To read a form guide, check the race conditions and track rating, then take each runner in turn: form figures, barrier, weight, rider and gear, records, then its past runs. On Racing Australia's form pages the newest run is the right-hand figure of the Last 10 string, an x marks a spell and a 0 is a finish of 10th or worse.
A read only becomes useful as a price: rate a runner one chance in six and its fair price is $6.00, so an illustrative $7.00 is worth checking and $5.00 is not. A form guide is the race-by-race list of every runner's recent results and race-day details, and the examples follow Racing Australia's free thoroughbred form (checked 7 October 2026). Harness and greyhound form use other layouts: see how to read harness racing form and how to read greyhound form.
Start with the meeting header and the race conditions
Before any runner, read the two blocks above the field, the meeting header and the race header. With illustrative entries in Racing Australia's layout:
| Line | Illustrative entry | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Rail Position | +3m 1200m -400m, True remainder | The rail is 3 metres out from the 1200m mark to the 400m mark, and true (its innermost line) elsewhere |
| Track Condition | Soft 5 | The official rating when the page was published, which can change before the race |
| Conditions | BenchMark 64, Handicap, Minimum Weight 55kg, Three-Years-Old and Upwards, Apprentices can claim | The class, how weights are set, the lowest weight any runner is allotted, who may run, and whether apprentice claims apply |
| Field Limit | 12 + 4 EM | Up to 12 starters, plus four emergencies who start only if enough of the field is scratched |
The conditions line says what kind of contest the form came from. In a handicap the handicapper sets each runner's weight from its rating to bring the field together. Under set weights runners carry the same weight apart from allowances, and weight-for-age follows a published scale by age, sex, distance and month. A three-length win at set weights against weaker horses can be worth less than a narrow defeat under topweight in a strong handicap.
Which end of the form line is the newest run
Racing Australia's Last 10 column reads in date order, oldest on the left and newest on the right, so the right-hand figure is the horse's last start. The dated past-start lines under the horse confirm it: they also run oldest first. Three rules cover most strings:
- A figure from 1 to 9 is the finishing place in a race.
- A 0 is a finish of 10th or worse, so an 11th of 12 prints as 0.
- An x marks a spell, a break between two preparations.
The column holds 10 symbols, not 10 runs, and each x uses one of them, so a horse with two recent spells shows only eight runs.
Take the string 52x3614x51 and read it from the right: a win last start, a 5th the start before, then a spell. Before that spell came a preparation of 3, 6, 1 and 4, and before the earlier spell a 5th and a 2nd. The horse is third up today, and its last two runs are this preparation's only evidence. The remaining symbols, and the codes inside each past-start line, are decoded in horse racing form abbreviations.
Tip: To check a form guide you have not used before, match its right-hand figure with the placing in the most recent dated run. If it matches the oldest run, that publisher prints the figures the other way round.
One runner's entry, field by field
Under the field list, each runner gets a block of its own. Runner 6 is an illustrative horse, laid out as Racing Australia prints it, and the one priced at $6.00 later:
| Field | Runner 6 (illustrative) | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| No | 6 | The saddlecloth number your bet uses, not the barrier |
| Last 10 | 52x3614x51 | Recent places and spells, newest on the right |
| Horse | 4 year old bay gelding, with sire and dam | Ages count from 1 August under AR 161, not from the foaling date (racehorse birthday) |
| Trainer | Trainer B, with the stable's base | Who prepares the horse, and where |
| Jockey | Jockey C (a2/52kg) | The a marks an apprentice, a2 a 2kg claim and the figure after the slash the apprentice's declared minimum riding weight; past-start lines show (a) alone (apprentice claims) |
| Barrier | 3 | The starting stall, numbered out from the inside rail (barrier draw) |
| Weight and Probable Weight | 59kg and 57kg | The weight allotted, then the weight after the claim: 59 - 2 = 57kg |
| Penalty | Blank | Extra weight the race conditions add, such as for a win since the weights were declared; blank means none |
| Hcp Rating | 62 | The handicap rating that handicap weights are worked from |
| Gear Changes | Blinkers FIRST TIME | Gear on or off since the last start, marked FIRST TIME or AGAIN, or OFF FIRST TIME when gear comes off; a horse gelded since its last start is flagged here too (gear changes, blinkers) |
| Record | 14:3-2-1 | 14 starts for 3 wins, 2 seconds and 1 third |
| 1st Up and 2nd Up | 3:0-0-1 and 3:1-0-0 | The first and second runs of each preparation, debut included (first up and second up) |
| Track, Dist and Track/Dist | 2:1-0-0, 6:2-1-0 and 1:1-0-0 | Records at today's course, at today's distance, and at both |
| Firm, Good, Soft, Heavy and Synthetic | 0:0-0-0, 9:3-1-1, 4:0-1-0, 1:0-0-0 and 0:0-0-0 | Records by track rating band, and on synthetic tracks |
Weight, the claim and what the horse carries
Under AR 143 of the Australian Rules of Racing (version of 1 October 2026), an apprentice's claim depends on how many winners they have ridden, as each state's Local Rules allow. No claim is allowed in a Group, Listed or Restricted Listed race.
Past-start lines show the weight actually carried after cd: 59kg (cd 57kg) means allotted 59kg, carried 57kg. A cd figure can also sit above the allotted weight, so read it rather than assume a claim came off in full. What a kilogram is worth in lengths is only a rule of thumb, as weight in horse racing explains.
Class, ratings and black type
Class belongs to the race, and the conditions line names it. The ladder runs from a maiden race for horses that have not won, through class races such as Class 1 and benchmark races such as BenchMark 64, up to Listed and Group races. Under AR 162, Group, Listed and Restricted Listed races are those Racing Australia identifies as the highest standard of racing. A win, second or third in a Group or Listed race earns black type, the bold print sales catalogues use for those results.
Australian race classes lays out the ladder, with benchmark races and Group and Listed races for the detail. Turning the Hcp Rating, or a private or speed rating, into a chance is covered in horse racing ratings.
Records, strike rates and small samples
Runner 6's record converts to strike rates in one line each: 3 / 14 = 21.4% wins and (3 + 2 + 1) / 14 = 42.9% placings. Its 1:1-0-0 at the track and distance looks perfect and says almost nothing.
Trainer and jockey figures need the same care. A stable with 3 winners from its last 10 runners shows 30% on paper, yet a stable whose true rate is 15% gets 3 or more winners from 10 runners about 18.0% of the time. The chances of 0, 1 and 2 winners are 0.85 to the power 10 = 0.197, 10 x 0.15 x 0.85 to the power 9 = 0.347 and 45 x 0.15 x 0.15 x 0.85 to the power 8 = 0.276. Those add to 0.820, so 3 or more comes up 1 - 0.820 = 0.180.
Reading a past-start line
Under the records, Racing Australia prints up to five of the horse's most recent race starts in full, oldest first, with recent barrier trials and jump-outs between them. Each line mixes facts about the race with facts about the horse, and telling them apart is most of the skill:
| About the race | About the horse |
|---|---|
| Course code and date, such as RAND for Randwick | Placing, such as 1 of 10 |
| Distance, track rating and class, such as 1200m Good4 BM64 | Rider, weight allotted and weight carried, such as 59kg (cd 57kg) |
| Total prize money | Its own earnings from the race, in brackets after the prize money |
| The other placegetters and their weights | Barrier, and the margin it won or was beaten by, such as 1.50L |
| Race time and the time for the last 600 metres, such as 1:11.30 (600m 34.10) | Positions at the 800m and 400m, such as 1st@800m, and its prices in that race's betting, with F for the favourite |
Every runner in a race carries the same time and 600m figure, so a horse beaten three lengths ran slower than the printed time. Its own run shows in the margin and the positions at the 800m and 400m. A horse 9th at the 400m that finished 4th, beaten 1.2 lengths, was making ground; one 1st at the 400m that finished 4th was being run down.
Lines marked T are barrier trials and lines marked J are jump-outs: nothing is bet on either, they do not count in the Record or the Last 10, and a trial or jump-out win is not a race win. Racing Australia's free form prints the race's sectional, not each runner's; where a form service publishes runner-by-runner figures, sectional times shows how to read them.
Track rating, rail, bias and distance
Racing Australia's national turf scale runs from 1 to 10 in four bands: Firm 1 to 2, Good 3 to 4, Soft 5 to 7 and Heavy 8 to 10.
Older form lines can carry the retired names Dead and Slow, and sand and dirt tracks use a scale of their own. Track ratings explained maps both, with the penetrometer reading that feeds a rating and the race-day update times.
A rating can be revised on race day, so price a runner on the rating at the jump, and weigh a record like Runner 6's 4:0-1-0 on soft as wet track form explains: four runs is a small sample.
The rail position sets which strip of turf the field races on and the room along the inside, one reason a track races differently from meeting to meeting.
A track bias is a pattern on the day, such as leaders or runners near the rail winning more often than their prices suggest. Watch the 800m and 400m positions of each winner as the meeting goes on, and hold the idea loosely: two races are not a pattern.
Distance is the last condition. The Dist and Track/Dist records show whether the horse has handled this trip. The past-start lines show how it finished over shorter or longer ones: a sprinter that led to the 400m and faded over 1400m is a different prospect over 1100m.
Pace, the speed map and sectionals for one runner
A speed map predicts where each runner settles early, and Racing Australia's lines give you its raw material: each runner's position at the 800m in recent starts. Set those beside today's barriers to see who is likely to lead; how to read a speed map builds a map for a full field. Runner 6, worked through with illustrative form, in an 11-runner 1200m race on a Soft 5 track:
| Evidence | What the form shows | What it means today |
|---|---|---|
| Barrier | 3 | Can hold a spot near the rail without much work |
| Settling pattern | 2nd, 1st, 3rd and 1st at the 800m in its last four starts | An on-pace horse |
| The rest of the map | Runners 2 (barrier 1) and 9 (barrier 10) both led at their last two starts | Three want the front: expect a genuine pace and no easy lead |
| Last start | Won by 1.50 lengths after leading at the 800m and the 400m | Strong on the figures |
| Last-start sectionals | 1:11.30 (600m 34.10); another 1200m race that day for similar horses ran 1:10.60 (600m 34.80) | Its race was slow early and quick late |
The working: first 600m = race time - last 600m. Runner 6's race ran 71.30 - 34.10 = 37.20 seconds for its first 600m, and the comparison race 70.60 - 34.80 = 35.80 seconds. So Runner 6's race was 37.20 - 35.80 = 1.40 seconds slower early and 34.80 - 34.10 = 0.70 seconds quicker late. Because Runner 6 led at the 800m and the 400m and won, the race's last 600m is in effect its own.
A slow first half and a fast finish is what an uncontested lead looks like: the leader saves energy early and has more late, which flatters a 1.50-length win. The comparison holds only if the track played the same in both races.
Today, Runner 2 should lead from barrier 1 and Runner 9 has to use energy to cross from barrier 10 or race caught wide. Runner 6 most likely settles in the box seat, on the rail behind the leader, which saves ground but means winning a harder race than its last.
Pricing a runner from its form, then checking the market
A chance becomes a price with one formula: fair price = 1 / chance. Settle your own number before the market can pull it towards its own, and adjust it one piece of evidence at a time. For Runner 6, with illustrative judgements rather than a formula:
| Step in the read | Your chance | Fair price |
|---|---|---|
| Last-start win taken at face value, third up in the same grade | 22% | 1 / 0.22 = $4.55 |
| The win came from a soft lead, and two other leaders are drawn to contest the front | 18% | 1 / 0.18 = $5.56 |
| Soft 5 today, with no wins from four soft runs (a small sample, so a small cut) | 1 in 6, about 16.7% | 1 / (1/6) = $6.00 |
Framing one runner is half the job, because chances across the whole field must add up to 100%, the method in how to frame a market. Then compare your $6.00 with what is on offer, at illustrative prices:
| Where | Price | Implied chance (1 / price) | Against your $6.00 (price / 6.00 - 1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bookmaker A | $5.00 | 20.0% | -16.7% |
| Bookmaker B | $6.00 | 16.7% | 0.0% |
| Bookmaker C | $7.00 | 14.3% | +16.7% |
| Exchange, back | $6.80 | 14.7% | +13.3% before commission |
| Exchange, lay | $7.20 | 13.9% | The price to lay at, not one you can back |
Only Bookmaker C and the exchange's back price beat your number, and the exchange takes commission from net winnings in a market, so its real edge is below +13.3% (implied probability explains the conversion). The exchange is a useful check, as betting exchanges in Australia explains: its back and lay prices sit close together here, so the market's own estimate lies between them, at about $7.00, or 1 / 7.00 = 14.3%.
Expected value per $10 at Bookmaker C = 10 x (chance x 7.00 - 1), the sum the expected value calculator runs, so what the bet is worth depends on whose chance is right:
| If the true chance is | Expected value of $10 at $7.00 |
|---|---|
| 12% | 10 x (0.12 x 7.00 - 1) = -$1.60 |
| 1 in 7, about 14.3% (the exchange's view) | 10 x (7.00 / 7 - 1) = $0.00 |
| 1 in 6, about 16.7% (your read) | 10 x (7.00 / 6 - 1) = +$1.67 |
| 20% | 10 x (0.20 x 7.00 - 1) = +$4.00 |
The break-even chance at $7.00 is 1 / 7.00 = 14.3%, so the bet has a positive expected value only if your read is less than about 2.4 points too generous (16.7 - 14.3 = 2.4). A wide gap between you and the exchange is a question before it is an edge: look for a late scratching, a rider change or a track downgrade the market may have seen. Value betting in horse racing covers taking prices above your own over many bets.
If Runners 2 and 9 are both scratched late, Runner 6 may lead unchallenged again, so reframe it. Winning fixed-odds bets struck before a late scratching can also be paid less a deduction, which the Stewards declare in cents in the dollar. In NSW, Racing NSW's Rules of Betting cover it for on-course bookmakers (BR 14), and your bookmaker's terms say how it applies (scratchings and deductions).
Risk: Betting involves risk. A fair price is your estimate, not a fact, and even a correct one-in-six read loses 1 - 1/6 = 83.3% of the time. There is no guarantee of profit; see responsible gambling for limits and support.
Form mistakes, and races where form says little
Each of these turns a careful read into the wrong price:
- Reading the figures backwards. A string ending 19 belongs to a horse that was 9th last start after a win the time before, and read the wrong way round it looks like a last-start winner. If a correct read prices that horse at $8.00 and the misread has you take $5.00, the bet is worth 10 x (5.00 / 8 - 1) = -$3.75 per $10.
- Backing the barrier number. Runner 6 jumps from barrier 3 but carries saddlecloth 6, and a bet identifies the horse by its saddlecloth number, so a bet on number 3 backs a different horse at a price you never framed.
- Reading a tiny record as a strike rate. A horse with a true one-in-five chance wins at least two of three starts about 10.4% of the time. The working is 3 x 0.2 x 0.2 x 0.8 = 0.096 for exactly two, plus 0.2 x 0.2 x 0.2 = 0.008 for all three. A 3:2-0-0 track record is a reason to look closer, not a rating.
- Treating a gear change or a claim as a sure improvement. First-time blinkers and a 2kg claim are reasons a horse may run differently, not measures of how much, so give them a small adjustment until the horse shows how it responds.
Some races give form little to work with: a maiden full of first starters with only T lines, a field mostly resuming from spells, or a heavy track for runners with no heavy runs. There your read rests on less evidence than the market's, so take the exchange price as your fair price or pass the race.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Avoiding these mistakes sharpens a read, but it does not make a runner win, and a sound read can still lose many bets in a row. Past results are no guarantee of future results. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Where B337 fits: prices, not ratings
B337 is not a form guide or a ratings tool: it has no ratings engine, no model and no selections, so the read, and a fair price such as Runner 6's $6.00, stay your own work. What it adds is the market side of the comparison table above. On the Terminal, B337's odds comparison board, each of 40+ bookmakers across racing and sports has its own column, with the best available price picked out and Betfair back and lay beside them.
On racing, flucs show whether a price like Bookmaker C's has been firming or drifting, and closing lines show the last prices before the jump. EV overlays set each price against a fair price estimated from Betfair's market. An overlay that disagrees with your $6.00 is the exchange disagreeing with your read, and it is an estimate, not a forecast. Prices are read on a repeating cycle, not tick by tick, so confirm a price in your bookmaker account before you bet, and not every bookmaker prices every race.
A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds. Betfair prices, closing lines and EV overlays are not in it; they start at Terminal View. Betfair is a trade mark of its owner, and B337 is not affiliated with it. For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A price above your own frame, or above an EV estimate, can still lose, and often does. See responsible gambling for limits and support.