Dictionary
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Sectional Timing
In the USA where horse races are run flat out from the start, usually on dirt, the timing of the race after each furlong and each quarter mile or half mile is an essential guide to winner finding. In England the vast majority of races are on grass and usually start slowly and build up to a finish.
Sell the Index
A type of spread betting whereby you gamble that an index based on the possible outcomes of an event will finish below the lower limit of the spread.
Sellers and Claimers
This is the lowest quality of race where the winner and possibly other horses have to be sold by auction, or may be claimed for a price advertised before the race. This price may be used to allot the weight of the horse. The more money the owner wants for the horse the more weight it will be set to carry in the race.
Shooter
In craps, this is the person whose turn it is to throw the dice.
Show
As the odds change on a race course, an assessment of the prices are transmitted to screens in betting shops and credit offices by the (SIS) racing television company.
Silver Ring
The betting area for bookmakers' pitches in the cheap enclosure on a racecourse.
Single Stakes About/Up and Down Bet
Two selections in two different races. If the first selection wins, an amount equal to the original stake is put on the second selection and vice versa. It is two bets.
SIS (Sports Information Service)
A subscription channel unavailable by dish or cable. A multi-screen racing and general sports television service supplied to credit offices and betting shops. A domestic dish or cable version called The Racing Channel is available.
Spread Betting
Type of betting offered by index firms in which a range of outcomes is expressed in the form of an index. you can bet that the finishing index (the make up) will be either above a given level (in which case you would buy the index) or below (in which case you would sell the index). The spread itself represents the market-maker or bookmakers profit margin.
Spring Double
Double bets on the Lincoln Handicap and the Grand National, both run in springtime.
Springer
A horse whose long odds suddenly shorten in the betting just before the race is said to be a 'Springer in the market'.
Stake
The amount bet by the punter on a single transaction.
Stand Out
A horse which has a rating far higher than others in the race, or which stands alone because the others are knock-outs.
Starting Price
The final list of odds available at the off-time of a race.
Steamer
A horse with a long early bird price on which there is a rush of bets placed up until the beginning of the race.
Stewards
Officials of the Jockey Club who oversee a race meeting looking for horses not running on their merits (non-triers) or those showing marked improvement in form, jockeys who break guidelines (e.g. excessive use of the whip) and incidents in a race which may lead to disqualification of a horse, or more likely, punishment of the jockey by suspension from riding. The stewards at a local meeting may refer a serious incident to the senior stewards in London.
Straddle
A traded option spread strategy whereby a call and a put contract with the same exercise price and expiry month are simultaneously bought or sold. When bought you are gambling that the underlying share price or index will move strongly either up or down. When sold you are gambling that the market will be stable and move up or down only between the narrowly defined limits you have chosen.
Straight Forecast
Nominating which selections will finish first and second in the correct order.
Super Flag
A bet which consists of a super yankee and ten single stakes about bets. It is 46 bets win and 92 bets each way.
Super Heinz
Seven selections in seven different races comprising 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 fourfolds, 21 fivefolds, seven sixfolds and one sevenfold. It is 120 bets win and 240 bets each way.
Super Yankee
Five selections in five different races, comprising ten doubles, ten trebles, five fourfolds and one fivefold. It is 26 bets win and 52 bets each way spread in the context of investments, the difference between the prices at which the investment can be bought and sold. In spread betting the difference between two index levels above or below which you bet that the index will finish once the results of an event are known. In either case the spread gives the market-maker or bookmaker his earnings.
Switch Betting
Betting in which the bookmaker debits the stake and tax and inputs winnings by direct access to the punter's debit or credit account.
Take Out
The slice of the total stakes paid which is paid over to the operator of a gambling or betting opportunity.
Tierce
The French jackpot bet in which the punter must name the first three horses to finish. there are two pools, one for nominating the correct order and another for naming the first three finishers in any order.
Time
All horse races are timed electronically. When related to the pace of the race and the ground conditions ('going'), timing is regarded by many experts as an essential guide to finding future winners. The form book records the time of the race and whether it was above or below standard for that distance on that course.
Tipsters
People who present themselves as experts on shares or racing and offer advice on current opportunities for profit.
Tote
The Horserace Totalisator Board (Tote) enters all bets into separate pools and deducts operating costs and profit (together called the take-out), sharing what remains of each pool among those who picked the winners or winning combinations. This is a pari-mutuel system. Bets on Tote pools can be placed on course or by telephone to Tote Credit. Bookmakers may also be licensed to take Tote bets or may be partners in Tote Direct whereby wagers are placed through terminals in betting shops directly linked to the Tote's central computer in Wigan.
Tote Bookmakers
The Tote also acts as a bookmaker taking bets at morning line at board prices and at starting price.
Tote Direct
A joint venture between the Tote and leading bookmakers in which Totes bets may be fed directly into the pools from betting shops.
Tote Dividend
The win, place and forecast pay-outs from the pools to a �1 stake (which is included as part of the return) - also called Tote Return.
Tote Shows
As close to real time as possible, as the bets are placed, changing Tote odds are displayed on the race course on Teletext and on the internet. These shows are not the same as fluctuating odds on offer by bookmakers as they cannot be used for betting; they show only the potential return from each horse based on the amount bet on the individual horses in the pool at the time. To get the best possible price, some punters delay their bets until the last minute so that they can compare bookmakers odds with the final Tote Show.
Tote Windows
Outlets for Tote betting on a race course.
Treble
A bet in which three horses must win or be placed (each way) on the same day. In sports betting, three events may be nominated on different days including major horse races advertised ante-post.
Tricast
A bet with the bookmaker in races of eight or more runners in which the punter must name, in the correct order, the first three to finish.
Trifecta
A bet with the Tote on one race a day (usually a difficult handicap) in which the punter must name, in the correct order, the first three horses to finish a race.
Triple Crown
Victory for the same three-year old colt in the 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger was once the pinnacle of achievement. With staying races unfashionable, the Triple Crown is no longer a target, the St Leger being replaced in stature by the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Trixie
Also called a patent; a bet in which the punter has three single bets, three doubles and a treble on three horses.
