Studying the form is an integral part of making your horse racing selections.

Punters study the Horse Racing Form Book in the hope to find those bankers or daily NAP selections.

With thousands of races taking place every year on Britain’s racecourses and Irish Racecourses, not even the most dedicated professional gambler can keep track of all the action. This is why horse racing form analysis is an essential part of finding the winners.

In our Horse Racing Form guide, we explain everything you need to know about the form book and hopefully help you pick some winners.

Contents

1 How to read the form in horse racing?
2 Horse Racing Form Figures Explained
3 Horse Racing Form Letters Explained
4 Abbreviations In The Race Card
5 What Are Important Factors to Consider Additionally To The Form Book?
6 Popular Questions
7 Summary
8 Related Horse Race Statistics Posts

How to read the form in horse racing?

To the left-hand side of a racehorse name, you will find the form figures on a race card.

The horse racing form should be read from left to right.

The numbers, letters and symbols read from right to left and denote the horse’s finishing positions in its previous races with the furthest right result being the most recent race.

The numbers in the form figures represent the position the horse finished in so when reading the form you can see if the horse is running well or badly.

Reading the form guides has many abbreviations used to provide as much information on previous runs.

Horse Racing Form Figures Explained

Here are some common questions for horse racing form figures.

What does 1 mean in horse racing form figures?

The number 1 in horse racing form is when the horse has finished in the first position.

If the number one is in the recent form guide it means it previously won a race.

What does 0 mean in horse racing form figures?

The number 0 in horse racing form is when the horse has finished outside the first 9 finishing positions.

If a horse finished inside the top 10 the finishing position will be the number in the formbook, but if the racehorse finishes outside the first 9 the horse racing form will read the number zero (0).

What do bold numbers mean in horse racing form?

Bold numbers in the horse racing form figures mean the following:

The bolded form figure was on an all-weather track for flat races
The bolded form figure was on a point-to-point course for jump races

What does a hyphen mean in horse racing form?

The hyphen (-) in horse racing form denotes a new season.

Figures to the left of a hyphen mean this form relates to the previous season.

What does a forward slash mean in horse racing form?

The forward slash (/) in horse racing form denotes two seasons have passed.

Figures to the left of a hyphen mean this form represents to two seasons ago.

Horse Racing Form Letters Explained

The horse racing form letters explain why a horse never managed to finish a race.

When studying the horse racing form guide symbols we always recommend watching the race on the video to see if there were any excuses for a bad run (e.g. ground conditions, unlucky in running or bad jockey decisions).

Letters in the form book are much more likely to be encountered on a jumps card as fences add another layer of unpredictability to proceedings.

What does F mean in horse racing form letters?

The letter F in horse racing form is when the horse has fallen.

Over jumps, if a horse fails to finish the race because has fell the letter F is shown in the formbook.

What does P mean in horse racing form letters?

The letter P in horse racing form is when the horse has pulled up.

If the jockey pulls the horse up due to injury or not travelling well the letter P is shown in the formbook.

What does U mean in horse racing form letters?

The letter U in horse racing form is when the horse has unseated the jockey out of the saddle.

Over jumps, if a horse fails to finish the race because the jockey has unseated the letter U is shown in the formbook.

The horse racing abbreviations UR can also be used which means the same thing in unseating the rider.

What does B or BD stand for in horse racing form?

The letter B or BD in horse racing form is when the horse has been brought down.

Over jumps, if a horse fails to finish the race because the horse has been brought down by a faller in front the letter B is shown in the formbook.

What does r mean in horse racing?

The letter R in horse racing form is when the horse has refused the jump the fence.

When a horse approaches a hurdle or chase fence and stops without making any attempt to jump is also known as refused in horse racing form.

The letter r appears beside each horse’s name depicting what position a horse has finished in its previous races and highlights refuse to jump.

What does OR mean in horse racing?

The letter OR in horse racing form stands for Official Rating.

The Official Rating of the horse is updated each week by the British Horseracing Authority.

The better the horse, the higher the (OR) official rating.

Abbreviations In The Race Card

To the right of the racehorse name, you will find some handy abbreviations relating to its past performances.

As well as numbers showing the horses’ most recent finishing positions, look out for letters next to the horse’s name.

Here are some common questions for horse race card letter abbreviations.

What does C mean in horse race cards?

The letter C in horse cards means the horse has won previously at the course.

Shrewd punters like to see the racehorse has a previous course to prove they handle the track.

What does D mean in horse race cards?

The letter D in horse cards means the horse has won previously at the distance.

Having winning form over the trip is a positive as shows the racehorse stays the trip having previously won at that distance.

What does CD mean in horse race cards?

The letters CD in horse cards means the horse has won previously at the course and over the distance.

Having previous course and distance winning form is seen as the most important factor for many of the best horse racing tipsters.

Check out all today’s runners with the course and distance form.

What does BF mean in horse race cards?

The letters BF in horse cards mean the horse was a beaten favourite last time out.

If you like to follow the money in the betting markets you might want to see all the best-backed horses today.

What does TS mean in horse race cards?

The letters TS in horse cards mean the top speed rating.

TS is a rating compiled by the Racing Post that is designed to rate a horse’s ability based on how fast a horse has run in a race.

What does W1 or W2 mean in horse race cards?

The abbreviation W1 in horse cards mean the horse is having its first run since wind surgery.

The abbreviation W2 in horse cards mean the horse is having its second run since wind surgery.

Check out all today’s runners running after wind surgery.

What does B1 or B2 mean in horse race cards?

The B1 abbreviations on the racecard mean the horse is having its first run in blinkers.

The B2 abbreviation on the racecard means the horse is having its first run in blinkers.

Check out all today’s runners running in first time blinkers.

What does NR mean in horse race cards?

The letters NR in horse cards mean the horse is a non runner.

The horse can be withdrawn for a number of reasons and become a non runner.

Check out all of today’s non runners and if you ever wager bets on ante post we always recommend selecting bookies offering non runner no bet promotion.

What are the race types abbreviations on the racecards?

Here are all the abbreviations for the different horse race types shown on the form guides:

Am – amateur race
App – apprentice race
Auc – auction race
AW – all-weather race
Ch – chase race
Cls – Class of race
Cond – NH conditional race
Div – Division of the race
Gd – Grade 1,2 or 3 (Jumps)
Gp – Group 1, 2 or 3 (Flat)
Hcap – handicap
Hur or H – hurdle
List – Listed race
Mdn – maiden race
NHF – National Hunt Flat race
Nov – novice race
Sell – selling race

What are the winning distance abbreviations on the racecards?

Here are all the abbreviations for the winning distances shown in the formbook:

dist – distance (240y from the finish)
f – furlong
hd – head
l – length
m – mile
nk – neck
nse – nose (shortest margin)
shd – short head
y – yards

What are the racehorse headgear application abbreviations on the racecards?

Here are all the abbreviations for the application of headgear for the horses running:

h – hood
b – blinkers (if being worn for a first or second time a 1 or 2 will be beside the letter)
p – (sheepskin) cheekpieces
t – tongue-tie
v – visor
e – eye hood
Ht – hood and tongue-tie
e/c – eyecover
e/s – eyeshield

What are the racehorse description abbreviations on the racecards?

Here are all the abbreviations for the different racehorse description type shown on the form guides:

b – bay
bl – black
br – brown
ch – chestnut
c – colt
f – filly
g – gelding
gr – grey
h – horse
m – mare
r – rig
ro – roan
wh – white

What are the racecourse ground conditions abbreviations on the racecards?

Here are all the abbreviations for the different racecourse going conditions shown on the race cards:

f or fm – firm
g or gd – good
hd – hard
hy or hvy – heavy
s or sft – soft
stand – standard AW
yld – yielding (IRE)

What Are Important Factors to Consider Additionally To The Form Book?

Other important factors shrewd punters look for, which could seek improvements in horse racing form are:

The going (ground conditions)
Wearing a visor for the first time
Wearing a hood for the 1st time
Wearing tongue straps for the first time
Wearing cheekpieces for the first time
Previous course & distance winners
Horse racing trainers in winning form
Horse racing jockeys in winning form
Horses who have travelled the longest

Professional gamblers are always trying to find an angle to get value on a price or look for opportunities that could seek improvement in a horse’s form.