Understanding Handicapping

Remember: any systems offered are with no guarantees. Test them yourself by 'paper trading' without real stakes before risking any money. Handicapping in horse racing, what is it all about and how does it work? Handicapping is so important in this particular sport that if horse racing didn’t have a handicap system then it would be boring with the same horses winning all the time and therefore wouldn’t have lasted very long. Quite simply the abilities of a race horse are so vast that if there wasn’t a way to try and keep the competition level then it wouldn’t be worthwhile holding a race. Handicapping is a complex system but a basic understanding of the system is a worthwhile piece of knowledge to have. Lack of knowledge and understanding will leave you at a disadvantage and one step behind the bookies and they are very knowledgeable on this subject! Horses have overall abilities, a range of weights and running speeds, and in a race the horses are allocated different weights so that in theory they all have an equal chance of winning. The weight to be carried is determined according to the horses’ perceived level of ability at that time. A generally accepted calculation between weight and distance is shown below: Distance to weight relationship 5 Furlong Races

Up to	Weight
1/2 a length	1 pound
3/4 length	2 pounds
1 length	3 pounds

6 - 8 Furlong Races

Up to	Weight
1/2 a length	1 pound
3/4 length	2 pounds
1 length	2 pounds

9 Furlong Races and further

Up to	Weight
1/2 a length	no allowance
3/4 length	1 pound
1 length	1 pound

Jockey Club handicappers are responsible for allocating handicap marks. They fall on a scale between 0 and 140 with each point on the scale representing the equivalent of one pound in weight. Horses capable of running in the best races will generally be rated above 115. The horses rated with the least ability are at the bottom end of the scale around 40. This is all quite simple and straightforward but I’m afraid does become more confusing. The weight a horse carries in a handicap race will initially be determined by the level of that race, and the handicap mark will generally reflect the ability of that horse. The confusing part is that a horse could carry top weight in one race but on the same day carry the bottom weight in another. Handicap races are set up for horses of all different classes and this is calculated through the conditions of entry dictating the maximum handicap mark that will be accepted into that particular race. Simply a handicap race for horses rated 0 -75 will attract runners with a lower ability than one where 0 - 90 is the rated handicap. No horse rated higher than 75 would be eligible to run in the 0 - 75 race while for the second handicap horses would only be eligible to run with a rating up to 90. If the horse had a handicap rating of 75 it could run in both races but in the 0 - 75 race it would have to carry the top weight. The top weight is always 10 stone in handicaps. If the horse had a rating of 70 in the 0 - 75 race then it would obviously carry less weight, 5lbs less which would make the weight 9st 9lbs. Should the horse rated 75 decide to run in the 0 - 90 race then 90 minus 75 equals 15 so the horse would carry 15lbs less than 10 stone which would make the weight it would carry 8st 13lbs. It is easily to become confused about how the horse’s handicap mark and the weight it carries exist. The weight a horse carries is not a guide to its handicap and bears no relation to this. A common mistake is to think that the horse that carries the lowest weight stands a better chance of winning. The handicap position is the important point that should be considered and where the horse is in the overall position in the handicap, that is where it is in the scale of 0 - 140. The idea is that a horse carrying the top weight in a low handicap race will have the same chance of winning in a higher quality race carrying the lowest weight (7st 7lb).