In a handicap race for 4 to 10 time winners, a horse with 10 wins will carry more weight than a horse with only 4 wins. The horse with 10 wins will carry 6(10-4) times the specified weight penalty per win. This penalty per win is 4lbs in the above example, so the calculated penalty added to the base of 120lbs is 24lbs. In the above example you will see how the total weight carried is limited to 140lbs. This weight penalty will vary depending on the race category. The penalty is applied per incremental win over the qualifying win count for the race category.

Where no handicapping is specified, the race is run at level weights, which means that all horses carry the same weight.

Non Wins is the number of times run since last winning a race. Note that Non Wins are not relevant to eligibility for Special Allowance races in which this allowance may be applicable. Non Wins in Special Allowance races, is only used for determining the allowance.

The average length behind leader (lbl*) value is calculated over the last 5 races and rounded down to the nearest integer before applying the allowance per lbl. In the above example, the average lbl value could have been 2.45, but is rounded down to 2.

Allowances and penalties are usually applied in combination in races. For more detail on how this works, please refer to the download handicap calculator.

For a detailed table of race categories with eligibility rules and handicaps, click here.

IMPORTANT - A win in a claiming race will not count towards penalties applied in handicapping of other races. Claiming race wins will however impact allowances applied in handicapping such as in determining the number of runs since last win.