Can anyone explain a racing card , what all the weights etc mean?

Question

Can anyone explain a racing card , what all the weights etc mean?

Answer 1

The weights allocated depend on the type of race: in a handicap the best horses are allotted a higher weight, the theory being that the handicapper (the person in charge of allocating the weights to each horse) wants to make all the horses finish in a line.  Of course this never happens as some horses improve and others do not give their true running.

In other races, maiden races, group races, etc horses are allotted the same weight so that each horse can run on it's merits.  Fillies get a 3lb weight allowance from colts as they are considered to not be as strong.

There is also a weight for age scale, which applies in certain races, this is to give younger horses a bit of help against older, stronger horses.  

On the rare occasions that 2 year olds run against older horses, they get a massive weight allowance.  When the 2 year old Kingsgate Native won the Group 1 Nunthorpe this summer, he was carrying just 8-1, some 19lbs less than his nearest rival and 24lbs less than the older horses!

Have a look at this link for more about handicaps:

http://www.godolphin.com/TheHandicapper....

As for the other items in a race card, they normally follow the same pattern:

The number to the left of the horse's name is the number he has been allocated for the race;  Then comes the horse's name; if there is a country code next to his name (eg (IRE)), that is the country the horse was born in.  If not country code is shown the horse was born in GB (presuming you are looking at a GB racecard!); the number in brackets next to the horses's name is the number of days since the horse last ran in a race; the next number, on the right of the page, is the horse's age; then comes the allotted weight; and finally the last number (usually in brackets) is the stall number the horse will race from.

Underneath all of these details, you usually get the horse's details (colour, s*x, sire, dam and dam sire); the owner, trainer and breeder; a brief description of the jockey colours; the name of the jockey; and the horse's most recent form.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

the wieghts in a horse race are assigned to horses to even the competition,example, the better horses in a race are assigned higher weights than horses that are not that good.

It is called a "handicap" the weights that are used are lead weights that are put in pouches on the horses back. the weights are assigned by an official at the racetrack. It is a way to make all the horses have the same chance.

Answer 3

The 3 links below should be able to help you:

http://www.farbets.co.uk/index.php?p=rac...

http://www.freehorseracingtipsonline.com...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/s...