Grand National Betting Terms | Betting Glossary
Last Updated 2 weeks ago | By The GrandNational.org.uk StaffKnowing a few common racing terms makes the whole day easier, whether you’re placing a bet or just trying to follow what the commentator is on about. It’ll serve you well at the Cheltenham Festival too. Here are the words and phrases you’re most likely to come across around Grand National betting.
Grand National Betting Terms
A huge tip that will help you on the day is to get familiar with some Grand National betting terminology that you might hear at Aintree in 2027.
Abandoned: A race or meeting called off, usually because the ground or the weather makes racing unsafe. The Grand National was famously abandoned in 1993 after a false start went unnoticed and a number of jockeys completed the course anyway. If the race were abandoned, stakes are refunded.
Accumulator: A bet combining two or more selections in different races. Winnings from the first go onto the second, and so on. Everything has to win for the bet to pay out, which is why the returns can be big.
Age: Horses’ ages are listed on the racecard. Winners of the Grand National are usually eight or older, though Noble Yeats broke that pattern as a seven-year-old in 2022.
Allowance: A weight reduction given to a horse whose jockey is still relatively inexperienced, to even things up against the established riders. The more winners a jockey rides, the less they can claim, until eventually they claim nothing at all.
Ante-post: Betting on a race weeks or months in advance, usually at bigger odds. Our ante-post guide explains how it works.
Bar: A shorthand you’ll hear when odds are read out. “Six bar” simply means every horse not already mentioned is 6/1 or longer.
Betting ring: The area where the on-course bookmakers set up, usually in front of the grandstand. It’s where you go to place a bet at the racecourse.
Blinkers: Headgear that narrows a horse’s field of vision and keeps it focused ahead. Comply Or Die won the 2008 Grand National wearing them.
Boxed in: A horse with nowhere to go, hemmed in by others around it. Its jockey may have to drop back and look for a gap. It happens more in big fields, and 34 runners over four miles gives plenty of opportunity.
Bridle: The equipment used to steer a horse. A horse that wins “on the bridle” has done so without its jockey having to push it along.
Brought down: When a horse falls because another horse or jockey gets in its way, rather than through a mistake of its own. Shown as BD on a racecard.
Chase: Short for steeplechase, a race run over fences. The Grand National is a chase.
Grand National Festival – Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool, Britain – April 13, 2018 Terrefort ridden by Daryl Jacob (C) in action before winning the 14:50 Betway Mildmay Novices’ Chase Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Cheekpieces: Strips of sheepskin fitted to either side of a bridle, which work much like blinkers in helping a horse concentrate. Noble Yeats wore them when winning in 2022.
Clerk of the course: The official responsible for the state of the track, including watering, maintaining the fences, declaring the official going and deciding whether it’s safe to race.
Connections: The people around a horse, typically referring to the owner, trainer and stable staff. If you hear that connections are confident, it means the people who see the horse every day like its chances.
Drifting: When a horse’s odds get bigger in the build-up to a race, usually because the money isn’t coming for it.
Each-way: A bet in two halves, one on your horse to win and one on it to finish in the places. You’re effectively placing two bets, so a £5 each-way bet costs £10. See our each-way guide for the full picture.
Evens: Odds where your winnings match your stake. £5 at evens returns £10 in total, broken down into £5 profit plus your £5 back.
Favourite: The horse the bookmakers make most likely to win, and therefore the shortest price in the race. You’ll find the current Grand National favourites on our dedicated page.
Field: All the horses running in a race. The Grand National field was reduced from 40 to 34 in 2024 on safety grounds. The Irish, Scottish and Welsh Nationals also attract big fields.
Filly: A female horse aged four or younger, so not one you’ll see in the Grand National.
Form: A horse’s recent results, shown as figures beside its name on the racecard, most recent last. 1 is a win, 2 a second, and so on, with 0 for unplaced. You’ll also see P for pulled up, F for fell, U for unseated rider and R for refused.
Front-runner: A horse that likes to lead from the start and set the pace.
Furlong: An eighth of a mile, or 220 yards. The Grand National is run over four miles and two and a half furlongs.
Going: The state of the ground, which matters enormously to how a race is run. It ranges from firm through good and soft to heavy. Aintree is watered when needed, with good or good to soft the ideal. Our going guide has more.
Grade race: The top tier of jump racing, with Grade 1 the highest. On the Flat the equivalent is a Group race.
Handicap: A race where each horse carries a different weight, set by the handicapper according to ability, so that in theory they all have a similar chance. The Grand National is a handicap.
Handicapper: The official who allocates those weights.
Hood: Headgear that covers a horse’s ears to cut down noise, used to settle horses who get anxious in front of a big crowd.
Length: The way winning distances are measured, roughly the length of a horse from nose to tail.
Maiden: A horse that hasn’t yet won a race.
Mare: A female horse aged five or older. Thirteen mares have won the Grand National, though the last was Nickel Coin in 1951.
Neck: A short winning distance, a little longer than a head and around a quarter of a length.
Non-runner: A horse that was declared but doesn’t take part. In day-of-race betting your stake is returned; with ante-post bets it usually isn’t, unless the bookmaker is offering Non-Runner No Bet.
Novice: A relatively inexperienced horse, in terms of either races run or races won.
Odds-on: Odds where your winnings are smaller than your stake. A £2 bet at 1/2 wins £1, plus your stake back. Only strongly fancied horses are priced odds-on.
On the nose: Backing a horse to win only, rather than each-way.
Paddock: The ring where horses parade before a race and where the jockeys mount. Also called the parade ring, and a good spot to have a proper look at the runners.
Penalty: Extra weight added to a horse that has won since the weights for the race were published.
Photo finish: When two horses cross the line too close to separate by eye, and the finish is examined frame by frame. If they still can’t be split, it’s a dead heat and both count as winners.
Placed: Finishing in one of the positions an each-way bet pays out on. How many places that covers depends on the race. Standard terms are:
- 1-4 runners: win only
- 5-7 runners: 1/4 odds, first 2
- 8+ runners: 1/5 odds, first 3
- 12-15 runners, handicaps: 1/4 odds, first 3
- 16+ runners, handicaps: 1/4 odds, first 4
Bookmakers often pay more places than this for the Grand National. See our each-way places page.
Rule 4: A deduction from winnings applied when a horse is withdrawn shortly before a race, reflecting the fact that the race has become easier to win.
SP (starting price): The price a horse goes off at. If you didn’t take a price when placing your bet, you’re paid at the SP, which is the same at every bookmaker in the country.
Stalls: The starting gates used in Flat racing. Jump races like the Grand National start from a tape instead.
Stayer: A horse suited to long-distance races. Anything with a chance in the Grand National needs to be one.
Stewards’ enquiry: Held after a race when officials think a rule may have been broken. The jockeys involved are called in, and the result can be changed.
Weighed in: Jockeys are weighed after the race to confirm they carried the right weight. The announcement of “weighed in” over the tannoy means the result is official and bookmakers will start paying out.
Want to know more before placing your bets on the 2027 Grand National? Take a look at our betting guides.
Download our Grand National Betting Guide
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The GrandNational.org.uk Staff
