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Horses start their racing careers as two-year-olds and three-year-olds, but, depending on code under which they compete, are not considered fully mature until they are four or five years old. Fairly obviously, without any weight allowance, younger, physically immature horses would be at a significant disadvantage when racing against their elders. It was to help offset this disadvantage that the weight-for-age (WFA) scale was conceived and introduced by Admiral Henry John Rous, who was appointed official handicapper at the Jockey Club in 1855. His approach proved successful in its aim of allowing horses of different ages to compete against each other fairly and has remained, virtually unchanged, ever since.

The WFA scale is a graduated, or sliding, scale, which dictates the weight allowance received by younger horses from older ones as they progress, month-by-month, through the racing season. The weight allowance varies according not only to the age of the horse concerned and the time of year, but also, because increased stamina is a function of overall aerobic capacity, muscular endurance and, hence, maturity, the distance of the race being contested. A three-year-old racing over 5 furlongs at the start of October, for example, would receive no weight allowance from its elders, but 1lb over 6 furlongs, 2lb over 7 furlongs and so on, up to 11lb over 20 furlongs, or two and a half miles. Different WFA scales exist for Flat and National Hunt racing, and for horses bred in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Typically, horses are entered into races on a six-day, or five-day, cycle, with final declarations required two days before raceday by 10am. An entry fee, in accordance with the scale laid down by the governing body, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), is payable by the owner at the time of entry, but there is no further charge for making a final commitment to run.

However, in certain major races, entries can be made weeks, months or even years in advance. Horses can be entered into the Derby, for example, in the December of their yearling year, with further further forfeit and entry stages in the March, April and May. Last, but by no means least, on the Monday before the Derby – which is run on the first Saturday in June – owners have a final opportunity to make what is known as a ‘supplementary entry’.

According to the BHA, the fee for supplementary entry should be substantial enough to make the option ‘relatively unattractive’. In the case of the Derby, for which the total prize fund is in the region of £1.5 million, the supplementary fee is £75,000, or approximately 5% of the tota prize money. What that means, in practical terms, is that any horse supplemented for the Epsom Classic must finish fourth or better in order to recoup the entry fee. Thus, an owner must be well-heeled and supremely confident in the ability of the horse in question to even consider following the supplementary entry route.

In short, all-weather racing is horse racing on artificial, or synthetic, surfaces as opposed to natural turf. The prospect of all-weather racing in Britain was first discussed following the very cold, snowy winter of 1984/85, but the inaugural meeting was staged at Lingfield Park, on the pioneering ‘Equitrack’ surface, on October 30, 1989.

Over the last three-and-a-half decades, all-weather racing has grown in popularity, such that it is nowadays staged not only at Lingfield Park, but also at five other racecourses, namely Chelmsford City (formerly Great Leighs), Kempton Park, Newcastle, Southwell and Wolverhampton. Indeed, all-weather racing now constitutes about one fifth of the British fixture list. All six all-weather racecourses have received significant investment and provide competitive racing. Indeed, the All-Weather Championships, inaugurated in 2013, nowadays encompass over 200 fixtures from October onwards and culminate in a lucrative, high-profile ‘Finals Day’ at Newcastle on Good Friday.

In Britain, all-weather racing takes place on just two artificial surfaces, namely Polytrack, which is wax-coated mixture of sand and other components, and Tapeta, which is a revision of Polytrack, crafted to imitate the root structure of natural grass. Polytrack is the choice of Chelmsford City, Kempton Park and Lingfield, while Newcastle, Southwell and Wolverhampton race on Tapeta. Going descriptions on Polytrack and Tapeta are not the same as those on turf, but the terms ‘fast’, ‘standard’ and ‘slow’ are used to reflect the amount of moisture in the racing surface and, hence, the likely race times that can achieved.

Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG) is a promotion offered by some, but not all, bookmakers. Essentially, BOG works on the premise that, if you take a early or board price on a horse on the day of event, your bookmaker will pay you out at the higher of the price you took and the starting price (SP). In other words, BOG provides a ‘safety net’ if your selection drifts in the market and, as such, is considered a ‘must’ for serious punters because of its positive effect on bottom-line profit or loss.

Of course, it would fair to say that most horses that take a walk in the market rarely win, but some do, so BOG offers punters the best of both worlds. Graeme Rodway, deputy betting editor of the ‘Racing Post’ recently cited the example of Greaneteen, whom he backed at 5/1, BOG on the morning of the five-runner Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown in December 2021, only to be rewarded with an astonishing SP of 12/1.

Unfortunately, bookmakers are all to well aware of the value offered by BOG, to the extent that some don’t offer the promotion and some that do impose terms and conditions. Where available, BOG is generally offered on all horseracing bets placed from 8am on the day of the race, but some bookmakers wait until 9am, 10am or 11am, which can prove frustrating for punters waiting to place a bet. Other bookmakers seek to limit their exposure to multiple bets – that is, doubles, trebles and upwards – by offering BOG on single bets only, which is a major negative for typical, small-stakes punters.