Betting glossary
Short definitions of the terms you'll meet in racing columns and betting sites. Written for readers, not lawyers — the exact rules vary between bookmakers.
- Accumulator (acca)
- One bet on several selections at once. Every selection has to win for the bet to pay out; the odds multiply, which is why accumulators promise a lot and usually deliver nothing.
- Ante-post
- A bet placed well before the event — sometimes months before, as with the Grand National or Cheltenham. Better odds, but if your horse doesn't run, you normally lose the stake.
- Bankroll
- The money a bettor has set aside for betting, kept separate from money needed for anything else.
- Each-way
- Two bets in one: half the stake on the selection to win, half on it to place (finish in the top positions). Common in racing, where fields are large and winners are hard to call.
- Evens
- Odds of 1/1: a winning bet returns your stake plus the same amount again.
- Going
- The condition of the ground on a racecourse, from firm to heavy. Horses often have a strong preference, which is why tipsters talk about it so much.
- Nap
- A tipster's most confident selection of the day. The word comes from the Victorian card game Napoleon. Full explanation here.
- NB (next best)
- The tipster's second-strongest selection of the day, listed after the nap.
- Odds-on
- Odds shorter than evens, e.g. 1/2: you stake more than you stand to win. The market considers the outcome more likely than not.
- SP (starting price)
- The official odds at the moment the race starts. Bets taken "at SP" settle at those odds rather than the price shown when the bet was placed.
- Value bet
- A bet where the odds on offer are longer than the true probability justifies, in the bettor's judgement. The entire craft of tipping is the hunt for value.
- Yankee
- A combination bet on four selections: six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold accumulator — eleven bets in total.