In horse racing, the form of a horse is a record of significant events including 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.
Number Colours Form Horse Name Age Weight Trainer Jockey 3 image 43-2F1 Mill Reef 3 11-12 A.Smith L.Piggott 7 image 680U54 Glue Pot 3 11-10 B.Brown F.DettoriAbbreviations 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 |
| 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 previous season |
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.
Famous quotes containing the word form:
“Freedom is the essence of this faith. It has for its object simply to make men good and wise. Its institutions then should be as flexible as the wants of men. That form out of which the life and suitableness have departed should be as worthless in its eyes as the dead leaves that are falling around us.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)