Here’s the Betting On Horse horse racing glossary. These are the terms we think all horse racing bettors should know. If you find it helpful, drop a comment below.

Our horse racing terms are listed in alphabetical order.

Across the board: When you wager on a horse to Win, Place and Show. For instance, if you bet $2 across the board, you’re placing a $6 ticket–$2 to Win, $2 to Place and $2 to show.

Also-Ran: You don’t want your horse to be an also-ran. This means the horse didn’t finish in the money.

Backstretch: This is the straight area on the track between the turns.

Bandage: If you’re reading some information and it says the horse has bandages, the horse has cloth wound around the lower part of its legs.

Blanket Finish: This happens when a bunch of horses finished the race at nearly the same point in time. You get a cluster of horses crossing the wire at once.

Box: When you box a wager, you are betting on all possible ways of action. For instance, let’s say that you want to box an Exacta with the #4 horse and the #8 horse. Well, the horses could finish 4-8 or 8-4. So, if you boxed a 4-8 Exacta at $2 per way, you’d spend $4.

Claiming Race: This is a race where any of the horses can be claimed for a fee. If the horse is claimed, the new owner gets the horse right after the race. The amount of the race tells you the quality of the horse (or alleged quality). Claiming races start at $2,000 and go all the way up.

Closer: This is a horse that saves fuel in the tank. A closer will make a bid to win at the end of a race. If you have a race that’s full of pace setters, a closer may surprise, because the other horses will run out of gas.

Colt: Male horse under five years of age.

Daily Double: Make this wager and you’re betting on the winner of two consecutive races. Typically, this wager is open for the 1st and 2nd race of the day, but many tracks do rolling Daily Doubles. You need to pick the winner of both races to win.

Exacta: When you make this wager, you’re picking the two horses that will finish 1st (Win) and 2nd (Place). The order matters with this wager. For instance, if you bet a 4-5 Exacta and the final order was 5-4, you’d lose. Many people either box their Exacta wagers or they bet Quinellas.

Field: This is all the horses racing.

Filly: A female horse that’s four-years-old or younger.

Firm: This is a track condition term. It’s used to describe Turf tracks and is the equivalent of “fast” on a dirt track.

Front-Runner: This is a horse that tries to get out front and lead during a race. If the race has a few of these, look for a closer horse to try and take the win.

Furlong: You’ve got to know this one. It’s a measure of distance and it’s equal to 1/8th of a mile. One furlong is 220 yards.

Gelding: A male horse that’s been castrated.

Handicapper: That’s you! If you size up a horse and make a wager, you’re technically a handicapper. Of course, horse racing handicappers come with all degrees of experience and success.

In the Money: Ah those words are so sweet. When a horse finishes in the money, it finished 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

Length: A length is a measurement unit that’s the length of a horse from nose to tail, which is about 9 feet.

Maiden and Maiden Races: A maiden is a horse that hasn’t won a race yet. Maiden races feature complete fields of non-winners. When a horse gets its first win, it breaks its Maiden. The nice thing about Maiden Races is someone has to win.

Mare: A female horse that’s either at least five years old or that has been bred.

Morning Line: Before the races take place, a linesmaker establishes odds for horses. These odds are based on talent and public perception.

On the Nose: When you bet a horse just to Win.

Past Performance: A very important aspect of horse racing betting. You’ve got to look at a horse’s past performance. This tells you everything about the horse—past races, workouts, training, owner info, stable and so forth.

Place: When a horse Places, it finishes in 2nd place.

Quinella: It’s just like an Exacta, except that order doesn’t matter. Because of this, it pays less than an Exacta. For instance, if you bet a 5-6 Quinella, the final order can be 5-6 or 6-5.

Show: When a horse Shows, it finishes in 3rd place. This is the safest bet in horse racing and it doesn’t pay well.

Win: This probably needs no explanation. A horse Wins when it comes in first place in a race.