What is the Horse’s Mark in Horse Racing?
To understand a horse’s ‘mark’ it’s necessary to understand ‘handicapping’. But, the simplest explanation is that the mark is the score (in binary) given to a horse, the higher the mark score the better performing the horse should be.
Who comes up with the ‘mark’? This is given by the ‘handicapper’. Once you grasp the concept of the horse’s mark, why not see how you do against some of the free horse racing tip sites? There are some great online horse tipping sites online, The Winners Enclosure put together some of the best free horse racing tips on the market. Check them out and see how you get on.
The essence of handicapping
Handicapping involves an analysis that strongly regards the weight a horse carries which ultimately affects the speed at which it gallops.
The weight to be carried by a horse in a handicap is determined by the horse’s Official Rating. Only when a horse qualifies for an Official Rating can it take part in a handicap race.
A Handicap Race
A handicap race is a race where each horse taking part carries weight allocated according to the horse’s ability, it’s an attempt to ensure each horse has an equal opportunity of winning the race.
Every horse that runs in a race will be analysed by a ‘handicapper’ and allocated a rating.
The rating given to a horse, boils down to the ‘handicappers’ interpretation of a number of variable and mathematical facts. These variables are made up from pertinent variables; weight the horse carried in relation to the other runners, distance of the race, the ground, the draw (if a Flat race), the finishing margins between runners, the pace at which the race was run, the strength of the current form of the runners, and whether any incidents occurred that could have impeded one or more of the runners or exaggerated a horse’s performance.
Variables and the interpretation are expressed in imperial pounds and are based on the concept that all horses can be assessed on a numerical scale, this enables their ability as a racehorse to be compared to others.
Every Handicapper will be able to provide a logical and reasoned explanation as to why they have reached their decision.
So, what is the Horse’s mark?
The mark is this score given by the ‘handicapper’, it’s the universal language and may also be referred to as the horse’s Official Rating in horse racing terms.
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.