Today’s Racecards & Horse Racing Cards

Looking for today's horse racing cards? Our horse racing betting section is the place to start at talkSPORT BET. Choose a meeting to view the races and their available runners. Knowing what the card's figures mean helps put those runners in context.

Finding Racing Cards Today

Use Today or Tomorrow to choose the day you're interested in, then look under the relevant country heading. Choose a course and then the race time you want to open.

A time alone isn't enough. Two courses may have a 3.30 race. Check the course alongside the time, even when following a familiar horse.

To find which horse races are on today, work through that meeting list. You might find an evening meeting as well as afternoon racing. What's listed depends on the schedule and available coverage.

Coming back to a card you read this morning? See whether the field or ground has changed before you use that earlier information.

A racecard is the programme for the racing. Printed cards can cover a whole meeting; online, you can open individual races.

Read down from the race heading for its time, venue, distance and conditions. The runners follow below, together with the people training and riding them and their earlier results. Some cards add ratings, equipment notes and draw positions alongside the prices.

A sprint winner faces another test over a longer distance. Read the heading before judging its latest result.

Tomorrow's racecards are useful for looking ahead. Choose Tomorrow in the racing section to see the upcoming meetings available, then open the races as their information appears.

An entry isn't a declaration, and even a declared runner can be withdrawn.

Weather introduces another question. Has overnight rain changed the going since you first studied the card? Look for the latest report on race day. A forecast gives you something to consider, but it doesn't establish what the surface will be like when the race takes place.

A race can appear in the schedule before betting opens.

The time in the heading is the planned start. If there's a delay, follow the meeting updates.

Distance uses three familiar units: miles (m), furlongs (f) and yards (y). A mile contains eight furlongs. So 1m2f means a mile plus two furlongs, and a horse stepping up from 6f to a mile travels an extra quarter-mile.

Next, read the type of contest. Is it a handicap, with weights allocated using assessed ability? Or does it have other conditions about which horses can enter? Age, sex and racing experience can all feature in those restrictions.

Class gives context when comparing earlier runs. Who did the horse beat, and who does it face now? A stronger field changes the comparison. Group and Grade labels indicate upper-tier races, with the conditions giving more detail.

A form string condenses the horse's previous results into a few characters. On a standard British racecard, look at the right-hand end for its latest run. The older results sit to the left.

For example, read 3241 as third, second, fourth, then first. The win is its latest result. To find out who it beat and by how much, you'll need the fuller record.

A close second behind a stronger opponent deserves a different reading from a win in a weaker field. Read the fuller record alongside the finishing figures.

Letters record other outcomes, such as a fall. For unfamiliar notation, look at the provider's key.

Where the code appears matters. C in a form record can mean carried out, rather than course winner. The column and the card's key tell you which reading applies.

CD is useful background, but go back to that previous win if you can. Today's ground, opponents or weight may be different.

A weight such as 9st 4lb is the burden carried in the race. The horse itself weighs considerably more; the figure isn't its body weight.

The official rating is the handicapper's assessment, expressed in pounds. Generally, more ability on that assessment brings more weight, with the final allocation also depending on allowances, penalties and race conditions.

Read the two together. Why has one runner got less weight? Why has another got a higher rating? Neither number makes much sense as a reason for a selection on its own.

You might also see a jockey's claim. An apprentice or conditional rider may be entitled to take weight off under the rules. If you're working out the burden yourself, see how that claim has been shown. You don't want to subtract an allowance twice.

Also ask which rating you're reading. Some horses have different marks for turf and all-weather runs, or separate hurdle and chase marks. Use the one relevant to today's contest.

Good, soft and heavy describe turf conditions. All-weather tracks use artificial surfaces, with descriptions including standard or standard to slow. It's worth comparing the surface with the one on which a horse's earlier form was recorded.

The trip may still be a mile, but soft turf and an artificial surface ask different questions.

For a Flat race using stalls, look for the draw to find where the horse starts. Its saddlecloth identifies the runner; the stall allocation can be a different number.

Does a low or high draw matter? That depends on the course, distance, field and running of the race. There isn't a universal answer. Jumps races don't use a stalls draw, although their runners still have identifying numbers.

Now go back through the horse's previous races. Which resemble this test? For stamina, a placed run at today's trip may be more relevant than a win over a much shorter distance.

The Horse Racing BetFinder has course-winner, distance-winner and odds-range filters to help organise the runners you're looking at. Read the underlying race information afterwards: matching a filter doesn't establish which horse wins next.

Big meetings bring more information to sort through. For the races across Cheltenham's festival, see our Cheltenham Festival betting guide. For Aintree's best-known contest, there's our Grand National betting page. Early entries for either still need checking against the declared runners closer to race day.

A non-runner means the field has changed. Look at the withdrawal rules for your market, because a bet struck ante-post can be treated differently from one made in a race-day market.

Each way involves two parts. A £2 each-way bet costs £4, split equally between winning and placing. Check the place terms alongside that total. The number of places and the place fraction belong to that market, rather than applying automatically to all today's horse racing.

You can use our bet calculator to work through the potential return at the odds and terms you enter. It doesn't predict the race or determine settlement.

You must be 18 or over to bet. Set limits with everyday expenses covered, and take breaks.