| Horse Races come in several types, namely, stakes, | | | | track officials would even allow suchdiscrepancies to |
| handicap,allowance, claiming or maiden races. Each | | | | take place. |
| one of these haveimportant differences in terms of | | | | Allowance races are essentially non-claiming races, |
| the types of horses enteredinto the race, as well as | | | | usuallydesigned for horses which race infrequently. |
| how horse owners and trainers willdecide to run their | | | | Lastly, Maiden races are for those horses who have |
| horse in the race. | | | | never won. |
| Stakes races are those which occur annually, offer | | | | Other conditions may be applied to maiden races as |
| very largepurses, and attract very high quality horses. | | | | well, such as |
| Examples of stakesraces include the Belmont Stakes | | | | "Non winners in last 3 races." Maiden races are |
| and the Kentucky Derby. | | | | sometimesdifficult to handicap because the entire field |
| Handicap races are such that the weights of the | | | | may consist ofhorses with minimal past performance |
| various jockeysare equalized through the use of lead | | | | histories. However, carefulhandicappers will spot |
| weights. Many consider theweight that a horse is | | | | maiden races which have a horse or twowhich has |
| carrying to be one of the criticalfactors in handicapping | | | | some history of winning relative to others in the race. |
| races. Older, stronger horses aretypically allowed to | | | | When one is placing a bet on a horse, the better is |
| carry more weight than younger horses, andthese | | | | actuallybetting on the skills of the horse, the jockey, |
| differences are one of the many factors savvy | | | | and the trainer. |
| handicapperstake into account when choosing their | | | | In the hands of skilled trainers and jockeys, horses with |
| winners. | | | | poorpast performances can have their careers |
| Claiming races are far and away the most common | | | | rejuvenated, oftentimesby making changes such as |
| type of race. Ina claiming race, each horse is entered | | | | race distances, conditioning regimens,and so forth. |
| at a specific price, andmay be purchased, or "claimed" | | | | Similarly, jockeys with excellent records canimprove |
| by another owner. Claiming is oneway in which | | | | the potential of even the most mediocre of horses, |
| competition between horses can be equalized. | | | | underthe right conditions. This is part of the reason |
| Forexample, an excellent horse which is valued at | | | | whyprofessional handicappers tend to stick to a limited |
| $20,000 will notrun in a claiming race where the | | | | number oftracks for their wagering. As they bet at |
| claiming price is $5,000 orless. Conversely, a horse with | | | | particular tracks,they become increasingly familiar with |
| a low value (e.g., due to poorpast performance) is | | | | the trainers and jockeyswho work at that track, and |
| unlikely to run in a race with a highclaiming price, simply | | | | this knowledge is taken into accountas they pick their |
| because it will be outclassed. In fact,it is unlikely that | | | | winners. |