A nursery handicap is a Flat handicap, just like any other insofar as participants carry weights corresponding to their official handicap ratings, as allotted by a team of handicappers at the British Horserating Authority (BHA), but limited to two-year-olds. Of course, races limited to two-year-olds take place right from the start of the Flat season on turf but, until July, any ‘handicapping’ basically revolves around penalties or, in other words, set amounts of extra weight, imposed on account of previous wins, according to race conditions.
To qualify for a nursery handicap, a two-year-old must typically have run three times on the Flat, including twice in Great Britain or Ireland, although juveniles with fewer starts, who have won at least once, may also be eligible. However, it would be fair to say that the BHA handicappers are less inclined to take chances with horses running in a nursery handicap on their second or third starts, a fact that is reflected by their winning percentage. Either way, the handicappers need sufficient form in the book, on which to base their calculations, so nursery handicaps do not become part of the Flat racing calendar until mid-summer.
All told, approximately 150 nursery handicaps are run during the Flat season on turf and, while the handicappers’ job becomes a little easier as the season progresses, it is, at best, difficult and, at worst, nigh on impossible. The handicappers produce ‘performance figures’ for every horse in every race, which form the basis of an initial handicap rating. Such performance figures may be achieved in a variety of maiden, novice or other non-handicap conditions races, by horses that are, by definition, both immature and unexposed. Thus, while the handicappers do their best, the results of nursery handicaps are often unpredictable, making them a happy hunting ground for long-odds punters.