{"id":24116,"date":"2026-11-07T23:15:05","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T20:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/?p=24116"},"modified":"2026-11-10T23:19:31","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T20:19:31","slug":"what-does-pu-mean-in-horse-racing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/what-does-pu-mean-in-horse-racing\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does PU Mean in Horse Racing?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\" id=\"wpb-content-root\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A horse racing racecard features many abbreviations, including PU. But what does PU mean in horse racing? It stands for \u201cpulled up\u201d, and it means the jockey stopped the horse before the finish so it didn\u2019t complete the race.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In form figures it is shown as \u201cP\u201d, while race results use \u201cPU\u201d, and it is common in<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/betting\/horse-racing\/uk\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UK jump racing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, especially over long distances. Our guide will explore the underlying reasons as to why a PU occurs, and how it can impact bets.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_raw_js el_class=&#8221;banner-highlight&#8221;]JTNDc2NyaXB0JTIwdHlwZSUzRCUyMnRleHQlMkZqYXZhc2NyaXB0JTIyJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZqcy43YmV0LnBhcnRuZXJzJTJGamF2YXNjcmlwdC5waHAlM0ZwcmVmaXglM0RnMHRwcEFNSVpFbWh2bzVuQzN0WlEyTmQ3WmdxZFJMayUyNmFtcCUzQm1lZGlhJTNENDM1JTI2YW1wJTNCY2FtcGFpZ24lM0Q0MCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRQ==[\/vc_raw_js][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2><b>Why Do Jockeys Pull Up a Horse?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A PU in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/betting\/horse-racing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">horse racing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> happens more often than you might think. This segment of the guide explores the underlying reasons behind what causes a PU:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>Horse welfare<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; A horse may appear injured or lame. If the horse is showing signs of distress or is not moving properly, the jockey may stop to prevent further harm.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>Fatigue<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; In longer races, particularly over jumps, a horse might tire out before the end. Therefore, rather than push unnecessarily to gain position, the jockey might choose to pull up.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>Equipment problems<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Slipped or loose saddles or even broken reins can cause safety problems and force a pull up.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>Refusal or mistake at jump<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; In National Hunt races, such as the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/betting\/horse-racing\/uk\/aintree\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grand National<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a horse may refuse a jump or make a mistake which can lead to a pull up.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>Heavy ground<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; If conditions are heavy or too testing, a horse might be pulled up to avoid fatigue strain.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>How PU Appears in Form Figures<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Typically, form figures read left to right, representing oldest to most recent performances. To use an example, you might see form reading 3P12, which means 3rd, pulled up, 1st and 2nd.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A P can be followed by a vet\u2019s report or a stewards\u2019 note, which can help explain why there was a pull up. These notes usually appear in the full race result, in the short comment on each runner\u2019s run and in the stewards\u2019 reports published after the race.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[vc_raw_html]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[\/vc_raw_html]<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>PU vs Other Non-Finishing Abbreviations<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pulled up is just one of a few non-finishing abbreviations in horse racing. We\u2019ve shared a few more below in a short list, but our guide to<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/what-does-ur-mean-in-horse-racing\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what UR means in horse racing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> contains a full table with all relevant abbreviations:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>F (fell):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the horse fell at an obstacle.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>U\/UR (unseated rider):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the jockey came off, but the horse didn\u2019t fall.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>B\/BD (brought down):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> another runner caused the fall.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>R (refused):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the horse refused an obstacle.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>O\/RO (ran out):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the horse went round an obstacle.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Is a P in a Horse\u2019s Form a Bad Sign?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not always. A single P doesn\u2019t necessarily say much about a horse\u2019s ability, so it\u2019s worth checking the reason in the race comment. A horse may have lost a shoe, bled, made a bad mistake or found the ground too soft. What matters more is whether it was a one-off or part of a pattern of P\u2019s in recent runs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>What Happens to Bets If a Horse is Pulled Up?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have placed a win or an each-way bet on a horse that ran but didn\u2019t finish, your wager will lose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A non-runner, however, is different, as it was entered into a race but withdrew before it started, meaning it didn\u2019t take part. As the wager isn\u2019t active, refunds are returned in full to punters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The onus is on bettors to check the full terms and conditions available at 7bet, including reading all wager rules to avoid disappointment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Frequently Asked Questions<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>What does P mean in horse racing form?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">P stands for Pulled Up, and can be presented on a racecard as P or PU. This happens when a jockey stops a runner during the race.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Is a pulled-up horse injured?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No, not always. Horses can be pulled up for a variety of reasons, including tiredness, ground conditions if they are too heavy, or even as a precautionary measure to prevent further harm.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><span style=\"color: #18ae62;\">Betting is only available to participants above 18 years. Please bet responsibly. BeGambleAware.org<\/span><\/strong><\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A horse racing racecard features many abbreviations, including PU. But what does PU mean in horse racing? It stands for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":21405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[464],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-horse-racing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pulled Up: Assessing Bearing on Horse Racing and Form Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What does PU mean in horse racing? 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Learn why horses are pulled up, how P appears in form figures and what happens to bets on a pulled-up horse.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/what-does-pu-mean-in-horse-racing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pulled Up: Assessing Bearing on Horse Racing and Form Guide","og_description":"What does PU mean in horse racing? 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Learn why horses are pulled up, how P appears in form figures and what happens to bets on a pulled-up horse.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/what-does-pu-mean-in-horse-racing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/what-does-pu-mean-in-horse-racing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/what-does-pu-mean-in-horse-racing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/horse-race-single-runner.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/horse-race-single-runner.webp","width":1440,"height":959,"caption":"Horse race single runner"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/what-does-pu-mean-in-horse-racing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Does PU Mean in Horse Racing?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"7bet blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/33258480e5ad9127ee829fbc16d2ddf3","name":"Charles Perrin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/81e6d13aa386a146779166434c21d804e21e495daacb603dbedb9a2db39b3a2a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/81e6d13aa386a146779166434c21d804e21e495daacb603dbedb9a2db39b3a2a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/81e6d13aa386a146779166434c21d804e21e495daacb603dbedb9a2db39b3a2a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Charles Perrin"},"description":"I\u2019m a highly experienced and agile iGaming writer with over seven years of experience. Before delving into iGaming, I worked at the Daily Express, initially as an online sports reporter, covering a wide range of sports before taking on the overnight editorship, managing a small team and helping to raise organic traffic levels. Making the transition from journalist\/editor into sports betting was seamless, but I\u2019ve also added casino content as another string to my bow.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/charlesperrindigitalsportswriter\/"],"url":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/author\/writer-charles\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24116"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24118,"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24116\/revisions\/24118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/7bet.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}