In horse racing, the form of a horse is a record of significant events, mainly its performance in previous races. The form may identify the horse's sire, dam and wider pedigree. It is used by tipsters and punters as an aid in the prediction of its performance in future races.
A typical way of showing a horse's form, as published in newspapers and other media, is shown here. NumberColoursFormHorse NameAgeWeightTrainerJockey3image43-2F1Mill Reff311-12A. SmithL. Piggott7image680U54Glue Pot311-10B. BrownF. Dettori
Abbreviations used to decode the Form column can include:
1–9 The position the horse finished in a race 0 Finished outside the top 9 P Pulled up (reined in as horse may be too tired/injured, or horse may just stop running) F Fell S Slipped Up R Refusal B Brought down U Unseated rider - Separates years, i.e. left of this is from previous year, e.g. Dec 06 - Jan 07 / Separates racing seasons, i.e. left of this is from the season before last BD Indicates the horse was brought down by another runner BF Stands for the beaten favourite and indicates a horse was favourite for a race but did not win CD Indicates a horse has won over course and distance
Form is arranged chronologically from left (oldest) to right (newest).
So, in the example above, the horse Mill Reef gained a fourth place, followed by a third, then took some time out from racing, then gained a second followed by falling in the next race, and its latest result was a win.
See also Racecard
References