Handicapping in South Africa
The ideal racing program must consist of a balanced combination of Merit Rating races (real handicaps) and Conditions races (Maiden and Plate/Race Figure races
21st January 2019
14 Comments
Timeless and insightful content
The ideal racing program must consist of a balanced combination of Merit Rating races (real handicaps) and Conditions races (Maiden and Plate/Race Figure races
Required reading for anyone who bets on horses or is interested in horseracing.
Every wondered what makes a champion? The Channel 4 documentary team delve beneath the skin to find out.
Bloodstock agent John Warren explains how he selects yearlings
Fitness levels can roughly be defined as a reflection of the efficiency of the anaerobic and aerobic respiratory pathways and the efficiency of the functioning of the racehorse’s different, complex, biological systems.
At last a thorough analysis of the application of the MR system in South Africa, supported by fact and not clouded by prejudice.
Handicapping is the foundation on which racing throughout the world is built. It was introduced (officially) in the middle of the 19th century to British racing by Admiral Rous, who was able to express the ability of horses as a figure, in his time in stones and pounds weight.
Handicapping is a matter of discovering how good a horse is, and under which circumstances that horse is most likely to reproduce his best.
Marking your card this way is not nearly as much hard work as it looks. And it’s fun.
The definition of handicapping in my book is to quantify the ability of a horse. Find out what he is best at, what he needs to produce his best, and put a number to it.
Certainly there is method in the apparent madness of most trainers of thoroughbreds.
‘I called the owner and before I could even make the offer he excitedly told me that a certain South African bookmaker had just called 10 minutes earlier to make an offer of R5m’
