A glance at the handicappers' file will show the relative merits of each racehorse. A horse rated at 115 is deemed 30lbs superior to one rated at 85 and a horse with a rating of 120 in 2007 is considered on a par with a horse that was rated at 120 in 2002. How does the pound (lb) rating equate to lengths?
The effect that weight has on slowing down a racehorse is that for each pound carried in a race over 5 furlongs (1,000 metres) it will slow a horse by over two feet (a neck), and in a 2-mile race (3,200 metres) by about eight feet (one length). So 30lbs at a sprint distance, at 3lbs per length, equals 10 lengths and 30lbs over 2 miles, at one pound per length, would be 30 lengths. At distances around a mile (1,600 metres) the accepted conversion is that one length equals 2lbs and at intermediate (10 furlongs/2,000 metres) and middle distances (12 furlongs/2,400 metres) one length equals 1.5 lbs.
These weight-to-distance equivalents are by no means 100 per cent exact but they still provide a good guide in helping to assess the merits of the racehorse. They will, for example, be altered by extreme ground conditions. The handicapper would be fully entitled to use the 3lbs per length over 5 furlongs on fast ground but it would almost certainly be inaccurate to use the same equivalent if the ground was very soft or heavy. He may choose to use 2lbs or even 1.5lbs per length in the latter case. This would be up to the individual concerned and he would base his decision on previous similar extreme conditions, with possible reference to average race times.
Distance |
Pounds per Length |
5f (1,000 metres) |
3 |
6f (1,200 metres) |
2.5 |
7f-9f (1,400-1,800 metres) |
2 |
10-12f (2,000-2,400 metres) |
1.5 |
12f plus (2,400 metres plus) |
1 |