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

Form (horse racing)

----In horse racing, the form of a horse is a record of significant events including its performance in previous races. The form may identify the horse's sire, dam and wider pedigree...

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Race

• Race name
• Time of race
• Prize money
• Distance
• Going

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

• Status of race - the premier races are Class 1 (Flat racing
  Flat racing
  Flat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles...
  
  ) and Grade 1 (National Hunt racing
  National Hunt racing
  National Hunt racing is the official name given to the sport of horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Ireland in which the horses are required to jump over obstacles called hurdles or fences...
  
  )
• Number of runners

Individual horses

• Position drawn in stalls
• Number horse is wearing ('Saddle cloth number')
• Form figures and previous races

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

• Horse Name
• Horse's Age
• Course/Distance Form

C = course winner: D = distance winner: BF = beaten favourite

• Weight
• Days since last ran

If the horse has recently run under a different code (either Flat or Jump)
the days elapsed since that race are shown in brackets.

• Headgear

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

• Trainer
• Jockey
• Penalties & Out Of Handicap

ex = penalty for recent win
oh = out of the handicap

• Jockey's colours
• Owner

External links

• BBC explanation of a typical racecard