Key takeaways
- An official rating is the handicapper's measure of a horse's ability in pounds, set by the BHA's handicappers in Britain and published by Horse Racing Ireland in Ireland.
- Flat official ratings run from the 40s for the lowest handicappers to the 120s and above for the best Group 1 horses in Britain and Ireland.
- Jumps official ratings run higher than flat ratings, with the best British and Irish chasers rated in the 170s, so the two scales cannot be compared directly.
- An official rating sets a horse's weight in handicaps, where one rating point equals one pound carried, and decides which rating-banded races it can enter.
- In 2025/26 British and Irish jumps handicaps, horses rated 100 to 114 won 12.8% of 7,667 runs, the best of any band.
What does an official rating measure?
An official rating measures a horse's demonstrated ability in pounds, based on what it has beaten and by how far. The rating decides weights in handicaps and eligibility for rating-banded races.
The handicapper starts from the ratings of the horses in a race, uses the ones who ran to form as a yardstick, and converts the winning margins into pounds. A horse that beats a 75-rated rival by two lengths over a mile, where a length is worth about 2lb, has run to around 79. Because every rating is built from those comparisons, the whole scale hangs together across courses and seasons.
An official rating is a measure of what a horse has done, not a forecast. Unexposed horses often run well above their marks, and old horses often run below them.
How do you read the flat rating scale from 40 to 120 plus?
On the flat, ratings in the 40s and 50s belong to low-grade handicappers, the 80s and 90s to useful handicappers, 100 plus to Pattern-class horses, and the 120s to top Group 1 performers.
Most flat handicappers are rated well below 100. A rating around 100 marks a horse good enough for Listed races, 110 is a solid Group horse, and anything in the 120s is among the best in Europe that season. Frankel was rated 140, one of the highest flat ratings on record.
In 2025/26 British and Irish jumps handicaps, horses rated 100 to 114 won 12.8% of 7,667 runs, the highest strike rate of any rating band.Live from data/win-rate-by-rating-band · Sample: 26,977 jumps handicap runs · Window: 2025/26 jumps season, with 2016/17 to 2025/26 comparison
Go deeper before the next race.
Open every racecard in full and get your research done before they go to post.
- 14racecard tabs per race
- 20+bookmaker prices side by side
- Trackeralerts when your horses are declared
30-day free trial
£0today
Start my 30-day free trialBy continuing you agree to our Terms and Intellectual Property and Acceptable Use policy.
£0 today. Card on step 2. £24.99 from day 31.Cancel any time.
Win % by OR band
Why do jumps ratings run higher than flat ratings?
Jumps ratings are set on their own scale, where good handicap chasers sit in the 130s and 140s and the best chasers in the 170s. A jumps 150 and a flat 100 are not the same measure.
Jumps racing has its own handicappers, its own history and its own starting points, so its numbers were never tied to the flat scale. A novice hurdler might start in the 100s, a useful handicapper sits in the 120s or 130s, a Graded horse is in the 150s and a Gold Cup winner is usually in the 170s. Horses that run in both codes hold a separate rating for each, and the two can differ by more than 50lb.
How does a horse get its first official rating?
The handicapper gives a first rating once a horse has run enough times, usually three runs or fewer after a win, basing it on the best form shown.
Until then the horse runs in maidens, novice races or other non-handicaps, and the racecard shows no OR. A dash or a blank in the OR column is a sign of an unexposed horse, whose true level nobody yet knows. Those first handicap marks are the most likely to be wrong in either direction.
How does an official rating change after each run?
The handicapper reviews every run and can raise, lower or keep a horse's rating. A win usually brings a rise, and repeated defeats usually bring the rating down.
In Britain new ratings are published weekly and take effect from the following Saturday. A horse that wins by a wide margin against in-form rivals can go up by 7lb or more, while a horse beaten out of sight on unsuitable ground may be left alone because the run did not reflect its ability. The full cycle is explained in the reassessment guide.
How do official ratings differ from speed figures?
An official rating judges form by what a horse beat and the margins, while a speed figure judges the clock. The two often agree, but a slowly run race can split them.
When a race is run at a crawl and turns into a sprint, the winner can beat good horses and earn a high official rating while recording a slow time and a modest speed figure. When a horse makes all at a strong gallop, the clock can rate it higher than the margins do. Reading the two together shows whether a performance was genuine or flattered by how the race was run.
How often does each rating band win?
The chart on this page groups ten seasons of British and Irish handicap runs by official rating band, flat and jumps, and shows the win rate for each band.
Win rates rise from the lowest bands into the middle of the scale and then fall away at the top, in both codes.
Rating trajectory for every runner
Members see each runner's OR Timeline on the racecard, Marks+ trajectory flags for well-in and emerging horses, and the Ratings Hub boards and movers.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Intellectual Property and Acceptable Use policy.
Questions people ask
What does an official rating of 100 say about a flat horse?
A flat official rating of 100 marks a smart horse capable of running well in Listed and some Group 3 races. Most British and Irish flat handicappers are rated well below 100.
Is a jumps rating of 150 comparable to a flat rating of 100?
Jumps and flat ratings sit on separate scales, so a jumps 150 and a flat 100 cannot be converted directly. A jumps rating of 150 marks a high-class hurdler or chaser within the jumps scale.
How quickly does an official rating change after a win?
In Britain the handicapper publishes new ratings weekly, and they take effect from the following Saturday. A horse running again before then races off its old rating, often with a penalty added.
What is the difference between an official rating and a speed figure?
An official rating is based on the horses beaten and the winning margins, while a speed figure is based on the time recorded. A slowly run race can give a winner a good official rating but a modest speed figure.
Why does a horse sometimes have no official rating after two runs?
A horse normally needs three runs, or fewer after a win, before the handicapper assesses it. A horse with two runs and no win usually waits for a third run before it receives an official rating.
Keep reading
Go deeper before the next race.
Open every racecard in full and get your research done before they go to post.
- 14racecard tabs per race
- 20+bookmaker prices side by side
- Trackeralerts when your horses are declared
30-day free trial
£0today
Start my 30-day free trialBy continuing you agree to our Terms and Intellectual Property and Acceptable Use policy.
£0 today. Card on step 2. £24.99 from day 31.Cancel any time.
Updated