Why do they call the favorite in horse racing the chalk?

Question

Why do they call the favorite in horse racing the chalk?

Answer 1

odds boards used to be written with chalk, favorites need more chalk since a majority of the people bets on the favories. That's why they call them chalk.

There is saying you should always remember, "Friends never let their friends bet chalk".

Answer 2

when they 1st starting taking bets, they would put the odds on a chalk board. the odds on the favorite would change so much, they would have to erase the odds and put new odds up, so they had to use a lot of chalk on the favorite. so the term chalk was describe for the horse with the most action. if you have anymore question you can e-mail me direct at [e-mail] or go to tipshop.com and see my picks "turf-man's insider secrets....good luck and good racing...