Carrying weight for a horse.?

Question

How is the Carrying weight works for a race? How come they all not carrying the same weight? what do they add to make it heavier? Is that more inportant in longer races?

Answer 1

yes it is important in all races, but the farther a horse runs the more it is possible to affect them.

to make it simple they use weight to equalize the horses in any given race. It all depends on the horses wins. But it is a bit more complicated than that. Here is a link to what is called a condition book it shows that when you enter a horse in given race what weights they will carry based on wins and when the horse won.

Also apprentice jockeys get weight allowances there are 10 lb. bug boys then they become 7 lb. bugs, 5 lb.etc.

when weight is added it is added in the form of a larger (heavier) saddle and if that is not enough then lead is added to it.

and this is in U.S. I think it is different over seas but the basic principle of equalling the horses out with weight is the same.

http://tampabaydowns.com/Racing/Horsemen...

Answer 2

Heavier is not better.

Jockeys starve themselves to maintain their weight as low as possible.

One of the greats, Eddie Arcaro, weighed in the neighborhood of 100 lbs.

Answer 3

Great question, and one that might take pages to fully answer. I will try to explain in short, but forgive me all if I leave something out. In most horse races, weight is used to make the race the most competitive it can be. The better horses, (which are determined by track handicappers, or simply the conditions of the race) run the race with the most weight.

If all the horses carried the same weight, (which does happen in some "Stakes races") it would seem logical that the better horse or two would win most races. Making the better horses carry the most weight gives the "not better" horses a little more of a chance.

In my humble opinion, weight is not MORE important in longer races. Horses that usually run longer races agaisnt other horses that usually run longer races are all used to the weights. More important would be when a horse who is used to running shorter sprints, moves to racing in longer (termed "route") races. Another important factor would be when a horse carries a lot more weight than he\she is used too. Here is an example: Two horses finish a race just noses apart while both carrying 112 pounds. If they race each other again their next race but this time the horse that won by a nose is now carrying 122 and the other 112, will the horse that one the first race be able to win again while carrying 10 more pounds this race?

Finally, Jockeys are weighed with the saddle they will race with. If more weight is needed to bring the jockey up to the assigned weight, small flat lead bars are added to a pocket in the saddle. This is why when you see a jockey being weighed after a race, he\she is always holding the saddle.

Hope this helps...Good luck.