Weight for Age
Encyclopedia
Weight for Age is a term in Thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. It means that a horse will carry a set weight in accordance with the Weight for Age Scale. This weight varies depending on the horse’s age, its sex, the race distance and the month of the year. Weight for age races are usually Group 1
races, races of the highest quality.
WFA is a method of trying to equal out the physical progress which the average thoroughbred racehorse makes as it matures. The thoroughbred matures extremely quickly compared to the human being. By the age of two the horse has achieved 95% of its mature height and weight, and by the end of its third year it will be fully mature. To allow for this variation in maturity in the context of racing, it is necessary to express it as a function of the weight a horse will carry in a race. It is also necessary to take into account the race distance because stamina comes with maturity, and younger horses are at a greater disadvantage the further they have to run. If no allowance was made, a mature older horse would always beat a younger one.
The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous
, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club
. Rous experimented with weights until he arrived at a relationship between age and maturity, expressed in terms of weight. His original scale has undergone only minor alterations since his work in the 1860s.
Group One
Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...
races, races of the highest quality.
WFA is a method of trying to equal out the physical progress which the average thoroughbred racehorse makes as it matures. The thoroughbred matures extremely quickly compared to the human being. By the age of two the horse has achieved 95% of its mature height and weight, and by the end of its third year it will be fully mature. To allow for this variation in maturity in the context of racing, it is necessary to express it as a function of the weight a horse will carry in a race. It is also necessary to take into account the race distance because stamina comes with maturity, and younger horses are at a greater disadvantage the further they have to run. If no allowance was made, a mature older horse would always beat a younger one.
The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous
Henry John Rous
Admiral Henry John Rous was a Royal Navy officer and sportsman.-Career:Born the second son of John Rous, 1st Earl of Stradbroke, Rous was educated at Westminster School, and entered the Royal Navy in 1808, serving as a midshipman in the Walcheren Campaign the following year...
, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club
Jockey Club
The Jockey Club is the largest commercial organisation in British horseracing. Although no longer responsible for the governance and regulation of the sport, it owns 14 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham and Newmarket, amongst other concerns such as the National Stud and...
. Rous experimented with weights until he arrived at a relationship between age and maturity, expressed in terms of weight. His original scale has undergone only minor alterations since his work in the 1860s.
United Kingdom
- Golden Jubilee StakesGolden Jubilee StakesThe Golden Jubilee Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.-History:...
- Eclipse StakesEclipse StakesThe Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 7 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early July.-History:The event is named after Eclipse, a...
- July CupJuly CupThe July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July....
- Sussex StakesSussex StakesThe Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late July or early August.-History:...
- King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
- International StakesInternational StakesThe International Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 88 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August....
- Nunthorpe StakesNunthorpe StakesThe Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged two years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 5 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August....
- Sprint CupHaydock Sprint CupThe Sprint Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 6 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early September....
- Queen Elizabeth II StakesQueen Elizabeth II StakesThe Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile , and it is now scheduled to take place each year in October. As of 2011, it is run on Champions Day as the final race...
- Champion StakesChampion StakesThe Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in October...
United States
- Breeders' Cup ClassicBreeders' Cup ClassicThe Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 year olds and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...
- Breeders' Cup TurfBreeders' Cup TurfThe Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...
- Breeders' Cup MileBreeders' Cup MileThe Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's inception in 1984...
- Breeders' Cup SprintBreeders' Cup SprintThe Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs , the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World...
- Jockey Club Gold CupJockey Club Gold CupThe Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the...