The Basics about the Types and Classes of Horse Races
Every horse racing fan has certainly heard of the Kentucky Derby, being the most important horse race in the US and all. But any horse has to start their racing career somewhere, and that is not the Kentucky Derby or the Breeders Cup.
There are several lesser steps (classes) a horse needs to pass before they qualify for a high-class race. We have prepared a list of basic explanations about the types and classes of horse races, so keep reading along and learn all you’ll need to know about this topic. If you bet on horse racing, try it out with horse racing bets , where you can find the best racing odds.
The Maiden Race
The maiden applies to a horse that has never won a race. A first-time winner is known as “breaking its maiden”. This doesn’t necessarily happen during a maiden race, but can happen at any class of race. The Maiden race is divided into two levels.
- The Maiden Claiming Race – for horses that have never won (or have never raced) before, and are not very good to compete in a higher class of race. During the Maiden Claiming Race, any horse can be “claimed” by another party, meaning that a horse can be bought at the end of the race. The Maiden Claiming race is a special case of the Claiming Race that we’ll cover below.
- The Maiden Special Weight – for high-quality horses that are expected to win and quickly move up in class. Horses participating in such race can’t be claimed, and usually for these races, strict restrictions apply.
Claiming Race
This is a horse race where any horse participating has a price tag and can be “claimed” (bought). The claiming occurs before the race: the outcome of the race doesn’t change the claiming. Should a claimed horse win the purse (the prize), the old owner gets the money and the new owner goes home with the horse.
Almost half of the horse races in the US are claiming races. These are divided into several classes depending on the price of the horses. As with anything else, the higher the claiming price for the horses in the race, the higher the quality of the race. The price of horses in claiming races can go from $1,000 up to $100,000.
Allowance Race
The next in line is the allowance race where horses that participate in the race are not for sale. There are rules pertaining to weight the horse must carry, as the weight has a significant influence on the speed of a horse.
Stakes Race
Here is where the top horses are racing. The purses are very big, ranging from the thousands to the millions. The stakes races are divided into two groups, depending on the rules that apply:
- Restricted Stakes Race – there are the lower level races where strict restrictions apply.
- Graded Stakes Race – the highest level of horse races, these are graded in three grades: Grade 3, Grade 2 and Grade 1 being the highest. The Graded Stakes Race usually feature the horses of the highest quality and these races usually don’t have restrictions, except for age and gender of the racehorses.