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Home » Recreation And Sports Articles » An Alphabet Of Horse Racing Terms B Part 2

An Alphabet Of Horse Racing Terms - B - Part 2

BOOKMAKERS
These can be divided into

* those who make a book on the racecourse
* those who operate betting shops off course
* those who operate a telephone credit service or a postal betting service
* firms who operate spread betting services

A number of big firm bookmakers will combine two or even all of the first three activities. On the racecourse bets are settled at the prices quoted for, if agreed with the backer at starting price.

However they settle them, their activities on course and off course are governed by what goes on in the market, on the racecourse.

A betting market is formed immediately before each race. Prices fluctuate according to the total of money known to be on a particular horse in the ring as a whole.

Amounts of significance are signaled by Tic Tac from the rails to Tattersalls and back, and to the silver ring and bookmakers outside. I.e. on the course itself.

The amount a price will contract or go out in the market varies also, according to whether the market is a weak or strong one.

The prices originally on offer in the early stages of any betting market are not however, based on the money bet, but usually on how the bigger Tattersalls board's operators think the market ought to go.

The earliest prices chalked up are very often shorter than they realistically should be. In the days up to and beyond the great post-war, betting to a true market price was dictated by on course money, largely by big backers and by the professionals, commission agents acting on behalf of others, including trainers and owners, or trainers and owners themselves.

The huge growth of off course betting since the nineteen sixties has changed all that. Seldom do trainers walk up to the rails, get a price about their horse, and affect the market accordingly.

Most money is wagered off the course and is transmitted, and news of it is transmitted, by telephone to the tic tacs acting for the big bookmakers. The entire market reacts accordingly within a few seconds.

The money which causes this is called office money and in the case of big amounts placed off course which crucially affect the market, the horses are known in the ring as betting shop horses.

This concept is crucial to understanding trading on the Betting Exchanges.

It is the Betting Exchanges and the Betting Shops which affect prices on the course. Not the other way around.

Data from online bookies and live on course feeds can be used to confirm price movement data, but should not be used to predict it. Most of the heavy betting nowadays is coming via Betfair and Betdaq.

As the market gets underway and the money starts to reinforce the bookmaker's original opinions of the prices, it will cause them to alter prices on the general principle of supply and demand.

A punter can learn a great deal from following the market that is, seeing how the odds are altering. The market can give strong hints on what to back, and, even more important, what not to back.

On the racecourse, this involves having a look at how the prices are going at successive stages in the ten minutes or so immediately before a race.

In the betting shop, with the aid of successive prices marked on the board and shown on video, following the market is rather easier, and watching the television makes it equally simple.

All the market moves can readily be seen on television, and, depending on the channel, are backed up with information on why the prices are going the way they are.

In betting shops with television or video a similar advantage is enjoyed by the punters.

On the racecourse, following the market is rather hard work, because the bookmakers erase the prices successively as they change; but, in general, punters who take the trouble should reap the reward.

Weak markets/ strong markets:

Royal Ascot provides one of the strongest betting markets of the year on the flat, and the Cheltenham festival does so in national hunt racing.

The weakest markets are at small, under patronised courses where the racing is poor.

Here, A few hundred pounds can cause prices to tumble several points, whereas in a strong market the same amount multiplied several times over would cause no price change.

In 1999, an interview with Victor Chandler, the leading bookmaker, some fascinating observations were made on some of the changes that have overtaken the betting scene.

The racecourse punter has never had it so good. To be a punter now is heaven. With no expenses, being a professional punter compared to a bookmaker has to be the best choice he said.

Chandler explained: "at Cheltenham last Sunday meeting we did a survey and asked people whether they bet at the races.

Only 37% said yes. The rest either don't bet or bet in small sums with the tote.

That confirms that the culture of racing has changed. My on course business has been decimated in the last two years. For example three or four years ago at the Eclipse meeting at Sandown, we took 200,000 on the big race.

Last year we took £8000...on Sundays, you see an enormous number of prams they are not our punters.

These days the on course bookmaker is doing less and less business, which makes the prices paid for pitches at the recent auctions even more surprising.

BOX WALKER

Term for a horse who will not settle in his loose box aand persistently walks round and round it, thus losing weight and being difficult to train. The cure is often to give the horse a companion such as a goat.

BREEZE UP

A form of bloodstock sale taking place at a racecourse, where instead of the usual practice of what's on offer merely being led around the sale ring, the horses are put through their paces on the course in front of propective buyers. They are allowed to breeze along two or three furlongs.

BRITISH HORSE RACING BOARD

Commonly abbreviated to BHB this is the governing and administrative body for racing which came into being in June 1993 thereby taking over effective overall control from the Jockey Club.

This in itself was the most radical shakeup of racing's power structure for more than 200 years and marked a watershed in British racing history.

For the first time racing has as its governing authority, a representative, accountable and democratic body which gives the industry an executive role in shaping its future.

The BHB's principle responsibilities include:

* strategic planning and policy for racing;
* improving the financial position of racing;
* representing racing in dealings with government;
* the fixture list;
* race planning, including the supervision of race programs and the employment of handicappers;
* marketing and promotion of racing;
* nominating racing's representatives on the horse race bettings levy board;
* liaison with the betting industry;
* encouraging and fostering breeding of bloodstock;
* collection and control of funds required for the administration of racing, including those required by the jockey club for the protection of the sport's integrity;
* the development and maintenance of programs of training and education within racing;
* the contract under which Weatherbys supply administrative services to racing.

In principle the aim of the BHB is to give the leadership needed to put racing in Britain on a sound financial footing. This means ensuring that racing is making the best use of its resources, is maximizing income from outside the sport and has a clear single voice with which to have its views heard in parliament and elsewhere.

Among the BHB, members and representatives of the racecourse association, the Jockey Club, race horse owners association, thoroughbred breeders association, and industry committee.

BUMPING AND BORING

Sometimes in the final stages of a race a horse may be tiring, and the jockey is unable to prevent him or her veering off a straight line, "bumping" an opponent and "boring" that opponent off its intended course. This may affect the opponent's chances, and in certain instances may cost him the race, in which case there will almost certainly be an objection by the losing rider;

Equally certain, in any case, is that when bumping and boring occurs there is a strong possibility of a Stewards inquiry, during which the evidence of the film from a camera patrol and video re-run will be examined.

BY AND OUT OF

Expressions indicating the parentage of a horse. He or she is described as being by a sire [stallion] out of the dam [broodmares], whose origin will often be indicated in pen by brackets giving the name of his sire.

Example Commander in Chief by Dancing Brave out of Slightly Dangerous.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Mortgage Protection – Easing Your Biggest Concerns

OK, now you have a lovely new home and with it comes a lovely new mortgage. With the average mortgage advance standing at around £150,000 it's a long-term commitment to repay a lot of money. The repayments also take a fair slice out of your monthly income.

What could go wrong with these financial arrangements and can you hedge your bets by insuring against the risks? After all you have a family to protect.

Most people would identify 5 main areas of concern, all of which boil down to your ability to maintain the mortgage repayments:

· Interest rates might increase and make the monthly repayments unaffordable

· You might loose your job

· You might be forced to take time off work through illness or accident

· You may become permanently unable to work through accident or very serious illness

· You could die before the mortgage is paid off.

The financial industry is packed with pretty shrewd people so it'll come as no surprise to learn that there are financial products to help with each of these risks.

If you want to reduce the risk of interest rates rising to unaffordable levels, you should have discussed these matters with your mortgage adviser. He will then have told you about "fixed" and "capped interest rate" mortgages. As the name implies, a fixed rate mortgage fixes the interest rate you pay whilst with a "capped" mortgage, the lender agrees not to increase your interest rate above a pre-agreed level. Both types of mortgage revert to the standard variable rate after the fixed or capped period finishes which is typically after three or five years, depending on your lender.

Fixed rate mortgages are currently very popular accounting for 55% of new advances and there are some very good deals around. The capped rate for capped rate mortgages is usually set at the outset above the equivalent fixed rates available but the rate you pay is lower than the fixed rates. In this context your interest rate risk can be effectively controlled. After the end of the protected period you always have the option to re-mortgage and find another rate protected deal. There are never any guarantees on the rates that will be available but the mortgage market is highly competitive, especially for re-mortgages, and special rate offers abound. It's really a matter of knowing which lender to approach. When the time comes you'd be well advised to ask a mortgage broker to search out the most suitable options.

Worried about paying your mortgage if you lost your job? Then you need Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance - but be aware that in its basic form, this insurance is really only designed to cover redundancy. If you resign or are fired for gross misconduct your unlikely to be insured. The cost? Online you can expect to pay around £2.45 per £100 of monthly mortgage payment for a policy which starts paying out 30 days after you've been made redundant and will pay out for up to 12 months. You're sure to have been offered similar insurance by your bank or mortgage company but watch out, their premiums are likely to be two or three times higher for identical cover.

Mortgage Payment Protection Policies can also be extended to cover the third area of concern â€" you lose income through illness or accident. But before you rush into this insurance you need to ask your employer how long they'd continue paying you if you were off work. Remember, you only need to insure for the period after your employer stops paying. You would then receive statutory sickness pay, but the odds are you'll need that income for general living costs. The cost for this insurance? Well, online it'll again cost you around £2.45 per £100 of monthly mortgage payment for a policy which starts paying out after 30 days, However, if you combine illness, accident and unemployment cover all into one policy you can currently get combined insurance for around £3.95 per month. The essential point to remember is that these policies will only pay out for 12 months. That leads on to the fourth area of concern.

How would you pay your mortgage if you were unable to work again through a serious accident or critical illness? In this context it is important to appreciate the reality of the risk. The insurance industry estimates that 1 in 5 men and 1 in 6 women suffer a critical illness before their normal retirement age. Just think what a heart attack at 40 would mean to your family finances, especially if you have a mortgage with many years still to run. For many, insurance is a must.

The best option is to arrange insurance that totally repays the outstanding mortgage if you can't continue to work. That at least removes one big worry. The insurance you need is called Critical Illness Insurance but make sure "total and permanent disability" cover is included. This ensures that your mortgage will be repaid if you are incapacitated through an accident.

You can buy Critical Illness Insurance with "decreasing cover" where the size of the payout decreases as the years go by. This is ideal if you have a repayment mortgage where you are repaying the mortgage bit by bit each month. Decreasing cover is also the cheapest form of this Insurance.

If you have an interest only mortgage, the situation is different as the sum you owe your lender, remains constant. You certainly don't want the cover to decrease - so here you need Critical Illness Insurance with "level cover".

As with all these insurances, there's always a twist to watch out for. With Critical illness Insurance you always need to survive for a minimum period following an accident or diagnosis of a critical illness. If you don't, the policy will not pay out. With most insurance companies the survival period is 28 days although some have reduced this to 14 days.

That leads on what happens if you were to die. Most lenders insist on Mortgage Life Insurance to repay your mortgage in one lump sum. However, you really don't need it if you're single and living alone. In these circumstances, if you would die, your estate would simply repay your mortgage by selling the property. For everyone else, Mortgage Life insurance is the most commonly held form of mortgage protection. Again it comes in a "decreasing cover" format for those with repayment mortgages and "level cover" format to repay interest only mortgages.

All this insurance will not be cheap but there are ways of significantly reducing the cost. Buy a Mortgage Payment Protection Policy that combines unemployment, accident and illness cover. Sometimes this is called "unemployment and disability" cover. This will save you about 20%. The cheapest way to buy Critical Illness and Mortgage Life Insurance is again to buy a combined policy. Here it's difficult to be precise about the savings as the cost will be strictly calculated on your own personal details and health record - but you can certainly expect to save 20-25%.

The final bit of advice is shop around for the insurance. Your bank or building society will be absolutely delighted to arrange it but you'll pay top dollar. The Internet is by far the cheapest way to buy all these insurances, especially if you use one of the many discounting brokers. You'll find these brokers if you search under "life insurance", "cheap life insurance", "life insurance quotes" or "Mortgage Protection Insurance".

Competition on the net is rife, so it's norm for these brokers to cut commission and pass the savings back to you through lower premiums. There are other aspects you'll need to consider such as whether to buy a policy with a "Guaranteed Premium" or a "Reviewable Premium". So you're best advised to talk matters over with a life insurance adviser. Ten minutes on the phone with an adviser could save you more and avoid a lot of heartache.

Be lucky, keep fit, happy and well insured!