Conditions races are
horse races in which the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the age of the runners, with younger horses receiving weight from older runners to allow for relative maturity, referred to as
weight for age
{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022
Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race.
History
The principle of WFA was developed by Henry John Rous, Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English ...
; and the quality of the runners, with horses that have won certain values of races giving weight to less successful entrants.
Conditions races are distinct from
handicap races, for which the weights carried are laid down by an official handicapper to equalise the difference in ability between the runners. In Great Britain, for example, the
British Horseracing Authority
The British Horseracing Authority, also known as the BHA, is the regulatory authority for horse racing in Great Britain.
It was formed on 31 July 2007, after the merger of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Horseracing Regulatory Au ...
's rules define a conditions race as being one "which is none of the following; a Handicap Race or a Novice Race, a race restricted to Maiden Horses, or a race governed by Selling or Claiming provisions."
Conditions races are staged at all levels of horse racing. As all of the most important races in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
are conditions races, the term may also refer to races for the very best horses, known as
Group races
Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Trio ...
. That is not the case in North America and Australia, where handicaps are included in the Group race/Graded race system.
See also
*
List of horse races
*
List of British flat horse races
A list of notable Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse races which take place annually in Great Britain, under the authority of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), including all conditions races which currently hold Group One, Group 1, 2 or 3 ...
*
List of French flat horse races
A list of notable flat horse races which take place annually in France, under the authority of France Galop, including all conditions races which currently hold Group 1 Group 1 may refer to:
* Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for ...
*
List of Irish flat horse races
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
List of Australian Group races
This List of Australian Group races is recognized as a list of Australia's classified Black type thoroughbred horse races.
The Pattern Committee of the Australian Racing Board (ARB) recommends which races shall be designated as Group races, Group ...
References
{{Reflist
Horse racing terminology