What is a Grade 2 horse race?

Grade 2 races are known as 'weight-for-ages' races as horses do carry weight depending on their age or previous victories, but the range is limited. Famous Grade 2 races include November's Ascot Hurdle, the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton and the Scottish Champion Hurdle in Ayr.

What does Grade 2 mean in horse racing?

Criteria. The American Graded Stakes Committee grades only races that: Have a purse of at least $75,000 for a listed race, $100,000 for Grade III, $200,000 for Grade II, and $300,000 for Grade I. Have been run for two years under fundamentally the same conditions.

What is a Grade 1 race?

Graded and Listed races

The highest level is Grade 1, where horses compete off the same weight (but with allowances for age or gender), and this includes illustrious races such as the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle.

What is a Class 2 race?

There are three different levels of group races. Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3. Group 1 races are the pinnacle of racing in Australia and throughout the world. Group 2's are next best and Group 3's are a step above open class. There are different rules to get into these races, which includes age and ability.

What is the difference between a grade 1 and grade 2 horse race?

Grade 2 races are directly below Grade 1 (surprisingly). The weight a horse carries here is decided either by Weight-For-Age, but there are minor penalties for previous wins, or the handicaps carry a very limited weight range.

What is a Grade 3 horse race?

Grade 3 races are the lower profile races of the Class 1 events. However, "lower profile" does not imply a lack of quality, excitement, or valuable purses. It merely is a toning down of the pomp so frequently experienced at the higher ranking meetings.

What is class 5 in horse racing?

Class 5 Handicaps 0-85 and 0-95 and Novice Handicaps 0-85 and 0-95. Class 6 National Hunt Flat Races and Hunter's Steeplechases.

How do you know what class your horse is?

Class ratings are based on projected finishing times based on the Speed Figures of the individual horses coming into each race. Our research showed us how to take the last six months of speed figures from all of the entrants in a race, and make the best possible predication as to the winning time.

What is a graded horse race?

A graded race is a type of National Hunt horse race that denotes its quality. There are six class bands in the National Hunt hierarchy, of which the top band is split into three grades: Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3.

What does LR mean in horse racing?

LR is the Last Race which the horse ran. 2LR is the second to last race, and the 3LR is the 3rd last race the horse ran in. We have chosen to show the last three races as this represents the most recent form.

What is a race for 2 year old horses called?

Baby Race: A race for two year old horses, especially early in the season.

What does G1 G2 G3 mean in horse racing?

Graded races are the premier stakes races, whereby a Grade 1 (G1), Grade 2 (G2) or Grade 3 (G3), designate the class of horses participating. The size of purse, amount of added money and the historical significance of the race also are determining factors in the grade status. Grade 1 (G1) is the highest designation.

What is a Group 3 race?

Group 3 Races

Group races are said to have “Black Type” status, which is of high importance to breeders, owners and racing clubs. Group races were initially known as Principal Races until their name was changed in 1979. In order to qualify for Group 3 status, a race must have minimum prize money of $100,000.

How do race horses get graded?

After winning a race, a horse is assessed within 24 hours and given a numeric rating. The rating is based on strength of opposition, winning margin, previous wins, and total weight carried. This rating can be affected by a huge number of things which variances in a horse's performance.

What does SWP mean in horse racing?

Set Weights & penalties Set Weights and Penalties (SWP) is a race where the handicapper has no discretion as to what the weight is carried by each horse.

What does BM stand for in horse racing?

Benchmark Races. A benchmark race is a Handicap race based on ratings. There is no upper or lower limit on eligibility. In simple terms, a benchmark race is open to all horses. The weights assigned to each entry relate to the benchmark rating assigned to the race.

What is average class in horse racing?

Average Class is calculated using speed ratings of the individual runners to project the finishing time based on the last six months of the specific race's entrants. Last Class is the class level of the horse's last start and can be a useful reference tool comparing the caliber of horses they faced in prior efforts.

What's the difference between a claiming race and allowance race?

In practice, an allowance race is a step up from claiming races (where horses are for sale) and is part of the progression to bigger, more important races such as Stakes races in America. They are also called conditions races and are run on Flat and National Hunt meets in the UK and Ireland.

What does it mean when a horse drops in class?

What this means is that a horse is exiting races against prized horses whose owners do not want to lose them and place a claiming tag on them, and now it's facing lesser horses who can be acquired by anyone willing to pay their claiming price.

What is a Class 6 horse race?

Class 2 – Official Ratings range from 86-100, 91-105, 96-110. Class 3 – Official Ratings range from 76-90 and 81-95. Class 4 – Official Ratings range from 66-80 and 71-85. Class 5 – Official Ratings range from 56-70 and 61-75. Class 6 – Official Ratings range from 46-60 and 51-65.

What is a class 4 handicap?

Class 4 – handicaps of 0-100 and 0-115. Class 5 – handicaps of 0-85 and 0-95.

What does Listed mean in horse racing?

In horse racing, a Listed race is a race at a level just below Group level or, in other words, three steps down from the highest level, Group One, in terms of quality.

What does BM 64 mean in horse racing?

Normally reserved for country and provincial racing these are the lowest quality race for horses who have broken their maiden. Benchmark 64 (4.5 - 7.5) Once again a fairly low rating race for horses that have not won many races and are running slow times. Rarely will you see a BM64 on a. Benchmark 70 (6 - 9)

What is black type race?

A horse's name printed in bold-faced “black type” letters designates that the horse has won or placed in a stakes race. Horses that win or place in an official AQHA-approved stakes race earn black type on their pedigree. (

What does off the bridle mean?

OFF THE BIT/OFF THE BRIDLE describes a horse being pushed along by his jockey, losing contact with the bit in his mouth. ON THE BIT/ON THE BRIDLE describes a horse going well within himself, still having a grip on the bit.