Form Abbreviations

Horse racing cards contain various abbreviations that can often be confusing to the novice punter. On most racecards, you will find a brief guide as to how the horse performed in his latest outings (usually to the left hand side of the horse’s name). The numbers displayed denote where the horse finished in the race (with the number on the right hand side being the most recent run). For example:

32814

In this instance, the horse finished 4th in its last race, came 1st in the race before that, 8th before that - and so on. If the horse came 10th or worse, there will be a zero added.

It is worth checking how many runners that were in the race to get the full picture. For example, if the number listed for a horse’s last run is 3, this may appear to be a positive sign and suggests that the horse may have been placed - however, the race itself may have been a 3 horse race (which essentially means that the horse came last). You can check all of this information by clicking on the horse’s name on the Racing Post website.

Quite often, various events occur during a race, and a horse is not given a finishing position. For example, if the horse falls, the abbreviation ‘F’ will be added instead of a number.

So if the horse falls on its next outing, afterwards the figures will show:

32814F

Here is a full list of the abbreviations often used within form figures:

F (Fell) The horse fell, and did not recover to finish the race.

B (Brought Down) The horse was brought down by another horse, and did not recover to finish the race.

D (Disqualified) The horse/jockey was found to be in breach of the rules and was therefore disqualified.

P (Pulled Up) After the race had started,  the jockey felt that the horse was not running as expected or at risk of injury, so it was pulled out of the race.

R (Refusal) The horse refused to leave the starting stall, or refused to run.

U (Unseated Rider) The jockey was unseated and came off the horse.

Discuss this article on the forum by clicking HERE