The terms you’ll see across the Krok Odds racing screen — defined plainly.
- Steamer
- A runner whose odds are shortening — usually a sign of confidence money or stable backing. Tracked live with opening vs current price.
- Drifter
- A runner whose odds are blowing out — typically reflects money moving away from the runner toward shorter-priced contenders.
- Overround
- The total implied probability of all runners in a market. A 115% book bakes in a 15% theoretical bookmaker margin you have to overcome.
- Fair odds
- The price that would exist with no bookmaker margin — calculated by devigging the book and adjusting against a sharp baseline.
- EV (Expected Value)
- (Win Price × Fair Win Probability) − 1. Positive EV means the offered price is higher than the true odds. The only metric that matters long-run.
- CLV (Closing Line Value)
- The price you backed minus the starting price (SP). Positive CLV across 100+ bets is the strongest indicator of skill in racing.
- Best Tote / Top Fluc
- A guarantee from a bookmaker to pay you the best of the three tote dividends or the top fluctuation. Often lifts your effective price 5–15%.
- Each-way
- A combined Win + Place bet. The Place portion pays at a fraction (1/4 or 1/5) of the Win odds if the runner finishes in the placings (1st, 2nd, 3rd, sometimes 4th).
- Dutching
- Staking multiple runners in the same race so that each one returns the same profit if it wins. Reduces variance compared to backing a single horse.
- Back / Lay (Exchange)
- On Betfair Exchange, Back = bet a runner to win; Lay = bet a runner not to win. Lay prices often exceed AU bookmaker prices on roughies.
- Speed Map
- A visual projection of where each runner is expected to settle during the race — leader, on-pace, midfield or backmarker — based on measured early-speed data and pace-band analysis.
- Sectionals
- Time splits for the last 600m, 400m and 200m of a race. Faster sectionals indicate a strong finisher. Used to identify runners that close hard versus those that fade late.
- Track Condition
- The state of the racing surface — Firm, Good, Soft or Heavy. Measured by the penetrometer (surface moisture/compaction). Some horses perform significantly better on specific conditions.
- Penetrometer
- A device that measures track surface firmness. Lower readings mean a harder track; higher readings indicate softer, wetter ground. Published by the track curator before each meeting.
- Rail Position
- Where the inside rail is set relative to its true position. An out rail gives on-pace runners more room; a true rail favours front-runners. Published by the track curator.
- Class Rating
- A numerical rating assigned to each horse based on its racing ability. Used to determine which races a horse is eligible for and to assess whether it is above or below the class of today’s race.
- Same Race Multi (SRM)
- A multi-leg bet within a single race — combining win, place, or finish-position selections across multiple runners. Offered by PointsBet and select bookmakers.
- Exotic Pool
- Parimutuel betting pools for multi-runner bets — Quinella, Exacta, Trifecta, First Four, and Quadrella. Pool totals and jackpots are shown when available from TAB.