You’re not the only one who has ever wondered ‘what does nap mean’ in horse racing if you have been to a racecourse or watched racing on TV.

Most National newspapers have a columnist or tipster that provides horse racing tips and selections.

Each tipster’s best selections are usually referred to as either a “Nap” or “NB”.

These bets are often used for calculating tipsters’ profit/loss figures, particularly in tipping competitions.

The use of the word Nap in British Horse Racing has become synonymous with horses that are very good bets.

In fact the word suggests that this particular horse should be bet upon at all costs.

A Nap that a very well-supported tipster such as Hugh Taylor tips will usually see heavy support in the betting market. The Naps odds will usually shrink rapidly due to the weight of cash behind it.

Nap of the day

Nap of the Day is a term that’s used to describe the horse with the best chance of winning a race on any given day.

It refers to a horse one that has a great chance but also offers good value.

This horse is chosen on a balance of chance and odds and often doesn’t run the main race of the day.

Even they often have fairly low odds of winning, the Nap is always an excellent bet in the eyes of the tipster.

A ‘Nap of the Day’ selection should always be considered if it has been tipped up by experts, and even more so if a number of racing experts agree.

It is not usually possible to judge if a horse should be a nap just by their odds.

This is because a good Nap is always selected after taking all the different factors into account.

Where Did The Word Nap In Horse Racing Come From?

When people ask ‘where did the word Nap in horse racing come from?’ they are usually surprised by the answer.

It is worth looking at the history behind how the word Nap became part of racing terminology.

The current use of the term Nap in racing originated from the card game Napoleon.

This game has been around in England since the 1800’s.

Not only is the game itself often called Nap, the strongest hand in the game is also called a ‘Nap’.

Adpoted by horse racing tipsters to determine the most profitable bet or strongest bet, this term soon became popular in horse racing.

It is now a universally-recognised term in the sport used by the racing media.

Does The Nap Always Win The Race?

The Nap horse is always be the horse with the greatest chance of winning the race it is entered in.

However, that doesn’t mean the Nap always wins the race. That is not true.

In the eyes of the horse racing tipster selecting a Nap, that horse certainly seems to have the best chance of winning.

But no matter how good the tipster, nobody is capable of being 100% accurate all of the time.

Even the very best horse racing systems can’t get near a 100% success rate, such is the enigmatic and randomness of the sport.

This means that despite the tipsters best intentions, the Nap doesn’t always win.

Best Odds For A Nap In Racing

The Nap horse’s odds usually won’t move much if the tipster selecting the horse is respected or has a large following.

But if a horse is to be a successful Nap then it’s odds should be good value.

You can compare racing odds for any race in the UK, Ireland or beyond using odds comparison websites.

Most Naps selected by tipsters will fall in an odds range of 2/1 and 8/1 (3.0 and 9.0 decimal odds).

This range of odds means in the event of a Nap winning the payout will be good.

The upper limit of these odds also mean the horse is not such odds as to make winning unlikely.

Best Racecourses To Follow Naps

Many casual racing fans like to follow naps for big race meetings that have extensive coverage.

These include Royal Ascot, The Grand National and The Cheltenham Festival.

However, the statistics don’t suggest that is necessarily the best policy to follow the hottest naps at these big racedays.

If you need to understand ‘what does Nap mean in horse racing’ it can pay to avoid these meetings.

Increased betting volumes from occasional gamblers, much of which goes onto naps, can distort the betting markets.

This means at a big meeting Naps might be shorter odds than they deserve to be.

Naps and favourites often show better profits at small meetings. These can include less-prestigious tracks such as Salisbury Races or Lingfield Park.