather than over jumps.

Float
A specially designed trailer for transporting horses.

Foal
1. (noun) A horse of either sex in the first year of its life, especially when it is still suckling its mother.

2. (verb) To give birth.

Formguide
A publication which lists all the races and runners for race meetings during a week or weekend. Includes detailed information about each runner’s past race record (=form), as well as its age, sex, pedigree, owners, trainer(s) and jockey. New Zealand examples are: Raceform (published in The Dominion), On Form (published in the NZ Herald), Best Bets and Turf Digest.

Frog
The V-shaped, pliable support structure on the bottom of a horse’s foot.

Front-runner
A horse whose racing style is to get to the lead as soon as possible after the start – and stay there as long as possible!

Full-brother, Full-sister
Horses that share the same sire and dam.

Furlong
An old measure of distance no longer officially used in New Zealand but still used in informal conversation about races and training, and officially in some other countries eg England and Ireland.

Equals one-eighth of a mile; 220 yards; 660 feet; or about 200 metres. Five furlongs equals about 1000 metres; eight furlongs equals one mile or about 1600 metres.

See Distance.

"G"

Gelding
A castrated male horse of any age. If a colt is going to be gelded it is usually done when he is a yearling or a two-year-old.

Grey
About 15 per cent of thoroughbreds are grey. Grey horses are usually born chestnut, bay or brown with grey hairs becoming more obvious with age.
Every grey horse must have at least one grey parent; however, the mating of two grey horses does not necessarily result in a grey foal.

Group Races
These are the most prestigious races rated in three categories: Group 1 (most prestigious), Group 2 and Group 3. These ratings are applied to selected races around the world as agreed by an international committee which reviews the ratings each year. They are called Graded Races in the North America. This system was established in 1971.

"H"

Halter
Like a bridle, but without a bit, which is used to lead a horse.

Hand
The unit of measurement for describing the height of a horse from the top of the wither to the ground. A hand equals four inches or ten centimetres. So a horse that is 16 hh (hands high) is 16 x 10 cm = 160cm = 1.6 metres tall.

Handicap
A type of race in which the weight given to each horse to carry is set by the handicapper according to past performance. The aim is – in theory at least – to give all horses in the race an equal chance of winning it. The Melbourne, Auckland Wellington, New Zealand and Sydney Cups are handicap races.

Head
A margin between horses in a race-finish. Literally, the length of a horse’s head.

Hoof
The foot of the horse.

"I"

Inquiry
An investigation of a race by the judicial panel, usually following a protest by the stipendiary stewards or jockeys who believe that one or more runners may have suffered interference caused by other runners.

Interference
A situation during a race where a horse is obstructed or hampered by the movements of another runner.

"J"

Jockey
The rider of a horse. Most jockeys in New Zealand are full- or part-time professionals.

Judge
The raceday official who declares the finishing order of each race and the margins between the runners.

Jumper
A horse that competes in races over hurdle (smaller) or steeplechase (bigger) jumps.

Juvenile
Two-year-old racehorse. A juvenile race is one restricted to two-year-olds.

"K"

"L"

Length
A margin between horses in a race-finish, equal to the length of a horse from nose to tail, about 8 feet or 2.4 metres.

Listed Race
A stakes race below Group quality. Group and Listed Races are collectively known as black type races because the names of winners and placegetters in these races are printed in bold black type in sales catalogues.

Lot
A horse entered in an auction sale. Each lot is given a number, and the horses are offered in numerical order.

"M"

Maiden
A horse that has not won a race. A maiden race is limited to horses that have not yet won a race.

Mare
Female horse four-years-old or older. May apply to racemares or breeding mares (also known as broodmares).

Middle Distance
Describes races from 2000 metres (=one-and-a-quarter miles) up to, and including 2400 metres (=one-and-a-half miles) in distance.

Mile
A race of one mile in distance. Still used in New Zealand to refer to races of 1600 metres in distance, though this metric mile is short of a true mile by 32 metres.

Mudlark
A horse that races well on wet tracks. Also known as a mudder.

"N"

Near Side
Left side of a horse and the side on which a rider mounts a horse. Hence, near shoulder, near fore (=left front leg) and near hind (=left back leg).

Neck
A margin about the length of a horse’s neck. Equals one-quarter of a length; about two feet; or 60 cm.

Non Stud Book
This means a horse "of unregistered pedigree" - that is, a horse whose pedigree cannot be traced back through eight recorded crosses of Stud Book thoroughbreds.
It is possible for Non Stud Book families to be admitted to the Stud Book, with the approval of the International Stud Book Committee, if eight recorded crosses can be proved.

Nose
Smallest margin between finishers in a race; also called a short head.

"O"

Off-course
Away from the racetrack. Applies specifically to betting that takes place in TAB agencies, on the internet and by telephone.

Off side
Right side of a horse.hence off shoulder, off fore (=right front leg) and off hind (=right back leg).

Off the bit
A horse being urged along during a race by its rider, losing contact with the bit in its mouth.

On-course
At the racetrack. Describes the betting turnover, crowd attendance, services, facilities and promotions.

On the bit
A horse running comfortably and well within itself, still having a grip on the bit.

Out of
Refers to a horse in relation to its dam as in "Octagonal is out of Eight Carat."

The word "from" is also used; and in writing you will sometimes see "ex" or simply "x".

"P"

Passed (in)
A horse that does not meets its reserve price may be passed in by the seller and leave the ring unsold.

Pastern
The area on a horse’s leg between the fetlock joint and the hoof.

Pedigree
A horse's ancestry, usually set out in a standard format. A six-generation pedigree includes every ancestor back to the great-great-great-great-grand-sires and -dams.

Penetrometer
A mechanical device used in New Zealand to provide a rating that further describes the track condition. A rating of 0.5 to 2.5 is Firm; 2.6 to 3.5 is Easy; 3.6 to 4.5 is Slow; and 4.6 or more is Heavy.

Photo finish
A race result so close that it’s necessary for the judge to see the photo of the finish to determine the winner and/or the placegetters.

Progeny
The offspring of a sire or a mare.

"Q"

Quarantine
Horses that travel from one country to another must spend time in isolation, or quarantine, before they can race or go to a stud.

"R"

Racecaller
The person who describes the race for on-course and off-course audiences of a race-meeting. Also known as the commentator.

Racecourse
The place where a race-meeting takes place. In New Zealand it may be a large, modern facility with spacious grandstands, lawns, gardens, parade rings, stabling areas and a team of professional staff. Or it may be a small country course with older stands and facilities that are maintained on a voluntary basis by the members of the racing club committee. New Zealand currently uses 52 tracks for thoroughbred racing. Also known as a racetrack, or racing venue.

Racing club
The organisation which owns or leases a racecourse and presents race meetings there. Its sources of income may include membership subscriptions, betting, catering, social functions, sponsorships and/or fund-raising. New Zealand currently has 71 thoroughbred racing clubs.

Reins
Long straps, usually made of leather, that are connected to the bit and are used by the rider to control the horse.

Reserve (price)
A minimum price set by the seller for a horse offered at public auction.

"S"

Saddle
A very lightweight "seat" fixed to the horse by a girth. The jockey sits in the saddle.

Scratch
To withdraw a horse from a race before the race starts. A horse that is withdrawn is called a scratching. Withdrawals must be made on the morning of the race-meeting, usually by 7.30 am. If a horse is found by the racecourse vets to be unfit to start (eg lame) when it arrives at the course, or if it suffers a mishap before lining up in the barrier, it will be a late scratching.

Season
The racing or breeding year. The racing year in Australia and New Zealand starts on 1 August and ends on 31 July in the following calendar year.

The New Zealand and Australian breeding season is a little more complicated. Stallions may not begin serving mares until 1 September. If a mare has been served on, or after that date her foal will be a legal foal even if it is born before 1 August in the following year. This new rule applies because foals can be born more than 30 days either side of their "due date". Before it was introduced a foal prematurely born on, say, 25 July officially became a yearling seven days later!

Foals must be born before 31 December which means that some mares may continue to be served until they conceive in mid-January. They will then be due to foal in late December of the same calendar year.

Second dam
The grandmother of a horse. Also known as the grand-dam.

Service
The mating of a stallion with a mare.

Service fee
The fee paid by the broodmare owner to the stallion owner for a successful conception by the mare to the stallion.

Sesamoids
Two small bones above and at the back of the fetlock joint.

Share
A part-ownership in a horse which may be a racehorse, stallion, mare, foal or yearling. The proportion of the horse owned by a shareholder can vary: it may be a 10% share of a racehorse, 25% of a racing lease on a horse, or a single share in a stallion. A stallion share gives the owner the right to breed one mare per season to that stallion.

Sire
The father of a horse.

Another name for a stallion but more specifically used to describe him in relation to his progeny eg Sir Tristram is the sire of Zabeel; Volksraad is a very good sire of two-year-olds.

Siren
A siren is sounded very soon after a race is finished if there is to be an inquiry into the running of the race.

Sock
Solid white marking on a horse’s leg extending from the top of the hoof to or slightly above the fetlock.

Spell
Something said to make a racehorse run faster!

We’re kidding – it’s actually the rest given to a racehorse after it has finished a race campaign. Racehorses usually spell on agistment farms.

Sprint race
Short race less than 1600 metres in distance.

Stakes Race
The most prestigious and valuable – and therefore competitive – races are collectively known as "stakes races". The term includes Group (or, in the US, Grade) One, Group Two, Group Three and Listed Stakes races. The winner of a stakes race can afterwards be described as a stakeswinner (SW). Horses that have placed in, but haven’t won a stakes race are stakes-placegetters (SP). Stakes races are also known as black type races.

Stallion
A male horse used for breeding.

Starter

The person who supervises the loading of horses into the starting gates, ensures a fair start to each race and controls the opening of the gates.
A horse who actually starts in a race.

Staying race
In general terms a race beyond 2400 metres (=one-and-a-half-miles) in distance.

Stick
A jockey’s whip.

Stipendiary Steward
Employed by a racing industry's controlling body (in this country New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing) to make sure that each race-meeting is properly conducted under the Rules of Racing, and that any possible breach of the Rules is formally investigated.

Stirrup (irons)
Metal rings attached to the saddle in which jockeys place their feet when riding the horse.

Stocking
Solid white marking on a horse’s leg extending from the top of the hoof to the knee (on a front leg) or the hock (on a hind leg).

Strapper
The person employed by a training stable who provides daily care for a racehorse, especially on a raceday. Very good horses usually have their own strapper who virtually lives with them wherever they go – eg Sunline and Claire Bird.

Stud
A farm where horses are bred; more specifically, a farm which stands a stallion.

Stud Book
The registry and genealogical record of thoroughbred horses, maintained in each country by its own stud book authority. The New Zealand Stud Book is maintained by New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing; in the United States by the Jockey Club; in England and Ireland by Weatherby’s; in Australia by the Australian Stud Book, which is owned by the Australian Jockey Club & the Victoria Racing Club.
The original Stud Book was published in England in 1791; New Zealand's first official Stud Book appeared in 1900. The principal Stud Book information is a record of all registered thoroughbred broodmares, their ancestry and and their registered thoroughbred progeny.

Studmaster
The owner or person in charge of the stud. In New Zealand most stud owners also live and work on their studs.

"T"

Tack
A rider’s racing equipment; also applied to stable gear and equipment. The tack room in a stable contains all the equipment used to care for and handle the horses.

Tendon
Cords of strong white collagen elastic fibres that connect a muscle to a bone.

Thoroughbred
A thoroughbred horse is one whose parentage traces back to any of the three founding sires of the breed (the Darley Arabian, Byerley Turk and Godolphin Barb) and fulfils the entry requirements set by the International Stud Book Committee. In New Zealand a horse must have eight proven and documented generations of pure thoroughbred ancestors to be eligible for the Stud Book.

Topweight
The horse given the heaviest jockey weight to carry in a handicap race.

Totalisator
An automated wagering system which dispenses and records betting tickets, displays prices (or odds) and provides the mechanism for cashing winning tickets. The TAB (=Totalisator Agency Board), established in 1950, is New Zealand’s only betting agency.

Track Condition
The condition of a racetrack surface, declared on the morning of a race-meeting. The condition may change during the day. In New Zealand the official track conditions are: Fast (=firm and dry), Easy (=slightly rain-affected), Soft (=definitely wet) and Heavy (=very wet; may be muddy and sticky).

Different descriptions are used in different countries. For example, in Australia the terms are: Firm, Good, Dead, Slow and Heavy.