RacingGav Guides - Understanding the UK Handicap System

There are various types of races within horse racing, however, one particular type you will see everywhere are Handicap races. Whether you prefer Flat racing, or National Hunt (Jumps) racing, which include Hurdles and Chases, you will find plenty of Handicap races in each discipline.

Handicapping is a subject that many people find daunting, but in this article, I’ll break everything down for you. I’ll start by explaining what the handicap system is, show you how it works and then go on to explain how you can make use of handicap ratings to make informed betting decisions.

Handicap races explained

A Handicap is a type of race where each horse is allocated a weight, according to its perceived ability, in an attempt to provide every horse in the race with an equal chance of winning. Handicap races are a big part of British racing, both on the Flat and over Jumps.

The handicapper’s ultimate goal is to assign weights in such a way that all of the horses participating in a race could finish in a straight line (a multiple dead heat), although this has never happened yet. A better horse will carry a heavier weight, based on the handicapper’s assessment, while horses with less perceived ability will carry less weight to give them an advantage.

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How handicap ratings are determined

Giving each horse a handicap mark is the sole responsibility of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). The BHA maintains a database of every horse, and every race that takes place on British soil. Every horse is assessed after each race by an official handicapper, and given an official rating (OR) following that performance. The OR usually increases if the horse ran well, and decreases if it underperformed. In addition, all BHA ratings are updated every Tuesday throughout the year.

How handicapping works

Every time a horse runs, a BHA handicapper (there are 11 in the UK), will assess their performance. This is not just a literal review of where the horse finished in the race, it goes much deeper than that, and there are two distinct sides to each assessment.

Quantitative analysis

This part of the analysis deals with fixed, readily-available published data like numbers, quantities, and statistics:

• The racecourse
• The distance of the race
• The ground conditions (going)
• Stall draw (for Flat racing)
• The weight the horse carried

Qualitative analysis

The second part of the BHA assessment is based on descriptions, observations, and interpretations. This part provides an in-depth analysis of factors like the tempo at which the race was run, whether the horse started slowly, whether it showed inexperience, whether it was hampered, whether it was eased off and so on.

Further analysis

As well as an objective visual observation, in certain situations the assessor may make use of additional quantitative data tools, such as the overall time of the race, speed figures, sectional timing, and comparisons against historical standard times for the race. Generally speaking, the assessor would only refer to this type of information as a way to reinforce their own findings.

UK race classification

Race classification is also the premise of the BHA, and it is intended to provide an idea of the quality of the horses running in any given race. If you look at a racecard, the information appears before the runners are listed.

Where applicable, you will also see the handicap rating for each runner in the race. This is described as the Official Rating (OR), or may sometimes appear as BHA rating. In a Handicap race, each horse is allotted a weight based on its OR rating, with each point representing 1lb in weight.

Flat race classifications

There are six Classes defined for Flat races, each with its own sub-sections, as detailed in the table below.

National Hunt race classifications

For National Hunt (Jumps) racing, there are also six Classes, and further sub-divisions within each. For Handicap races, the ratings are higher than they are on the Flat, meaning the ratings gap in each class is greater.

The effect of a handicap mark

Once a horse has raced three times, and the BHA handicapper has three sets of performance figures, they will allocate that horse a handicap mark based on its perceived ability. Once a horse has a handicap mark, it becomes eligible to enter Handicap races.

There are more rating bands for Flat racing than for Jumps, but the principle remains the same. For example, a horse with a Flat rating of 90 would be eligible to enter Class 3 Handicap races, but a Jumps horse with the same rating could be entered in several different Classes of race.

Weight allocation

If a horse enters a race with the maximum rating permitted and/or the highest rating in the race, it will carry the highest weight. This will typically be 12st over Jumps. Below that level, the lower the horse’s rating, the less weight they will carry.

For example, if a horse was rated 100 in a 0-100 Handicap and carried 12st, then a horse rated 86 in the same race, would carry 14lb less i.e. 11st. In the handicapper’s opinion, the weight disparity between the two runners should see them finish together.

Some terminology explained

Within the criteria for a Handicap race, a minimum weight is stipulated, and any horse below that figure is still allowed to run, but they would need to carry the same weight as a horse rated at the minimum level. This is known as racing "out of the handicap" and a horse carrying more weight than its rating is naturally at a disadvantage.

Additionally, if more horses enter the race than the maximum permitted to run, the highest rated horses will be entitled to run, and the lower rated horses will be "balloted out". One of the best examples of this is the Aintree Grand National, where there are always a huge number of entries, but only the top 34 horses get to run.

Adjustments

Sometimes, there will be some variations to the above, depending on the race conditions and other factors. For example, if a Conditional Jockey rides a horse, they will have a 3lb, 5lb, 7lb, or 10lb claim, and that amount will be removed from the horse’s weight allocation. The idea being that a Conditional Jockey needs assistance in order to compete against fully fledged professional riders.

You will also encounter races where there is a weight for age allowance. In a race where a young horse is taking on older, more experienced horses, they may be able claim a weight allowance to reflect the tough task the younger horse faces. This encourages those with younger, promising horses to enter them with a fair chance against the older horses.

How to take advantage of the handicap system

In theory, the handicap system is very simple and should work. But as you begin to understand more about this subject, you’ll start to recognise how to be ahead of the handicapper, by spotting situations where the system breaks down.

Let’s just say that with so many factors at play in horse racing, it is possible for a trainer to mess around with them to disguise a horse's true ability, without breaking any rules. More on that a bit later.

What to look for

There are several factors to keep an eye out for when trying to find well handicapped horses. The first and most important ones are noticeable changes compared to previous runs based on:

• Course
• Distance
• Going conditions
• Rating

These changes are especially important where the horse has already proven those conditions are more suitable, or it looks the type to improve for them.

A word about headgear

Another factor is the application of headgear, but this is a little more contentious. Let’s take blinkers as an example. The main purpose of blinkers is to cut out distractions. They work by blocking the horse’s peripheral vision, preventing it from seeing what’s going on beside or behind it. With the distraction of other runners, or race spectators removed, the horse is more likely to maintain full focus on the race.

You’ll often hear trainers and commentators refer to “first-time blinkers” or “reapplying blinkers”. Both of these are worth paying attention to, especially if the horse has previously shown signs of greenness, or lack of focus in previous runs. However, blinkers are also used for difficult horses, so it’s not a guarantee of better performance.

That said, if a horse has won in headgear before, and you also see other factors come into play, then you may be onto a good one. If a horse has won off a certain mark before e.g. 140, and you see it is now back down to 140, this could be a sign that it’s handicapped to win again.

A theoretical example

Let’s say we have a three-mile Hurdler that is seen to best effect on Good ground. At the start of its Hurdles campaign connections may decide to run the horse over 2m or 2m 4f, knowing that the distance will be inadequate for the horse, and subsequently the horse will underperform.

Likewise, they may decide to run it on Soft ground, knowing that the ground is not ideal for the horse, and it will not show its true level of ability. If the handicapper is assessing the horse’s ability based on runs with unsuitable conditions, then it may get allocated a handicap mark that hides its true ability.

When the horse is eligible to run in a Handicap race, connections will most likely switch the horse to 3m and/or Good ground. Doing so will bring about improvement. The horse will reveal its true ability, outperform its handicap mark, and potentially secure a win. If all of the other horses are campaigned to show their true ability, and are handicapped accordingly, our horse will have a significant advantage over them.

How trainers take advantage of the handicap system

There is one thing I need to make clear from the outset. The BHA Rules of Racing dictate that a horse must always be run to the best of its ability in every race. Therefore, a jockey or trainer must not make any attempt to stop a horse from running well in order to disguise its ability level. This topic is covered by BHA Rule (F)37 for jockeys, and (F)39 for trainers.

However, running a horse to its maximum ability, but with unsuitable conditions, is effectively a ‘loophole’ in the handicap system. The horse will not reveal its true ability without conditions to suit, but at the same time, it is still trying its best and therefore cannot be penalised.

A real life example

A notable example is Inothewayurthinkin, trained by Gavin Cromwell and owned by JP McManus. His first four runs over fences were over distances of 2m, 2m 3f, 2m 3.5f and 2m 5.5f. He was allocated a handicap mark of 145 in the UK after his fourth run, up 1lb from his initial mark of 144 over in Ireland. He subsequently ran in the Kim Muir at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival. That race was for horses rated 0-145 and as the best horse in the race on paper, he carried 12st. However, that race is run over 3m 2f, which is a very different trip to those he had been rated on, and also what he needed to be seen to best effect.

It was no surprise when he improved considerably and won the race comfortably by eight lengths. After seeing that performance, the handicapper decided that he was considerably better than a 145 horse, and raised his rating by 13lb to 158. However, by that point, his trainer had already exploited the system and won a valuable race. Ironically, Inothewayurthinkin then went on to win the Grade 1 Novice Chase at Aintree, and the following season he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup. No doubt it was quite a training feat to get him a handicap mark of 144 over fences, but worth the effort when you consider it was 32lb below his mark of 176 after the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

A few points to underline

To summarise, the handicap system was designed to make the racing of horses with mixed levels of ability more fair, and subsequently more competitive. Having a deeper understanding of how the handicapping system works can provide you with unique insights when you are looking to find the potential winner of a Handicap race.

Don’t forget that the BHA website offers a mine of information for every horse, and every UK race. It is the primary source of accurate information and all handicap ratings are updated on the BHA site each Tuesday.

Lastly, a key point to consider is that you are not looking for the ‘best’ horse in a Handicap race. You are trying to find a runner that is “well handicapped”. In essence, a horse that has the biggest discrepancy between its true ability, and the rating that the handicapper has allocated.

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I hope this article helps you to understand the handicap system better and that it also helps you to identify when a horse may be ahead of the handicapper. If you have any questions off the back of this article, my DMs on X are open, and I’m always happy to talk about racing!

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