This glossary can help you understand the most common horse racing betting terms.

Accumulator – An accumulator bet is when you include two or more selections in the same bet in order to drive up the odds up. For your bet to win, all of your selections would need to be winners.

Each-way – When you bet on a horse each-way, you place half of your stake on it to win and half of your stake on it to place. Details of what constitutes a place differs for each race, but it is usually the top three or four positions.

Handicap – A handicap race is one in which the horses carry weight so as to even up the contest. The better the horse, the heavier the weight.

Lucky 15 – A Lucky 15 bet includes four selections but is effectively 15 bets in one, covering all of the potential outcomes. Your stake is split into 15, to cover the four singles, six doubles, four trebles and the total four-fold.

NAP – A term that derives from the card game Napoleon to denote a tipster’s most confident selection of the day.

OR (official rating) – A horse’s rating is decided by the British Horseracing Authority, based on its previous performances. Individual races are organised by rating, so horses with a similar rating race each other, while comparing the horses’ OR is used to determine how much weight each should carry.

Patent – A Patent bet includes three selections but is effectively seven bets in one, covering all of the potential outcomes. A seventh of your stake is placed on each of the three singles, the three available doubles and the treble.

Place – When you bet on a horse each-way, you place half of your stake on it to win and half of your stake on it to place. For a horse to place it commonly needs to finish in the top three or four positions, with the details for each race laid out on the sportsbook.

Scratched – A horse is scratched when it has been entered into a race but then withdrawn, usually because of concerns about its fitness or health.

SP (starting price) – The final price for a runner before the race begins. If a horse’s last price before the race begins is 12/1, then 12/1 is its starting price.

Trixie – A Trixie bet includes three selections but is effectively four different bets in one. Your stake is split into four, covering the three doubles and the treble as a whole.

Yankee – A Yankee bet includes four selections but is effectively 11 bets in one. Your stake is split into 11, covering the four doubles, six trebles and the total four-fold. Unlike a Lucky 15 bet, a Yankee bet does not cover the singles individually.