How to Read Horse Racing Form

If you’re a newcomer to US racing entries and racing schedules, you will find the following guide to racing form and race cards handy to follow.

• Stall Number, Cloth Number and Position – The number next to a horse’s name is the saddlecloth number and draw position if the race uses starting stalls. They are color-coded and quickly become familiar.
• Colors, Silks and Cap – The colors the jockey will wear depend on the horse’s owners and are unique to each owner, not an individual horse. Knowing the colors of the silks make it easier to find your horse during a race.
• Recent Form – Form is the word used to describe a horse’s recent performances on the racetrack. Horse form is shown on a race card or racing program by way of a set of numbers. It might look like this 4-5-2-3-1, reading from left to right, that means the horse’s most recent run is the last number you read, and in this example, it’s last run was a win, denoted by a number one for first place.
• Form Labels – Sometimes a horse will have performed well at the track it is racing at today on previous occasions and you will see a C next to its name, which denotes a course winner, or a CD, which means a course-and-distance winner. These are helpful labels to guide you in finding a runner that may perform well today. Some other examples are BF, for beaten favorite last time out, or D for distance winner that excels at today’s race distance.
• Jockey – America is home to some of the leading jockeys globally and knowing who is riding your selection in a race can be a big part of finding winners as some jockeys are more successful than others. The likes of Irad Ortiz Jr, Joel Rosario and Flavien Prat are perfect examples of leading jockeys who regularly win on the US racing circuit for the best trainers and owners Stateside.
• Trainer – Like jockeys, you want to know you have a good trainer when assessing the chances of a horse winning at any race meeting in the USA. Big racing yards like Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher and others lead the way with winners each year in the US, and keeping track of their barn form can be a great clue in searching for daily winners at US race tracks.
• Age – The age of a horse is not always significant as many will run only in the same age groups, but this is shown on all race entries for each race run in the US.
• Ratings – The rating of a horse is often provided by an official handicapper, denoting the class and expected level of a horse in terms of ability. As a horse improves its performances on track, a rating will rise accordingly, and likewise, a horse that is declining in ability will see its official rating reduce over time.