clocker

American  

[klok-er] / ˈklɒk ər /

noun

1. a person who times racehorses during tryouts to determine their speed.

2. an official who times a race.

3. a person who maintains a record of the flow of traffic, as of visitors to a museum.

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Etymology

Origin of clocker

clock ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Wellman’s parents were small breeders and owners in California and had a box at Santa Anita and Del Mar. Close by was a box used by Gary Young, the legendary private clocker.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2025

Stewards determined there were “extenuating circumstances” with the electronic device, but it was the Pimlico clocker whose figure carried the day.

From Washington Times • May 18, 2023

Through her binoculars, Contreras, a track clocker paid to time horses during workouts, watched as one of the horses, a 2-year-old filly named Flyfly Fly Delilah, suddenly tumbled to the freshly tilled track.

From Washington Post • May 11, 2015

The three placing judges have more than 140 years’ combined experience at the racetrack and have held nearly every job: groom, clocker, assistant trainer, jockey agent, patrol judge.

From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2014

And every clocker on the track got him too!

From Old Man Curry Race Track Stories by Van Loan, Charles E. (Charles Emmett)