Horse Racing Grades

With so many racehorses in training, close to 14,000 in Britain alone in 2015, there is a necessity to provide opportunities over a range of distances for both flat and National Hunt performers.

With distances on the flat ranging from 5f to 2m5f, and National Hunt contests being held over distances of 2m to 4 ½m, there is a sufficiently wide range of trips available to match the variety of talents offered by the large racehorse population. Further diversification is brought to the jumps game by the presence of both hurdle and chase races, as well as National Hunt Flat contests commonly known as bumpers.

Through the judgement of their trainers and owners, as well as their performances at the track, horses will gravitate to the type of contest that best suits their particular mixture of speed and stamina. For example the out and out speedballs will ply their trade in 5f or 6f races whereas their stamina laden contemporaries are likely to be seen to best effect over staying trips of 1m5f or more. That’s all very well but some sprinters are much better than other sprinters and some stayers are vastly superior to others.

Clearly if the aim of competitive racing is to be met, it is preferable for horses of similar abilities to be racing one another to produce exciting races, as opposed to predictable, one-sided romps. Or at least where horses of varying ability do battle it out in the same race, to find some way of levelling the playing field. In order to achieve these goals, we must first assign a numeric value to the ability of all horses in training. This is where the handicapping system comes in.

Racing and the Handicapping System

The British Horse Racing Authority (BHA), and other racing authorities around the world employ individuals whose job it is to assess each and every racehorse performance, with a view to assigning a numeric value representing each horse’s ability. These individuals are known as handicappers. The value they assign to each horse is known as a horse’s handicap mark or official rating (OR).

The numeric values produced by the handicapper are useful as a tool to compare the performances of horses running in different races or in different eras. For example it gives substance to the assertion that Frankel is the greatest horse ever to have raced on the flat, given his official rating of 140 is unsurpassed either before or since his illustrious career. Where these ratings really come into their own however is in the framing of races.

The rating assigned by the handicapper is expressed in terms of pounds of weight. As such it can be used to assign the amount of weight a horse must carry in a handicap race (more on those later). The more weight a horse has to carry in a race, the slower it will be able to run and the worse it will perform. That is the premise on which the whole handicapping system is built.

For a simple example of how this process works, consider a two horse race between Horse A and Horse B. Horse A wins the race and is assigned a rating of 70 by the handicapper, Horse B is assigned a rating of 65. If the horses were to meet again, the handicapper is effectively saying that in order for the race to be as competitive as possible, Horse A should carry 5lbs more than Horse B. This is a basic example but demonstrates the basis of the handicapper’s task and the mechanics of the system.

To receive an initial rating from the handicapper, a horse must either win a Maiden race or have run three times. In order to keep pace with the fluctuating performances of racehorses at the track, each and every race is assessed and a horse’s handicap rating is regularly adjusted to best reflect their current ability.

A full list of handicap ratings are released each week, usually on a Tuesday in the UK. These ratings will stand for races whose entry stage closes on that Tuesday through to those which close on the following Monday. One thing to note here is that if a horse should win a race, and then run again before their new handicap mark is published, they will receive an automatic winner’s penalty. This is typically six pounds of additional weight.

With these ratings assigned, we can now create a framework, or pecking order of races in order to provide opportunities for horses across the full spectrum of ability. We will now take a look at how this works in practice for both UK flat and National Hunt racing.

Flat Racing

Flat racing in the UK is divided into seven classes, with Class 1 being for the highest rated runners and Class 7 for those with the lowest ratings. Average prize money is also highest for the Class 1 events, with race value tending to decrease as we move down the scale.

A general guide to the levels of handicaps and types of race associated with each class helps to illustrate how horse quality varies across the classes. Also included are the 2015/16 minimum prize values for each category. These alter slightly over time but again serve as a useful guide to the quality of racing to be found at each level.

Class	Minimum Prize Value
Class 1 This includes Group and Listed Stakes and Listed Handicaps for runners rated 96-110+.	Group 1: 2yo+: £150,000, 3yo+: £200,000 Group 2: 2yo+: £65,000, 3yo+: £90,000 Group 3: 2yo+: £40,000, 3yo+: £60,000 Listed: 2yo+: £25,500, 3yo+: £37,000
Class 2 Heritage Handicaps, Open Handicaps and Handicaps of 0-105, 0-110, 86-100, 91-105 and 96-110, Conditions Stakes and Classified Stakes 0-95, Open Nursery Handicaps, Novice Races and Maidens.	Heritage Handicaps: £100,000 0-105, 0-110 and Open Handicaps: £45,000 All Other Class 2 Races: 2yo+: £14,000, 3yo+: £19,000
Class 3 Handicaps 76-90 and 81-95, Nursery Handicaps 0-90 and 0-95, Conditions Stakes, Classified Stakes 0-85 and 0-90, Novice Races and Maidens.	Conditions Stakes: 2yo+: £19,000, 3yo+: £25,000 All other Class 3 Races: 2yo+: £10,000, 3yo+: £11,500
Class 4 Handicaps 66-80 and 71-85, Conditions Stakes, Classified Stakes 0-80, Nursery Handicaps 0-80 and 0-85, Novice Races, Novice Auction, Novice Median Auction, Maidens, Claimers and Sellers.	Conditions Stakes: 2yo+: £11,000, 3yo+: £12,500 All Other Class 4 Races: 2yo+: £6,100, 3yo+: £7,250
Class 5 Handicaps 56-70 and 61-75, Nursery Handicap 0-70 to 0-75, Classified Stakes 0-70 to 0-75, Novice Races, Novice Auction, Novice Median Auction, Maidens, Maiden Auction, Median Auction Maiden, Rating Related Maiden, Claimers and Sellers.	Handicaps 56-70 and 61-75: 2yo+: £7,000, 3yo+: £8,000 All other Class 5 Races: £4,500
Class 6 Handicaps 46-60 and 51-65, Nursery Handicaps 0-60 and 0-65, Classified Stakes 0-60 and 0-65, Novice Auction, Novice Median Auction, Maiden Auction, Median Auction Maiden, Rating Related Maiden, Claimers and Sellers.	Handicaps 46-60 and 51-65: £5,000 All Other Class 6 Races: £3,500
Class 7 Handicaps 45-50 and Classified Stakes 0-45.	All Class 7 Races: £2,250

Some further explanation is required regarding Class 1 races here as the class contains additional sub-divisions, namely Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 contests. These are the real top tier of the racing world and are known collectively as Pattern races. The Pattern was initially designed in order to provide a structure of high quality contests throughout the season.

Also included in the Class 1 ratings band, but just below Group level, are races known as Listed contests. Group or Listed status is granted by the European Racing Authority. The status of a race can be upgraded or downgraded from year to year but never by more than one ratings band.

Types of Flat Race

In addition to races being identified by their class, there are also a number of different types of race. Whereas class reveals the quality of the contest, type refers to the conditions of the race at hand. The two main types of race which cover the majority of races run in the UK are Conditions races and Handicap races. They are defined as follows:

Conditions Races: A race which is not any of: a handicap, a claiming race, a selling race, a novice race or a maiden. There may be weight adjustments in such races but they will be down to factors such as the age and sex of the runners or other specified conditions, rather than a horse’s official rating.

Weight adjustments are made due to age, as horses of varying ages are at a different level of physical maturity. Younger, less developed runners are compensated by having to carry less weight than their older more fully formed rivals. The exact amount of the weight allowance is determined by sliding scales relating both to the age of the horse and the distance of the race in question. The younger the horse the more weight they receive from their older rivals and equally the longer the race the more weight they will receive.

Similarly fillies and mares are granted an allowance due to the greater strength of colts and geldings. In flat races which are not Pattern races, Classified Stakes or Rating Related Maidens, this allowance will be 5lbs. In a flat Pattern race or a Class 1, Class 2 or Class 3 Classified Stakes, the allowance will be 3lbs.

Another penalty which may apply in a conditions race is an additional amount of weight which must be carried if a horse has previously won a race of a certain grade. For example, a past Group 1 winner may be saddled with a weight penalty when running in a Group 2. The exact details of these penalties will be outlined in the conditions of the race.

Handicap Races: A handicap contest is a race in which the weight carried by each runner is determined by their official rating. These races are designed to be wide open, with, at least in theory, each runner having an identical chance.

An understanding of what is meant when a race is defined as either a conditions or handicap event is helpful in understanding the framework of flat racing, but is a little too vague to understand the full range of contests on offer. A complete list of the types of flat is as follows:

Group 1: These are conditions races. The crème de la crème of the racing world. The list of Group 1 contests includes the four British Classics of The Derby, The Oaks, 1000 Guineas, 2000 Guineas and St. Leger. Group 1s may be restricted to horses of a certain age or sex but are always weight-for-age contests.

Group 2: Also conditions races but slightly below the quality of a Group 1.

Group 3: This bracket is slightly lower in quality again and includes the top handicap events.

Listed: Just below Group Level and can be Handicap or Conditions races.

Rated Stakes: These are valuable handicap races with a small ratings bands of typically 10-14lbs.

Classified Stakes: A weight-for-age contest which is not a maiden or a novice race. These races are restricted to horses who have been awarded a rating no greater than a specified value.

Conditions Stakes: A conditions race not to have been awarded Group or Listed status which is not a classified stakes. However, low value races restricted to Apprentice or Amateur jockeys, may not be classed as Conditions Stakes.

Heritage Handicap: Typically a handicap race rich in historical value and prestige in the racing calendar. These races will be identified as such by the racing authority and must have a minimum prize value. The actual conditions under which these races are run however are identical to a standard handicap.

Nursery Handicap: A handicap contest restricted to two-year-olds only.

Apprentice Handicap: Handicap races restricted to apprentice jockeys.

Claiming Race (Claimer) : A handicap race of sorts, however, the varying weights assigned are determined not by the horses Official Rating but by the value connections place on their runner. Each horse in a claimer is available for sale following the race. The price of each horse is set by connections prior to the race. The higher the price set the more weight the horse has to carry. These are generally very low class affairs.

Selling Race (Seller) : A race in which the winner is sold by auction after the contest. All other runners are also able to be claimed via a similar process to that used in a claiming race. Selling Races can be handicaps or weight-for-age contests and are again low class events.

Maiden Races: Races restricted to those horses yet to win a race. Such horses are known as Maidens. Most commonly these are contested by two-year-olds at the beginning of their racing careers. There a number of different types of Maiden race.

Maiden Handicap: A handicap race for Maidens. Two-year-olds are not permitted to run in these.

Maiden Auction: Restricted to two- or three-year-old Maiden runners only who have been bought or sold at auction at a specified sales.

Median Auction Maiden: Restricted to Maiden runners who are the produce of a stallion who has established a specified median price with regard to the sale of his yearlings. Runners must hail from a stallion to have had one or more yearlings bought at a specified sales.

Rating Related Maiden: A non-handicap race restricted to Maidens to have received a rating from the official handicapper. This rating must be no greater than the value specified in the conditions of the race.

Open Maiden: A maiden race which is none of the above. The only restrictions that may be in place are with regard to the number of starts made by the runners, their age or sex, or whether they are included in specific breeding sponsorship initiatives.

Novice Flat Race: In order to be classed as a novice, a horse must be two-years-old and meet the following criteria. They must not have won more than twice, they must not have won at Class 1 or Class 2 level. After August each year, this second stipulation changes to: must not have won at Class 1, Class 2 or Class 3 level.

Novice Handicap: A handicap race for Novices.

Novice Auction Race: For Novice runners to have been bought by auction at a specified sales.

Novice Median Auction Race: Restricted to Novice runners who are the produce of a stallion who has established a specified median price with regard to the sale of his yearlings. Runners must hail from a stallion to have had one or more yearlings bought at a specified sales.

Apprentice Race: Races restricted to apprentice jockeys.

Amateur Race: Races restricted to Amateur jockeys.

Ladies Race: Races restricted to female amateurs and apprentices.

Gentleman’s Race: Races restricted to male amateur jockeys.

This huge mass of terms and categories may seem overwhelming at first but in reality the vast majority of the races the average punter will be betting on will fall into just a few of the types towards the top of the list. Many of the others are rarely televised and tend to be races towards the end of lesser cards.

National Hunt Racing

National Hunt (NH) is the name given to jumps racing in the UK (and in France and Ireland), where the horses – and hopefully jockeys too! – must jump a series of fences and/or ditches. The exception to this are “bumpers”, which are NH flat races designed to give younger horses a first taste of running before moving onto jumps. The name “National Hunt” comes from the origins of the sport in hunting and includes, as mentioned, both hurdles and steeplechases.

National Hunt racing is most popular in Ireland and the UK, as well as France, with many other countries tending to much prefer flat racing. NH horses tend to be much cheaper than their flat counterparts because they are usually geldings and thus have no breeding value.

Because of this they are able to enjoy much longer careers, whereas the best flat horses are retired to breed at a relatively young age. As a consequence of this, jumps horses tend to capture the public imagination to a greater extent as racing fans can develop a knowledge of and affection for, the horses over a longer period.

As an example, as popular as Frankel is, he can never compare to a horse such as Kauto Star in terms of public affection, the latter having enjoyed a career more than twice as long. Of course, given Frankel is commanding a fee of £125,000 at stud, that won’t be of concern to his owners, not least because he “covered” 133 mares in his first year alone!

The structure of National Hunt Racing is very similar to that of its flat counterpart. There are six classes of jumps race, with Class 1 being the best. National Hunt racing also has its own collection of top tier contests. Here the Class 1 band contains Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 and Listed events. Graded races are a direct counterpart of the Group races on the flat, with Grade 1 being the top of the tree, followed by Grade 2 and then Grade 3.

Again in common with the flat, these Graded and Listed contests are collectively known as Pattern Races. The quality scale across the race classes is again best illustrated by looking at the types of races and levels of handicaps run in each class and the prize money on offer. In National Hunt racing the pecking order is as follows:

Class	Minimum Prize Value
Class 1 Pattern (Grade 1,2 and 3), Listed races and Open Handicaps 0-150+.	Grade 1: Chase: £100,000, Novices’ Chase: £45,000, Hurdle: £75,000, Juvenile and Novice Hurdle: £40,000, National Hunt Flat: £25,000. Grade 2: Chase: £50,000, Novices’ Chase: £32,000, Hurdle: £40,000, Juvenile and Novices Hurdles: £30,000, National Hunt Flat: £20,000. Grade 3: Chase:£40,000, Hurdle: £35,000, Juvenile and Novices’ Hurdle £35,000. Listed: Chase: £27,500, Novices’ Chase: £22,500, Hurdle: £22,000, Juvenile and Novice Hurdle: £20,000, National Hunt Flat: £20,000.
Class 2 Open Handicaps and Handicaps 0-145+, Weight-for-age Conditions, Open Novices Handicaps, National Hunt Flat, Hunters’ Chase, Weight-for-age Juvenile, Weight-for-age Novices’, Weight-for-age beginners.	Open Handicaps: Chase: £22,500, Hurdle: £18,500 All Other Class 2 Races: £14,000
Class 3 Handicaps 0-125 and 0-140, Open Novice Handicap Chase, Novice Handicaps 0-125 and 0-140, Weigh-for-age Novices’, Weight-for-age Beginners, Weight-for-age Juvenile, Weight-for-age Maiden, National Hunt Flat, Hunters’ Chase.	Open Novices’ Handicap Chase: £13,999 All Other Class 3 Races: £8,300
Class 4 Handicaps 0-105 and 0-120 and Novice Handicaps 0-105 and 0-120, Weigh-for-age Novices’, Weight-for-age Beginners, Weight-for-age Juvenile, Weight-for-age Maiden, Weight-for-age Claimer, weight-for-age seller, National Hunt Flat, Hunters’ Chase.	All Class 4 Handicaps: £8,299 All Other Class 4 Races: £5,000
Class 5 Handicaps 0-100 and Novice Handicaps 0-100, Weight-for-age Maiden, Weight-for age Claiming, Weight-for-age selling, Selling Handicap, National Hunt Flat, Hunters Chase.	All Class 5 Handicaps: £4,999 All Other Class 5 Races: £3,500
Class 6 National Hunt Flat and Hunter's Steeplechases.	National Hunt Flat: £3,499 Hunters’ Chase: £1,500

So that’s how the class structure works in the National Hunt game, now onto the different types of race on offer. Whereas in flat racing the only thing that really differs is the distance of the race, National Hunt racing offers three distinct challenges to its competitors. Namely Hurdle Races, Steeplechases and National Hunt Flat contests.

National Hunt Flat races, bumpers, we have covered and hurdles can be viewed as the next step up. Hurdles races are run over a distance of between two, and three and a half miles and the obstacles, the hurdles, are a minimum of three and a half feet high. Hurdles are relatively forgiving, such that if a horse catches the top – or sometimes even ploughs through the middle – they will usually be able to continue the race.

Steeplechases, so called because they were originally run from church to church, are often longer than hurdles and range from two miles to four and a half miles in distance. The obstacles, called fences, are at least four and a half feet high and are considerably less forgiving than hurdles. As such they are a much sterner test for both jockey and horse. The Grand National is a steeplechase – the most famous in the world in fact.

Types of National Hunt Race

Weight-For-Age Races: The weights carried by the runners are determined not by their handicap rating but by their age and sex. There are separate weight scales for Hurdle and Chase contests, which in common with the flat vary according to the time of year and the distance over which the race is run. Weight-for-age races may be sellers or claimers, or restricted to Juveniles, Novices, Beginners or Maidens. Mares’ allowances apply as follows. In a Chase, Hurdle or NHF race which is not a classified stakes, mares will receive 7lb. In a classified stakes, mares will only receive 3lb.

Handicap Hurdle/Chase: A Hurdle or Chase where the weights carried are determined by the horse’s official rating.

Grade 1 Hurdle/Chase: These are top class contests. These are the highest class weight-for-age events and include Championship level events such as the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase.

Grade 2 Hurdle/Chase: Weight-for-age races and limited range handicaps, which, whilst still being very high class, are slightly below Grade 1 level. In addition to weights being dependent upon age and sex, weight penalties for previous wins may be in place. E.g. a previous Grade 1 winner running in a Grade 2 may have to carry extra weight.

Grade 3 Hurdle/Chase: These are below Grade 2 level and tend to be high class, valuable handicaps. The Grand National is the most famous Grade 3 race and, with more than £1m in prizes, the richest jumps race in Europe.

Listed Hurdle/Chase: High class but below Graded level. Can be conditions or handicap races.

Classified Stakes: This type of race can be either a hurdle or a chase. These are weight-for-age races which are not Novice or Maiden events, and are restricted to horses to have been awarded an official rating no greater than a specified value.

National Hunt Flat Race (Bumper) : A flat race open to runners no older than seven. Only runners not to have run in any type of race other than a National Hunt Flat race are eligible. A horse to have previously have run in a standard flat, hurdle or chase does not qualify.

Maiden Hurdle: A hurdle race open to all runners yet to win over hurdles.

Novice Hurdle: Open to hurdlers who had not won a hurdle race prior to the start of the current season. A horse will be considered a novice until the end of the season in which it gains its first win, no matter how many times it wins in that period. Where a horse wins a hurdle race for the first time in the closing months of a season i.e. March and April, that runner will retain its Novice status until 1st November of that year.

Juvenile Hurdle: A Hurdle race open to those runners who were three years of age prior to 1st January of the current year.

Beginners Chase: Effectively a Maiden Chase. Open to all runners who have never previously won over fences.

Novice Chase: Open to chasers who had not won a Chase race prior to the start of the current season. As with hurdles novices, a horse will be considered a novice until the end of the season in which it gains its first win, no matter how many times it wins in that period. Again, where a horse wins a Chase for the first time in the closing months of a season they will retain their Novice status until 1st November of that year.

Novice Handicap Chase: A handicap race restricted to Novices only.

Hunters’ Chase: A weight-for-age contest open to runners certified by the Master of Hounds to have taken part in a hunt. Only amateur jockeys may ride in these races.

Novice Hunters Chase: A Hunter Chase open to runners not to have won a chase prior to 30th May of the preceding calendar year.

Conditional Jockeys Races: Races restricted to conditional jockeys. A conditional jockey is the jumping equivalent of an apprentice jockey on the flat.

Amateur Races: Races restricted to amateur jockeys.

Ladies Race: Races restricted to female amateurs and conditionals.

Gentlemen’s Race: Races restricted to male amateur jockeys.

Mares Hurdle/Chase: A Hurdle or Chase restricted to Mares.

Claiming Hurdle/Chase: The varying weights assigned are determined not by the horses rating but by the value connections (owners and trainers) place on their runner. Each horse in a Claimer is able to be bought following the race. The price of each horse is set by connections prior to the race and the higher the price set, the more weight the horse has to carry. These are invariably low class affairs designed to sell lesser horses.

Selling Hurdle/Chase: A Hurdle or Chase race where the winner is sold by auction after the contest. As with the flat equivalent, all other runners are also able to be claimed via a similar process to that used in a claiming race. Selling Races can be handicaps or weight-for-age contests and are again races of a low standard.