This article is about the horseracing card. For the phrase "playing the race card", see Race card. For similarly named topics, see The Race Card (disambiguation).
A 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 (form guide in Australia), 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.
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
Previous season's races are shown before a 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