Handicapping is a ratings system in horse racing designed to give every horse in a race an equal chance of winning. Horses with greater ability carry more weight than horses with lesser ability.
The horse’s official rating is a figure known as a ‘handicap mark’. The handicap mark determines how much weight a horse carries in a race.
Every racehorse is allocated an official handicap mark based on its performances in its first three races.
This system keeps races equal and competitive by grouping horses of similar ability, which means even low-standard races can be fantastic betting heats.
As horses progress, or regress, their handicap mark rises or falls allowing them to compete in different classes of race. Handicapping is very much considered when punters are placing a bet on various betting sites. You can learn all about types of bets and betting odds to give you a good overview of racing and betting.
A handicap race is one in which the higher-rated horses are allocated a higher handicap mark and therefore carry more weight than those with a lower handicap mark. Horses are given an official rating by the BHA (British Horse Racing Authority), which is a numerical assessment of their ability. As a result all horses should have an equal chance in a race.
Horses, just like people, have different levels of ability. There is little point in racing a very talented horse against a horse with little ability. The human equivalent would be Usain Bolt running against Mark from next door. It wouldn’t make for a very fair contest or a very competitive one.
Another benefit of handicap races is that it makes betting much more competitive. A horse on the Flat with a rating of 100 would probably finish many lengths ahead of a 75-rated horse if competing off level weights and you certainly wouldn’t get a good price.
The official ratings are displayed on the right hand side of the racecard under the heading ‘OR’. An example of weight that must be carried in a race is as follows; a top rated horse of 85 in a 0-85 handicap race will carry top weight of 9 stone 7 pounds.
Horses rated lower in the same race, for example 75, which is 10lb below the top mark, carry 8 stone 11 pounds.
Handicaps have minimum and maximum weights, which means you often get a situation in which the top weight leaves some at the bottom of the weights ‘out of the handicap’.
This means that the lower-rated horses are receiving less of a weight advantage than the handicapper believes they should have, in order to have an equal chance of winning. Whilst this makes life harder, horses win from out of the handicap fairly frequently.
Horses may ‘run under a penalty’. This is when a horse has won and hasn’t yet been assigned a new handicap mark (these are published every Tuesday). On the Flat a penalty is to carry 6 extra pounds and over Jumps 7 extra pounds.
To run under a penalty the horse would be running in quick succession as a trainer may feel the horse is ‘ahead of the handicapper’ e.g. a Flat horse wins off a mark of 50 and is due to go up to 60 but by running under a penalty before that mark kicks in it is running off the equivalent of 56 and is theoretically 4lb ahead of the handicapper.
There may be exceptions for fillies running against colts or geldings who sometimes carry less or for younger horses, this is known as ‘weight-for-age’.
For more detailed explanations of horse racing terms, go check out horse racing terminology page.
Handicap marks are allocated by the official handicapper. The handicapper will watch the horse’s performances and assign the horse’s handicap mark. This is usually done after its first three runs in maiden or novice races, and the horse is then eligible to run in a handicap race.
After three runs a horse will have had a chance to compete against individuals of different abilities and the handicapper can assess how close it finished to its rivals who are already handicapped.
However, if a horse happens to win on debut, they can be given a mark straight away. Unraced horses aren’t eligible for handicaps.
Different classes of race often have specific weight ranges and a horse must have a rating within the stated range in order to qualify for that race. For example, Black Beauty is rated 58 and he qualifies for a Class 6 0-60 handicap but Grey Hero is rated 74 and is ineligible.
In Flat racing, some of the bigger, more prestigious and high-value handicaps are referred to as heritage handicaps (like the Ebor or the Stewards' Cup), which attract large fields of high-quality horses.
From the summer until the end of the year, you might come across nursery races. These are handicaps which are only open to two-year-olds on the Flat. Not all juveniles are competitive in maidens or Group races and nursery races are a good opportunity to educate younger horses and allow the less talented horses to be competitive.
Other common types of Jumps race are novice handicap hurdles and chases. Novices are usually less experienced horses who haven’t won over hurdles or fences before the current season and handicap variants are often better for those who aren’t at the top level.
The Grand National is a Grade 3 Handicap over steeplechase fences, which means horses in the race carry different weights depending on their ability.
For the Grand National, the weights at the top of the handicap are compressed. This decreases the gap between the top and bottom horses in the race, adding to the fiercely competitive nature of the race.
No. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 Chase and all horses carry the same weight. Only the top-rated horses tend to compete in this top tier event, which is the most prestigious Jumps race of the National Hunt season.
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