A handicap race in horse racing is a race in which horses carry different weights, allocated by the handicapper. A better horse will carry a heavier weight, to give him or her a disadvantage when racing against slower horses. The handicapper's goal in assigning handicap weights is to enable all the horses to finish together (in a dead heat).

Horse racing

The skill in betting on a handicap race, therefore, lies in guessing which horse can overcome his or her handicap. Although most handicap races are run for older, less-valuable horses, this is not true in all cases; some great races worldwide are handicaps, such as the Grand National

Grand National

The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...

 steeplechase

Steeplechase

Steeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...

 in England and the Melbourne Cup

Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...

 in Australia. In the United States over 30 handicap races are classified as Grade I, the top level of the North American grading system

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

. Handicaps are less common in harness racing

Harness racing

Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...

, where handicapping is by increased distance rather than increased weight.

Other sports

Handicap races are also common in clubs which encourage all levels of participants, such as swimming or in cycling clubs. All participants are clocked in a time trial before the race, known as the handicap. In the race itself, the participants do not all start at "Go"; the starts are staggered, based on the handicaps. The slowest swimmer (or cyclist) starts first and the fastest starts last, making the end of the race (hopefully) close. An ideal handicap race (as in horse racing) is one in which all participants finish at the same time. The winner is the person who beats his or her own time.

Some motorsport events, especially in sports car racing

Sports car racing

Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....

, demand teams to stop the vehicle in the pitbox a fixed period of time depending on the drivers' classification, thus giving advantage to less skilled drivers. An example of a championship using this system is the International GT Open

International GT Open

The International GT Open is a grand tourer-style sports car racing founded in 2006 by the Spanish GT Sport Organización. It is a spin-off of the Spanish GT Championship, and uses a similar format, except its races are held internationally.-Format:...

. The advantage of this system over ballast weight

Ballast weight

Ballast weight is something that is added to a race car to alter its performance.In most racing series, cars have a minimum weight. Often, the actual weight of the car is lower, so ballast is used to bring it up to the minimum. The advantage is that the ballast can be positioned to affect the car's...

systems is that vehicles have the normal performance on track, so better drivers will be abled to recover time and overtake slower drivers.