One of the areas I have been interested in catching up with since my return from Europe is the new handicapping system in place in NSW called Benchmark. In this system each horse is weighted according to it's rating using the weight 58kg as the "benchmark".In the form guide you will see a race called, for instance, BM (Benchmark) 80, which means that any horse rated 80 by the handicapper will instantly receive 58.0kg. Any horse rated higher is able to enter but will receive 0.5kg above

One of the areas I have been interested in catching up with since my return from Europe is the new handicapping system in place in NSW called Benchmark. In this system each horse is weighted according to it's rating using the weight 58kg as the "benchmark".

In the form guide you will see a race called, for instance, BM (Benchmark) 80, which means that any horse rated 80 by the handicapper will instantly receive 58.0kg. Any horse rated higher is able to enter but will receive 0.5kg above the benchmark 58.0 kg for every 1 point thus a horse rated at 90 (10 points higher than the BM80 race rating) will receive an extra 5kg and will be weighted at 63.0kg. Naturally, the reverse occurs and a 70 rating horse (this time 10 points LOWER than the BM80 race rating) will receive 5 kg less than 58.0kg and will be weighted at 53.0kg.

This ratings/weighting process does not restrict the better class handicappers in NSW from racing in a weaker event as occurs in Victoria. For instance, in Victoria, in a race rated at 80 any horse rated at 81 or higher is ineligible whereas in a BM80 in Sydney that runner is eligible but would have to carry 58.5kg.

Personally, I like the idea of a classier horse racing against the weaker company with the extra weight, which of course can be lessened with a claiming apprentice, as I want to bet on the classier animals in the horse racing world. At present, in Victoria, I rarely bother with a BM80 or numbers close as I know these horses are not the class of animal I personally want to bet on. Obviously some tweaking will need to occur, for whatever reasons, but I suspect this approach is a winner for racing as it will increase betting turnover due to a better spread of prices especially when the classier horses are entered.