barren
Used to describe a filly or mare that was bred and did not conceive during the last breeding season.
bay
A horse color that varies from a yellow-tan to a bright auburn. The mane, tail and lower portion of the legs are always black, except where white markings are present.
Big Red
Refers to either of two famous chestnut-colored horses: Man o’ War or Secretariat.
black
A horse color which is black, including the muzzle, flanks, mane, tail and legs unless white markings are present.
blaze
A generic term describing a large, white vertical marking on a horse’s face. The Jockey Club doesn’t use blaze, preferring more descriptive words. See snip; star; stripe.
book
1) The group of mares being bred to a stallion in a given year. If a stallion attracts the maximum number of mares allowed by the farm manager, he has a full book. 2) A term used to describe a jockey’s riding commitments with his agent: An agent handles a jockey’s book.
bred
1) A horse is considered to have been bred in the state or country of its birth: Secretariat was a Virginia-bred. 2) The past tense of “breed.”
breeder
Owner of the dam at time of foaling unless the dam was under a lease or foal-sharing arrangement at the time of foaling. In that case, the person(s) specified by the terms of the agreement is (are) the breeder(s) of the foal.
breeding fund
A state fund set up to provide bonuses for state-breds.
broodmare
A filly or mare that has been bred and is used to produce foals.
buy-back
A horse put through a public auction that did not reach a minimum (reserve) price set by the consignor and so was retained. The consignor must pay a fee to the auction company based on a percentage of the reserve, to cover the auction company’s marketing, advertising and other costs.
