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Glite Dictionary
🏇 Innermost starter 🐴 Horse by pole
pole horse

pole horse

9.4
A horse starting closest to the inside rail in a harness race
  • noun
  • Jargon
translation icon : caballo de arrastre
  • Trainers were excited when their horse was listed as the pole horse for the big race.

Examples

  • The announcer noted that the pole horse had a clear advantage on the tight track.

  • In harness racing, the pole horse often gets the best position.

  • Because he drew the pole horse position, his chances of a fast start were much higher.

  • The pole horse had a great start in the race.

  • The announcer noted that the pole horse had a clear advantage on the tight track.

  • Because he drew the pole horse position, his chances of a fast start were much higher.

  • In harness racing, the pole horse often gets the best position.

Surface Forms

pole horse singular
pole horses plural

Morphology

pole + horse

The compound is directly compositional: 'pole' (the shaft or upright) + 'horse' yields a horse associated with the shaft of a vehicle, i.e. the horse harnessed beside the pole. This positional/harnessing meaning follows standard noun–noun composition and is predictable for B1 learners who know both constituent words.

Etymology

Pole horse comes from harness racing where the pole is the inside post and the horse next to it starts on the very inside. One popular image is a horse standing beside the pole and getting a shorter path on the turn, so it means 'the horse in the inside starting position' with a 'clear advantage'.