Horse Racing Winner

Today, I am bringing you an introductory article about horse racing handicapping in regards to the class of the horse. A popular misconception among new or casual horse racing bettors is that a horse is a horse. Typically these people just look at speed and lump all horses into the same class. Why is class important? That’s the first thing we are doing to discuss today. I will also give you some examples and hopefully newfound knowledge for your next betting endeavor.

First and foremost all horses are not the same, just as all sports players are not the same. What is class? Class in horse racing is really like levels in other sports. Let’s look at baseball for all of our examples today. In baseball you have the major leagues as the pinnacle of the sport. Under the major leagues are the minor leagues. Within the minor leagues are various levels of completion—single A, double A and triple A. Also you have college baseball, which is under the minor leagues and so on down the list. Horse racing operates in much of the game way.

Following is a simply listing of the classes (levels) in horse racing:

Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Non-graded Stakes Races
Classified Allowance Races
Claiming Races
Maiden Special Weight Races
Maiden Claiming

Within the main levels above are sub-levels—dollar amounts signify them. For example, a $3,500 Maiden Claiming race is under a $25,000 Maiden Claiming race.

Let’s go back to baseball. Most people are familiar with pitcher Roger Clemens. He is a top-level pitcher in the major leagues. In horse racing, he would be a Grade 1 horse. If he went down to Double A ball, what do you think would happen? He would of course destroy them. Double A ball is like Grade 3. That’s how important paying attention to classes is. If you took any mid-level MLB player and sent him to singe A ball in the minors, he would most likely clean up.

In horse racing, horses move up and down the class ladder to find their spot. For example, a horse may do fine at the $10,000 Maiden so the horse may appear at a higher level next time out. If the horse falters bad, it could be an indication that the horse is out classed at that level and the horse will come back down. Typically horses move up and down one rung on the ladder at a time. Sometimes horses that are close to being competitive at their current level will come down a bit to snatch up a win.

The difference between a Grade 1 horse and a Grade 3 horse is night and day, just like a decent Grade 3 horse can run through Allowance fields. The next time you go to wager on a horse race, take a moment and look at the classes of horses. It will give you a clue on what horses are over qualified to run, under classed and just about right. Like any aspect, class should be one part of your horse racing handicapping process.