{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

which is one of the conditions for a race.

History

The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

. 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.

Description

Weight for age 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 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (motorsport), a regulation set of the FIA for series-production touring cars used in motorsport. * Group One Thoroughbred horse races, the leading e ...

races, races of the highest quality. It is a form of

handicapping Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. The word also applies to the various methods by which t ...

for

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

, but within the horse racing industry is not referred to as handicap, which is reserved for more general handicapping. 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 farther they have to run. If no allowance was made, a mature older horse would always beat a younger one.

Top WFA races

Australia

* Australian Cup * The BMW Stakes * Cox Plate *

The Everest The Everest is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race run over 1,200 metres on grass, turf at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. Between 2017 and 2023 the race was classified as Special Conditions class. I ...

Queen Elizabeth Stakes (ATC) The Queen Elizabeth Stakes, formerly known as the Queen's Plate, AJC Plate, and AJC King's Cup, is an Australian Turf Club Group One, Group 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race run over a distance of 2,000 metres at Randwick Racecours ...

* Queen's Cup in its early days (later changed to

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: * Group 3 element, chemical element classification * Group 3 (motorsport), FIA classification of cars used in auto racing and rallying * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image ...

)

France

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe () is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris over a distance ...

Ireland

Irish Champion Stakes The Irish Champion Stakes ( Irish: Curadh-Dhuais na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2 ...

* Irish St. Leger

Japan

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

New Zealand

* New Zealand International Stakes * Spring Classic (formerly the Kelt Capital Stakes)

South Africa

* King's Plate * Horse Chestnut Stakes * Metropolitan Stakes * Premier's Champion Challenge * Paddock Stakes * Majorca Stakes * Champions Cup * Gold Challenge

United Kingdom

* Diamond Jubilee Stakes *

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

July Cup The July Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 me ...

* Sussex Stakes * King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes * International Stakes * Nunthorpe Stakes * Sprint Cup *

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...

* Champion Stakes

United States

* Breeders' Cup Classic * Breeders' Cup Turf * Breeders' Cup Mile * Breeders' Cup Sprint *

Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race, held at the Saratoga Race Course in the United States, that is open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fal ...

* Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes

Uruguay

* Gran Premio José Pedro Ramírez * Gran Premio Pedro Piñeyrúa * Gran Premio Ciudad de Montevideo

Sources

Australian Rules of Racing

from

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

Horse racing terminology