What does bar mean in horse racing

When you are on the racecourse you might hear a bookie shout '20/1 Bar' or '20/1 bar the field' or some such.

Unfortunately the on course banter is not what is was in days gone by, but there are still old school bookies that like to shout up some business.

So what does bar mean in horse racing?

It means all except I suppose is one way of translating. '20/1 bar the field' would mean that there are some horses quoted at 20/1 or shorter but everything else is a bigger price.

It's of more use in races with more winners than the bookie can ‘chalk up' (list) on his board.

So he would list the horses at the head of the market and then chalk '20/1 Bar' and if you want a bet on anything not listed you will know that the price will be 20/1 or bigger and you can ask for the price.

You might also see this in your newspaper where they list the prices for the head of the market and then say 12/1 bar