What Is A Handicap Race?

Horse racing takes many forms in different times and places.

While out at the races with a friend recently, they were asking about all the different types of races and we got talking about handicap races.

I often think they’re one of the most interesting types of races, so I thought I’d take a deeper dive into the question and try and find out everything I could about handicap races.

So, what is a handicap race?

In a handicapped race, all participants’ abilities are leveled with weights. Ability can be determined by a few factors, but it does essentially just come down to agreed upon ratings systems. The handicap refers to the weight worn by higher performing horses.

Better horses carry more weight to give it a disadvantage as compared to the other horse and essentially level the playing field.

Betting on handicapped races is about being able to predict which horse will be able to overcome the handicap.

Most handicap races are run for older horses, though this is not always the case.

So, let’s see how you can tell a handicapped race from a non-handicapped race.

What is the difference between a handicap and a non-handicap horse race?

It’s important to mention that a handicap race is actually the most popular type of race across the world, and thus also the most common.

Without knowing it, you might have mostly watched handicap races.

Naturally, most races want to put all the horses on as close to equal footing as possible.

In non-handicapped races, all the horses wear level weights regardless of performance rating.

So, some horses will be lighter and others heavier.

When we use the term ‘handicap’, what we are actually describing is the attempt to bring the better performing horses down to the level of the other horses, thus ‘handicapping’ them.

The extra weights are carried in a weight cloth under the saddle, and the total weight figure includes the jockey, saddle and weight cloth.

The most famous handicap races are the Grand National in the U.K. and the Kentucky Derby here in the U.S., so that goes to show that handicap races are easily the most popular worldwide.

How is the weight calculated for a handicap race?

In handicap racing, there will be a ‘handicapper’ present who determines and allots ratings to the horses, determining which horses will have which weights.

Every point different in rating is equivalent to 1lb of weight in the saddle.

For example, if one horse is rated 100 and another horse rated 95, the 100 horse would carry an extra 5lbs of weight on it.

Horses are given official ratings by the horse rating authority after either winning a race or racing three times.

Seeing these races gives the handicapper a good idea of the horse’s ability.

From this is determined their rating.

Sometimes, the handicapper may ask the horse to run a fourth time to determine the rating.

Often this is the case if a horse has been injured or beaten a very long way.

Which races trainers can enter is more or less up to them, as the whole idea is to allow horses of differing abilities to race one another.

If, for example, a trainer with a 100 rated horse could enter a handicap race of 80-100, meaning this is the range of ratings for horses in the race.

In this case, he would be the highest rated horse and required to carry more weights.

Alternatively, the trainer could enter into a race rated 90-110.

He would be carrying less weight, though potentially be naturally slower than the other horses.

Can handicap marks change?

Handicap marks and ratings are very fluid and are always changing.

There are a few main reasons a horse’s score might move.

Their rating will, understandably, increase if they win a race.

If the horse places somewhere in the middle the rating will likely not change, and finally, if a horse performs especially poorly, their rating can be reduced.

Sometimes, a good rating for a horse is determined by it being deemed below what the horse is actually capable of.

Often, this is the case with young horses improving at a faster and faster rate, faster than the rating can keep up with.

The ratings are changed and reviewed after each run, but for some prodigal young horses, it still isn’t enough.

This is called being ‘ahead of the handicapper’, where its true ability is not represented by its actual rating.

What is a handicap penalty?

Sometimes an extra bit of weight is added, known as a handicap penalty, in very particular circumstances.

Typically, a horse will officially enter a race 5 days before the race is due to take place.

If that horse wins another race within that time (i.e., before the other race takes place), they are often given extra weight, known as a ‘winner’s penalty’ or handicap penalty.

This is not always the case and the weight of the penalty differs, and often these horses are ahead of the handicapper.

Horse racing has always been built around the performance ratings of the horses, but handicap races allow horses of all different abilities and ratings to perform against each other, and makes a really interesting race either to just watch or to bet on.

Horse race handicapping is very common, since horses that come to any given racecourse are likely to be at much different abilities.

Handicapping allows them all to compete fairly.