How good might my horse be ?
Horses are classified by two different systems as there are two independent racing arenas.
Stakes racing
All horses are divided into only two Grades, G1 and G2. Horses rated G1 are the upper tier of abilities and G2 the lower. G2 horses may be entered into any Stakes race although it is best to keep them to Gr2 races only as these races are restricted to G2 horses only. G1 horses may only enter Gr1 and Ungraded races.
The Grade will be allocated to the horse once it is trained above 90% fitness on its first training cycle.
A horse will not change Grade during it's life.
Rated racing
All horses are divided into four Classes, A, B, C and D. All G1 horses will be classified as either A or B and all G2 horses will be classified as C or D. The upper tier of Rated Racing is A Class horses and the lowest tier D Class horses. Horses may only enter Rated Races restricted to their Class.
Along with the Class a Rating will also be given to each horse. Each of the four Classes has a 22 point range and initially all horses are assigned a specific Rating according to their particular Class:
Class A - MAX=150, INITIAL=143, MIN=128
Class B - MAX=135, INITIAL=128, MIN=113
Class C - MAX=120, INITIAL=113, MIN= 98
Class D - MAX=105, INITIAL= 98, MIN= 83
Both Class and Rating will be allocated to a horse once it is trained above 90% fitness on its first training cycle.
These Ratings will be subject to adustment during the life of each horse according to field size and finishing position in each Rated Race in which the horse competes. Ratings will generally be raised for horses that finish in the prize money and remain static or be lowered for horses finishing down the field. Stakes races do not affect Ratings.