HOW IS THE OR CALCULATED?

Hey Chris,

I would really appreciate your help.

If a Racehorse is carrying as an example 9-10 lbs

why is the Official Rating 104?

I would have thought it would equal 9x14 + 10 lbs

thus making a figure of 136.

I appreciate your time and knowledge in explaining

how the OR is calculated especially in relation to

the weight carried on the day.

Much Appreciated,

Graham Lapslie.

grahamlapslie@googlemail.com

PS YOUR WEBSITE IS 100% PROFESSIONAL THANK YOU SO MUCH!

ANSWER:

Hi Graham

Each race has its own conditions which determine the maximum and minimum weight - if you go to the Racing Post website - click racecards - click the race name - tick conditions box - you will be shown these conditions eg

£4,000 guaranteed For 3yo+ Rated 51-70 (also open to such horses rated 50 and below) Weights highest weight 10st Weight raised 2 Minimum weight 8-9, 3-y-o 8-1 Penalties after June 26th, each race won 6lb Signore Momento's Handicap Mark 68 Entries 25 pay £ 20 Penalty value 1st £2,590.40 2nd £770.80 3rd £385.20 4th £192.40

So the official rating (OR) will determine how much weight the horse will carry relative to the OR of the other horses in the race.

Below I have set out the BHA explanation for various considerations they take into account to handicap any horse.

Each handicap race has a maximum and a minimum weight that we can allocate and this will be stated in the race conditions.

Once they have run three times, the Handicapper can give the horse a handicap rating as long as he feels that there is enough evidence on which to base it.

The average rating of all horses on the Flat is about 60 and the average for jumping is about 95.

The handicap ratings will translate into the weight that the horse will actually carry in a race. If horse A is rated 100 and horse B is rated 90 then horse A will have to carry ten pounds more weight than horse B. That is the difference that we think would make for an equal race between them.

Most handicaps are limited to horses with handicap ratings in a specific range. If a Flat race is for horses rated 56-70, for example, then nothing rated higher than 70 is eligible for entry. Horses rated lower than 56 are allowed to run but they would normally be given weights as if they were rated 56 irrespective of how much lower than this they are actually rated. It would not normally make sense for the trainer of a horse rated 46 to enter. He would have to carry ten pounds more than the weight that we think would give it an equal chance. Any horse running under those circumstances is said to be “out of the handicap”. It would be better to run in a race where he would have his proper weight and a proper chance.

If a horse wins a handicap then its rating will almost certainly go up. Since we thought that every horse had an equal chance, the winner will normally have run to a higher level than his current rating.

The average amount that the rating of a handicap winner goes up is eight pounds for jump racing and six pounds for Flat races.

. If you want a 3yo to run against older horses then you have to make allowances for his immaturity. You do this by reducing the weight that the 3yo has to carry to even things up.

The BHA publishes charts showing how much the weight has to be reduced to take account of the immaturity. These are called “Weight For Age” allowances. There are separate charts for Jumps and Flat. Obviously, the allowance gets smaller as the months pass and the young horse becomes more mature. The allowance also varies according to the distance of the race – generally the longer the race the more allowance is needed to make things equal.

Every time that a horse runs we try to work out the merit of that performance. We do it by looking at our previous assessments of the opposition. We then make calculations based on the weights that the horses carried and their relative finishing positions in this race.

In Flat races one length is typically reckoned to be worth three pounds in sprint races, two pounds in mile races and one pound in staying races. Over Jumps one pound per length is typical but it might be less in long distance races or on very tiring ground.

As an example, suppose that the winner of a mile race is considered to have run to 90. A horse that finished five lengths behind it at level weights might be considered to have run to 80.

When a horse is eligible to run in handicaps, the Handicapper must now consider what handicap rating to give a horse.

In its simplest terms, a horse than runs to 80 on each of his first three starts (with no unusual notes) will always be given a handicap rating of 80.

Chris Wigg