Racing & Pari-Mutuel
Nap (horse racing tipster selection)
In horse racing, a nap is the single selection a tipster is most confident will win that day.
Key points
- A nap is a tipster’s strongest pick for the day, not a bet type or a game.1
- It appears in UK newspaper tipping columns, often with an nb (next best) selection.2
- The term comes from the card game Napoleon, not from any betting formula.2
Common questions
What does nap stand for in horse racing?
Nap does not stand for an acronym; it is a term from the card game Napoleon, used in horse racing to mean a tipster’s best bet of the day.2
Where this term is used
Not the same as
- Horse racing betting — a broader category that includes all types of wagers, whereas a nap is specifically a tipster’s strongest selection
Related terms
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 correct order.
Racing
Tote betting
A pari-mutuel betting system where all bets on a race go into a pool.
Racing
Greyhound racing cards
Race programmes listing greyhound events, similar to horse racing cards.
Sources
- Glossary | Racing Explained thejockeyclub.co.uk Defines nap as a tipster's best bet of the day in horse racing.
- Tipster en.wikipedia.org Explains the term nap in the context of tipster selections and its origin from the card game Napoleon.
- Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting en.wikipedia.org Provides the Australian and New Zealand equivalent term best bet.
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.