What to do to pacify a scared horse and how to render it unlikely to start in the future.

Once results are declared "official," payoffs will be posted.
charging from off the pace can be a
challenge for handicappers. To do
this, handicappers try to estimate
the pace of the race, thus explaining
a common phrase in racing,
"pace makes the race."
With pace so important, many
race watchers are anxious to see the
fractional times flash on the tote
board. A field of horses that runs a
second faster or two seconds slower
than the handicapper anticipated
might explain why the running
positions of the horses were not
what he predicted.
Program numbers: Sometimes
it's hard to find the position of the
horse you bet during a race. Tracks
have tried to make this easier, by
assigning the same color saddlecloth
to each horse with the same
program number. For example, in
every race, the #1 horse would get
the red cloth, the #2 horse, the
blue, and so on. But another way is
watching the tote board, where the
program numbers of the four horses
in the lead during the race are
posted.
An official with the racetrack
watches the race through binoculars
and calls out the numbers as
the horses change positions. With
a quick glance at the tote board,
you can easily see if your horse is
among the first four in the race.
Payoffs: When the horses cross
the finish line, there is only one
important thing to those holding
winning tickets — the amount of
the payoff. This will be displayed
on the tote board.
First, the order of finish is put up
for the first four horses to cross the
finish line. In racing, the term "in
the money" refers to the first three
finishers; the term "hit the board"
means the first four because that is
how many are displayed on the
tote board.
When the race is declared "official,"
the payoffs for win, place,
and show are posted on the tote
board. When a longshot wins,
there often is a collective gasp
when the prices are first posted.
Everyone gets a charge out of seeing
prices for a winner such as