| Conditions Races |
Website Links For Conditions |
Information AboutConditions Races |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CONDITIONS RACES | |
| horse racing | |
|
Conditions races are distinct from Handicap Races , where the weights carried are laid down by an official handicapper to equalise the difference in ability between the runners. Conditions races are staged at all levels of horse racing but races for the very best of horses are split into:
and
The pattern system, overseen by the European Pattern Committee, is fluid and the Group status of key races can change. By this method, the Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot was upgraded from Group 2 to Group 1 in the year 2000. However, a number of checks and balances are in place which ensure that changes to the Pattern are gradual and evolutionary, thereby giving the racing industry time to adjust. In particular, the current European Pattern Committee "Ground Rules" explicitly state that no race may be upgraded by more than one Group in any one year. Such restrictions can prove troublesome when major new races are launched. For example, the Dubai World Cup , the world's richest horse race, was only given Listed status for its inaugural running in 1996. The pattern system exerts a huge influence on the bloodstock market, particularly in relation to the fee that a Stallion can command for covering a Mare at stud. This will be dictated almost entirely by the stallion's performances in Pattern races during its racing career. Only the very best horses can perform successfully in Group 1 events and such animals invariably command the highest stud fees when their racing career is at an end. A top-quality stallion can be enormously lucrative for its owners - stud fees of more than US$100,000 are relatively commonplace for the most coveted stallions. In North America , the best horses race in Graded Stakes Race s instead of conditions races. The division is similar to that for pattern races in the rest of the world:
Unlike in some other countries, handicap races can be included in the North American grading system; several North American handicaps are Grade I, with more handicaps in the lower grades. For lists of races go to:
|
|
|