Form in horse racing is a simple and convenient history layout which can be accessed and understood easily. There are many ways to get the forms from horses from free sites, paid sites to building the form structure by yourself. Forms are a fantastic way to get a quick rundown on how horses have been doing lately.

Form Abbreviations

Forms will usually present themselves as a string of numbers, letters and symbols each having their own meaning. Before we are able to read a form, we need to understand what the numbers, letters and symbols mean. Below is a rundown of all the form meanings.

  • 1-9 – the numbers 1 through to 9 signify in what position a horse finished a particular race.
  • 0 – The number 0 Signifies that a horse did not finish within the top 9. To avoid confusing strings of numbers, a zero is used to avoid multi-digit numbers. Positions 10 and higher are often not considered to be important as they are nowhere near front runners in typical races.
  • P – The horse has been pulled out of the race. This can be because of an injury, being too tired or just not running.
  • F – The horse fell in this race.
  • S – The horse slipped up during the race. This is common on wet tracks.
  • R – The horse refused. Normally this would mean that the horse refused to run at all or in certain types of horse racing the horse refused to jump over an obstetrical.
  • BD – Brought Down, meaning the horse fell after colliding with another horse on the field.
  • U/UR – Unseated, the horse unseated the jockey. Even if the jockey would manage to get back on, this is grounds for disqualification from the race.
  • – – The dash symbol signifies a break between races. This can be between seasons or a change of year.
  • / – The forward slash symbol means a break from racing longer than the typical break. This can refer to a month or even years. When you see a / it is likely worth doing more research into the matter.

While there are a few other abbreviations, they are not common and are note worth noting when starting.

Contextual Data

Near the horses name it will be common to see another letter or pair of letters. While less important that the form itself, it’s worth noting.

  • C – Horse as previously won at this course.
  • D – Horse has previously won this race distance.
  • CD – Horse has previously won on this course at this race distance.
  • BF – The horse has previously been favourite to win this race and been beaten.

Reading The Form

An example of an average form will look something like this 603-F2. The sequence is always in chronological order so this can be read as;

  • 6 – 6th place finish.
  • 0 – Over 9th place finish.
  • 3 – 3rd place finish.
  • – – Short break from racing.
  • F – Horse fell.
  • 2 – 2nd place finish.