BHA Ratings
The BHA (British Horseracing Authority) employ a team of people to officially rate the performances of racehorses on the racecourse. These people are expert readers of form and race analysis and they are referred to as 'handicappers'.
There are different sets of official ratings for Flat (turf), Flat (all-weather), Jumps (hurdles) and Jumps (chases). Usually, horses must race three times before a rating can be allocated. Ratings may also be allocated to horses who have run in no more than two races and have won one of them.
Once a horse has been awarded a rating, each rating point equates to 1lb in weight for handicap race purposes. Races are structured within rating spans. The handicap rating may be increased or decreased after a race depending on how well your horse performed. Also, a change may be made relating to how another horse that yours has previously competed against, performs in another race (see 'Maximising your entertainment' below for more information).
For example, a race could have a rating span of 50-70 and may have a top weight of 10 stone. Any horse with an official BHA rating of 71 or greater would not qualify to be entered into the race. The horse rated 70 in this example, would carry 10 stones 0 pounds and a horse rated 69 would carry one pound less, and so on. In this example, a horse rated 56 would carry a stone (14lbs) less than the 70-rated horse.
The idea is that a handicap race will give lesser-rated horses a better chance against better horses, because they are burdened with less weight to carry in the race.
In theory, the perfect handicap race with 10 runners would have all ten runners finishing in a dead heat. However, the official ratings are anything but perfect because there are so many factors that influence the outcome of a race, but these ratings do offer some guidance and they are an important tool for betting purposes. If your perception of the horse's rating differs from the official view, then this could be a determining factor whether or not you choose to back the horse.
The following provides a rough idea of how much weight equates to one length in distance, over varying race distances.
Flat
- 5f - 3lbs per length
- 6f - 2.5lbs per length
- 7f-8f - 2lbs per length
- 9-10f - 1.75lbs per length
- 11-13f - 1.5lbs per length
- 14f - 1.25lbs per length
- 15f+ - 1lb per length
Jumps
- 1lb per length is used in most instances except over very long distances or on very testing ground.
Maximising your entertainment
Once you understand how the BHA horse ratings work, you can start getting much pleasure from following other horses that your horse has raced against.
For example; if Spirit Of Wedza had a rating of 71 and finished 2nd, beaten 5 lengths in a 7-furlong race, with the winner Olympic Boy rated 63, you may hope that the handicapper would be kind and drop Spirit Of Wedza from 71 to 70. This would mean that your horse would be carrying 1lb less next time out and new opportunities would then open up in handicap races, restricted to horses with a maximum rating of 70.
If, at a later date, Olympic Boy surprised everyone again by running better than his handicap rating suggested, perhaps running in a 0 - 85 handicap, winning again off his new mark of 75 by 6 lengths, the handicapper could then possibly move Olympic Boy to a new rating of 80, but may then go back to Spirit Of Wedza and decide that a drop of 1lb was not justified after all and revert Spirit Of Wedza back to a rating of 71.
Where the races are 5f and 6f (particularly) it's often a case that you can run the same race again from the same draw and the result will be different every time. If you introduce the draw factor and vary it, then the result will often be MUCH different. Then add the GOING factor and if this is changed, the result again could be MUCH different.
All of the above factors are in the Handicapper's mind and the constant changing of ratings becomes very interesting indeed. Not only that, following other horses that your horse has previously raced against, allows you to create your own ratings. This in turn could help you decide whether or not to place a bet on our horse next time out or indeed a bet on one of the horses that your horse has previously raced against.
Remember that the BHA ratings are anything but scientific, they are perceptions. The trouble is that these perceptions become crucial factors in determining how well your horse might perform in a race. The trainer may have your horse at peak fitness and then, lo and behold, either your horse finds the allocated weight (remember the weight is linked to the rating) too much to carry or another horse with less weight to carry (a lower rating than your horse) sweeps past to victory.
Remember also, that ratings do not always account for the horse's preferred ground conditions. If your horse loves good to soft ground, there's every chance that it will not perform to its rating if the ground is good to firm. This is where inside knowledge can be helpful. The more you learn about your horse, the clearer the picture becomes.
Note: The weekly rating changes will be updated on the Owners Group website each week on a Tuesday or Wednesday.