Racing parlance from the good old days

TNaicker wrote:

Mac wrote:

TNaicker wrote: Never knew the lingo so glad for this thread...

I understand communications but what is the objective?

Always good to learn something new, however frivolous...

I like the following slang used on Oz and NZ racecourses........


Asparagus: Name given to a punter who arrives on course with a stack of ‘mail’, hence: more tips than a tin of asparagus.

Coat-tugger: A racecourse conman who will tip a horse to a punter, and if the horse wins, is always present when the punter collects, to demand a portion of the winnings.

Colourful racing identity: Euphemism for a criminal

Could not lay it with a trowel: Said by bookmakers of a horse that has been completely neglected in the betting ring.

Emu: A person who picks up discarded betting tickets on a racecourse, hoping that some will be of value. The person strikes a similar pose to Australia’s largest native bird when feeding.

Gorilla: A colloquial term for one thousand dollars

Just about square: Punters expression for nearly broke.

Ordinary cattle: A derogatory term for a low class field of runners.

Undertaker: A bookmaker said to only be interested in laying "dead 'uns".

I find it very irritating when I hear the current racing parlance "the backend of quartets". No-one ever says the horse will probably finish out of the money.

Mac wrote: I find it very irritating when I hear the current racing parlance "the backend of quartets". No-one ever says the horse will probably finish out of the money.

tipsters went from giving their fancy to tipping half the field in a race

Sometime I think tipsters just rig the betting
And mislead the public

what about getting dicked. bacon sliced its when you give your money to someone while you go to get the car from the car park to find a nag that was 3/1 when you left had been returned to you at 13/8 aukland jack thick slices