A racecard is a printed card used in horse racing giving information about races, principally the horses running in each particular race. Racecards are often given in newspapers. Also known as a race book (form guide in Australia), which in this case is a small booklet issued for use at a race meeting.
A typical racecard lists information not only about the horse's name, but also its age and the weight it has to carry in the race. The rider and trainer are listed, plus figures indicating the horse's recent form.
Race Race name Time of race Prize money Distance Going gd - good going g/f - good to firm fm - firm g/s - good to soft sft - soft going hvy - heavy going ap - all weather - polytrack af - all weather - fibresand
Status of race - the premier races are Class 1 (Flat racing) and Grade 1 (National Hunt racing) Number of runners
Individual horses Position drawn in stalls Number horse is wearing (saddle cloth number) Form figures and previous races Previous season's races are shown before a hyphen (-) BD - brought down CO - carried outDNF - did not finishF - fellHR - hit railsN/R - non-runnerP or PU - pulled upRO - ran outR - refusedRTR - refused to raceSU - slipped upU or UR - unseated rider Horse name Horse's age Course/distance form C = course winnerD = distance winnerBF = beaten favourite Weight Days since last ran If the horse has recently run under a different code (either flat or jump) the days elapsed since that race are shown in brackets. Headgear B = blinkers 1st timeb = blinkers, worn before V = visor 1st timev = visor, worn before H = hood 1st timeh = hood, worn before C = eye cover 1st timec = eye cover, worn before E = eye hood 1st timee = eye hood, worn before T = tongue strap 1st timet = tongue strap, worn before Trainer Jockey Penalties & out of handicap ex = penalty for recent win oh = out of the handicap Jockey's colours Owner
References
External links BBC explanation of a typical racecard