Saddle: Thoroughbred racing saddle weighing less than two pounds.
Saddle cloth (pad): Cotton cloth that goes under the saddle to absorb sweat that usually shows the horse's program number; piece of felt, sheepskin or foam rubber used as a base for the saddle.
Scale of weights: Fixed weights to be carried by horses according to their age, sex, race distance and time of year.
Schooling: Process of familiarizing a horse with the starting gate and teaching racing practices; may also involve being schooled in the paddock.
Scratch: To be taken out of a race before it starts. Trainers usually scratch horses due to adverse health or track conditions while the track veterinarian can do so at any time.
Second dam: Grandmother of a horse; also known as a granddam.
Set down: Jockey suspended for a number of days for racing infractions.
Sex allowance: Female horses, fillies and mares, according to age and time of year allowed to carry three to five pounds less when meeting males.
Shadow roll: Usually a sheepskin roll secured over bridge of a horse's nose to keep animal from seeing shadows on the track and shying away from or jumping them.
Shedrow: Stable area; row of barns.
Short: Horse in need of more work; racing to reach winning form.
Show (bet): Third position at the finish; wager on horse to finish in the money.
Shut off: Unable to improve position due to being surrounded by other horses.
Silks: Jacket and cap worn by riders to designate owner of the horse or at some smaller tracks to designate post positions.
Simulcast: A simultaneous live television transmission of a race to other tracks, off-track betting offices or other outlets for the purpose of wagering.
Sire: Male parent; to beget foals.
Sloppy (track): Racing surface saturated with water; with standing water visible.
Slow (track): Racing strip wet on both the surface and base.
Socks: Solid white markings extending from top of the hoof to ankles.
Soft (track): Condition of a turf course with a large amount of moisture that has horses sinking very deeply into it.
Sophomores: Three-year-old horses named for their second year of racing eligibility.
Speed figure: Handicapping tool used to assign a numerical value to a horse's performance.
Spit the bit: Term referring to tired horse that begins to run less aggressively, backing off on the pull a rider normally feels on the reins from an eager horse.
Sprint: Short race less than a mile.
Stakes: Race for which the owner usually must pay a fee to run a horse. Fees can be for nominating, maintaining eligibility, entering and starting, to which the track adds more money to make up the total purse.
Stakes horse: Runner whose level of competition includes mostly stakes races. Star: Any number of white markings on the forehead.
Starter: Official responsible for ensuring fair start to a race who supervises loading of horses into starting gate through a gate crew and has control of opening gate; a horse in starting gate when the race begins, whether he runs or not.
Starter race: Allowance or handicap race restricted to horses that have started for a specific claiming price or less.
Starting gate: Partitioned mechanical device having stalls in which horses are confined until the starter releases front doors to begin the race.
State-bred: Horse bred in a particular state and eligible to compete in races restricted to state-breds.
Stayer: Horse that can race long distances.
Steadied: Horse taken in hand by rider usually because of racing in close quarters.
Step up: Horse moving up in class to meet better competition.
Stewards: Officials of a meeting responsible for enforcing rules of racing.
Steeplechase: Race in which horses are required to jump over a series of obstacles on the course.
Stockings: Solid white markings extending from the top of the hoof to the knee or hock.
Stretch (turn): Final straight portion of the track to the finish; bend of track into final straightaway.
Stretch call (runner): Position of horses at eighth pole: l; horse that runs fastest nearing finish line.
Stride: Manner of going: distance covered between successive imprints of the same hoof.
Stripe: White marking running down a horse's face starting under an imaginary line connecting tops of the eyes.
Stud: Male horse used for breeding; a breeding farm.
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