Horse Racing Terms

I wanted to give some horse racing terms that you may see in upcoming posts about Bob Bull. I am no expert and believe me it took me awhile to learn the terms but I wanted for all of you who don't know or know a little about racing to have some understanding of some of the basic terms you may hear.

As I stated before Bob Bull will be training soon to get ready for April. He had made his 6 hour trip from Ocala FL to Miami and has settled in just fine. I am hoping to have the full story of Bob Bull and how Tom rescued him shortly.

Here are some terms and definitions to get you started.

• Favorite: Horse having the most money wagered on it to win
• Furlong: A distance equal to 1/8th of a mile.
• Length: About 8ft, the length of a horse from nose to tail. At racing speeds a horse travels about 5 lenghts a second.
• Longshot: Entry not well regarded by bettors, resulting in the possibility of longer odds and higher payoffs.
• Pole: Distance marks placed around the track, usually every 1/16th of a mile.
• Post Time: The designated time for the race to begin.
• Scratch: When a horse is withdrawn from a race.
• Starting Gate: A mechanical device which allows each horse to begin a race at the same time.
• Stretch: The straight portions of the track. The first straight way is called the Back Stretch and the Home Stretch contains the finish line.
• Blinkers: A common piece of racing equipment that contains eye cups which limit a horses vision and prevent it from shying from objects or other horses.

Soon, I will also be posting about different kinds of races and about odds and how they work. I am gathering all my information about Bob Bull and Tom to share and will have that up soon too!

I know this was probably a boring post to read but I wanted to make sure everyone has an idea of what I am talking about when I post about Bob Bull and his Spectacular wins!!!! :)

The pictures that I have in this post were taken when we went to Saratoga Springs to watch a few races. My Uncle and Aunt were so nice to take the boys for a few hours since we were visiting and they are only about 20 minutes away from the track. The top picture is of the horses coming down the home stretch just before the finish line. The second photo is of all the horses walking to the starting gate in the post parade.

Have a wonderful weekend!!