From nought to 180 – your guide to handicapping and rating a race
RPR ace Sam Walker on how he crunches the numbers
In the second instalment of our week-long series on aspects of betting, Sam Walker explains the ins and outs of ratings
Ratings are fundamental to horseracing. Official ratings are used to set the weights horses carry in races and private ratings are used by bookies, tipsters, trainers, owners, jockeys, punters, journalists, breeders and sales companies – basically anyone wanting to evaluate racehorses.
The job of creating ratings falls to a handicapper. It is not the most glamorous job in the industry, but ratings are so ingrained in the sport it is worth understanding the basic mechanics of a handicapper's work even if your interest or involvement in racing is limited.
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- We believed Dancing Brave could fly - and then he took off to prove it
- 'Don't wind up bookmakers - you might feel clever but your accounts won't last'
- 'There wouldn't be a day I don't think about those boys and their families'
- 'You want a bit of noise, a bit of life - and you have to be fair to punters'
- 'I take flak and it frustrates me - but I'm not going to wreck another horse'