{"id":1775,"date":"2020-05-25T09:10:33","date_gmt":"2020-05-25T09:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/?page_id=1775"},"modified":"2020-07-20T17:16:15","modified_gmt":"2020-07-20T17:16:15","slug":"horse-racing-weights","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ukgamblingsites.com\/sports-betting\/horse-racing\/horse-racing-weights\/","title":{"rendered":"Horse Racing Weights Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Scales\"<\/p>\n

The sport of horse racing can seem a little daunting to the uninitiated, with the wealth of information contained on a race-card often appearing overwhelming. Whilst some of this information is fairly easy to decipher, e.g. the name of the trainer and jockey, other sections can take a little more explaining.<\/p>\n

One area which can cause initial confusion is that which relates to the amount of weight to be carried by the contenders. It\u2019s all well and good being told that Horse A will carry 9st12lbs, Horse B 9st7bs and so on. But why exactly is this and what impact does it have? Why are some horses required to carry more weight than others?<\/p>\n

As is often the case in the racing world, things aren\u2019t quite as complicated as they might at first appear. Hopefully our quick guide will shed a little light on this relatively simple, yet crucial aspect of the sport.<\/p>\n

So, without further ado, let\u2019s take a quick look at the various reasons as to why horses are required to carry different weights, looking both at handicap races, and non-handicap events.<\/p>\n

Handicap Races<\/h2>\n

\"Horse<\/p>\n

Probably the best way to explain why horses carry different weights in handicap races, is to consider the main reason these races were first introduced to the racing programme.<\/p>\n

The aim of a handicap contest is to provide each of the runners with an equal chance of winning. Clearly, all runners have differing levels of ability, so how do we create a more level playing field? It\u2019s quite simple really, we make the faster horses carry more weight than the slower ones. And that is the basis of the handicapping system.<\/p>\n

Of course it needs to be a lot more specific than that. Exactly how much more weight should one horse carry than another? This is where the official handicapper comes in. It is the handicapper\u2019s job to assess the merits of the racecourse performance of each and every horse in training, and so produce a numerical value which represents their ability.<\/p>\n

This value is known as the horse\u2019s official rating, and determines the amount of weight the horse will carry in a handicap contest. This rating is continually adjusted after each run, in general going down after a poor performance, and being raised after a better than expected run.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at an example. Consider a Class 5 (0-70) handicap \u2013 the (0-70) aspect indicating that the race is open to all runners with an official rating of between 0 and 70. The conditions of this race also state that the maximum weight to be carried will be 9st7lb. A runner rated 70 would therefore be shouldered with this maximum burden. In the world of official ratings, 1 ratings point equates to 1lb in weight. Therefore a 65-rated runner in this race would carry 9st2lb i.e. 5lb less than the 70 rated runner, a 64 rated runner 9st1lb and so on, thus equalising the chances of all the runners in the field, in theory anyway.<\/p>\n

Non-Handicap Races<\/h2>\n

\"Horse<\/p>\n

Of course not all horse races are designed to provide a level playing field, we do also have the upper echelon of races in which horses compete in order to determine who is in fact the absolute fastest of them all operating on a level playing field. These are Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and Listed events on the flat, and Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 and Listed contests over jumps.<\/p>\n

Handicap ratings are not utilised to determine the weights carried in such contests, but we do have other factors at play which effect the weights carried by the runners. The aim in this instance is to average out the natural physical advantages certain horses have over others: specifically male horses over females, and older runners over youngsters.<\/p>\n

Fillies and Mares<\/h3>\n

As in many areas of the natural world, male horses (colts and geldings) are stereotypically stronger than their female counterparts, and therefore able to run faster. There are obviously exceptions to this, but in general terms it holds true, and so a weight allowance for the fillies and mares is often used in non-handicap races in order to cancel out this disadvantage.<\/p>\n

The size of this weight allowance does vary depending upon the age of the runners and the type of race, but ranges from 3lb to 7lb. The exact amount will always be listed in the conditions of the race in question.<\/p>\n

Weight For Age<\/h3>\n

\"Horse<\/p>\n

Most racehorses \u2013 on the flat at least \u2013 begin their careers at the age of two. Often described as babies at this point in their career, they are actually more comparable to teenagers in human terms, but are still nowhere near full physical maturity.<\/p>\n

Horses are not thought of as being fully developed until they are four years of age. It therefore makes sense that the younger runners should receive a little helping hand when tackling their older rivals. This helping hand comes in the form of a weight allowance as determined by the weight for age scale, which operates in both handicap and non-handicap events alike.<\/p>\n

The exact amount a runner receives depends upon a number of factors, including the respective ages of the horses, the time of year, and the distance over which the race is run. The weight for age allowance operates on a sliding scale which shadows the development of the younger runners.<\/p>\n

For example, a two year old tackling a three year old over 5f in January would receive a whopping 15lbs, but by May this allowance would be reduced to 9lb, and by October it would have disappeared entirely. Again the exact allowances in place for a given race will be listed in the conditions of the race.<\/p>\n

Penalties<\/h2>\n

\"Calendar\"<\/p>\n

The above gives a good outline as to how the weights carried by racehorses are determined, but there are still a couple of elements to make a note of. The first of which falls under the category of penalties. These penalties come in two main forms, but both concern receiving an additional weight burden due to having won a race.<\/p>\n

The first of these relates to having won a race particularly recently. In Britain all handicap ratings are produced on a Tuesday but only assess races run up to and including the previous Saturday, with the assigned ratings then not actually coming into effect until the following Saturday.<\/p>\n

Now consider a runner who races on Sunday 10th August for example, and wins from a mark of 70. This performance would not actually be assessed by the handicapper until Tuesday 19th August, with the new, inevitably higher, mark not coming into play until Saturday 23rd August.<\/p>\n

This in theory gives the runner a 13-day window in which to run as many times as connections wish, from its current \u201cwinning\u201d mark of 70, in theory giving it an advantage as it will be carrying less weight than it \u201cshould\u201d be carrying. The penalty system is racing\u2019s reaction to this scenario.<\/p>\n

Any runner who wins a race, and then wishes to run in another race before their new handicap mark comes into play is permitted to do so, but must carry an additional penalty. For jumps racing this penalty is a set amount of 7lbs, but on the flat it varies depending on the age of the runner in question, as outlined below.<\/p>\n