What is a handicap race?

A handicap is a race in which horses carry different weights, assigned by an official handicapper, with the aim of giving every runner a theoretically equal chance of winning. Better horses carry more weight to bring the field together.

How are handicap weights decided?

Each horse has an official rating, expressed in pounds, based on its past form. In a handicap, that rating determines the weight it carries, the higher the rating, the more weight. Ratings rise after good runs and can fall after poor ones.

Is the Cheltenham Gold Cup a handicap?

No. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a weight-for-age conditions race, where weights are set by age and sex rather than by a handicap mark. The Grand National, by contrast, is a handicap.

What is a Handicap in Horse Racing?

A great many of racing's most famous and most heavily backed races, the Grand National chief among them, are handicaps. If you're new to the sport, understanding what that means will change how you read a race.

The basic idea

A handicap is a race designed to be as competitive as possible. Rather than letting the best horse simply carry the same weight as the worst and win easily, every runner is allotted a different weight by the official handicapper. The better the horse, the more weight it carries, the theory being that, on their ratings, every horse in the race has an equal chance of winning.

That is why handicaps so often produce blanket finishes and long-priced winners, and why they are such popular betting races.

How the weights are set: ratings

Behind every handicap is a number. Each horse is given an official rating, expressed in pounds, based on the form it has shown. In a handicap, that rating is converted directly into the weight the horse carries. A horse rated 150 will carry more than one rated 130.

Ratings are not fixed. Run well, especially win, and a horse's mark goes up, meaning more weight next time. Run poorly over a period and the mark can come down, potentially "well handicapped" for a future race. Spotting a horse on a favourable mark is one of the classic skills of the form student.

Handicaps vs conditions races

Not every race is a handicap. In conditions and weight-for-age races, weights are set by fixed criteria such as age and sex, so the best horse is expected to win. The contrast within jump racing's showpiece season is a useful one:

The Grand National, the Scottish Grand National and the Welsh Grand National are handicaps, big fields, even-ish chances, ideal for each-way betting.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a weight-for-age championship, a true test of the best against the best.

Why it matters to punters

Because handicaps are built to be competitive, they reward homework over blind faith in the favourite. Form, the going, course suitability and a workable mark all come into play. For how to turn that into a bet, see our how to bet on horse racing guide.