Gambling terms, explained straight

Racing & Pari-Mutuel

Beaten favourite

Beaten favourite (BF) is a horse racing form abbreviation for a runner that started as the favourite but did not win.

Used in
Racecards and form guides in horse racing12
Meaning
The horse was favourite but lost12
Not a bet type
It is a form indicator, not a wager or rating13

Key points

  • BF appears in past-performance or racecard notation to mark a runner that started favourite and finished unplaced or otherwise lost.12
  • It is an identifying form indicator, not a bet type or rating.13
  • Do not confuse BF with CD (course and distance), which is a different form abbreviation.3

Common questions

What does bf mean in horse racing?

BF stands for beaten favourite. It marks a horse that was the favourite for a race but did not win. You see it on racecards and form guides as a form abbreviation.12

Where this term is used

Not the same as

  • Horse racing betting — a broader topic covering all types of wagers on horse races, whereas beaten favourite is a specific form notation
Racing Trifecta A bet that requires picking the first three finishers in exact order. Racing Furlong A unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile, used in horse racing. Racing Tote placepot A pool bet where you pick a placed horse in each of six nominated races. Racing Exacta A bet that requires picking the first two finishers in exact order. Racing Tote betting A pari-mutuel betting system where all stakes are pooled and odds are determined by the pool. Racing Greyhound racing cards Racecards for greyhound racing, which use similar form abbreviations to horse racing.

Sources

  1. Reading The Form | Racing Explained thejockeyclub.co.uk Defines beaten favourite and explains its use in racecards and form guides.
  2. Form (horse racing) en.wikipedia.org Provides the definition of beaten favourite as a form abbreviation in horse racing.
  3. Racecard en.wikipedia.org Explains racecard notation and distinguishes BF from other abbreviations like CD.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.