pinhook v. to speculate in race horses. Etymological Note: This is a jargonized variation of pinhook defined by the Dictionary of American Regional English as “to act as a pinhooker,…a small-time speculator in farm products, esp. tobacco, esp. one who buys directly from farmers.” DARE traces the origins of later forms to the adjective pinhook, meaning “petty, small-time,” which is recorded as early as 1834 in Davy Crockett’s Narrative Life. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Understanding the varieties of conversational styles can mean the difference between feeling you’re understood and being insulted. “High-involvement” speakers interrupt or talk along with someone else to signal their enthusiasm...
Scalper (scalping) is used in Iowa to describe actions similiar to “pinhooker (pinhooking).
The term “pinhooker” is rather commonly used (though not pejoratively)in Ireland particularly to identify certain professional horse buying agents.