What is a racecard?

Whether you are a regular racegoer or a once-a-week, stay-at-home punter, the racecard is arguably your most important source of information. On the racecourse, a racecard, which can be bought inexpensively, or may be included in the price of admission, takes the form of a printed booklet, akin to a theatre programme. In this case, the racecard contains information about the racecourse, the races to be run and the runners in each race.

Racecards are also printed in industry publications, such as the ‘Racing Post’, and in other daily newspapers. In this case, the list of runners and riders is printed, race-by-race, and includes key information, such as the saddlecoth number and name of each horse, its age, the weight it is set to carry, the name of its jockey and trainer and the colours worn by the jockey. A brief synopsis of the recent form of each horse is included, as a series of form figures alongside its name, which indicate its finishing position in its last five or six races. Of course, form figures alone may not provide all the information you need to make an informed betting decision, but may, at least, provide some quick, simple clues to where you should focus any further analysis.