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, 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.
Contents |
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
Previous season's races before hyphen (-)
BD - Brought Down, CO - Carried Out, DNF - Did Not Finish, F - Fell, HR - Hit Rails, N/R - Non-runner, P or PU - Pulled Up, RO - Ran Out, R - Refused, RTR - Refused To Race, SU - Slipped Up, U or UR - Unseated Rider
C = course winner: D = distance winner: BF = beaten favourite
If the horse has recently run under a different code (either Flat or Jump) the days elapsed since that race are shown in brackets.
B = blinkers 1st time: b = blinkers, worn before V = visor 1st time: v = visor, worn before H = hood 1st time: h = hood, worn before C = eye cover 1st time: c = eye cover, worn before E = eye hood 1st time: e = eye hood, worn before T = tongue strap 1st time: t = tongue strap worn, before
ex = penalty for recent win oh = out of the handicap