WFA - Topic of the day

Morning guys. Hibs had a Topic of the day a week or so back which was really informative to me as a newby. Can we discuss Weight for age and allumites today?

I don't understand wfa that good and does alumites in front or back, on or not, make a difference to a horse's performance & why??

Thanks.

In 1855 Admiral Rous introduced a table that measures the progress of maturity that takes place on average in every thoroughbred. It expresses, in terms of weight, what horses of different ages, over a given distance, at different times of the year, should carry to equalise any difference in maturity. Although introduced nearly 150 years ago the Admiral’s WFA Scale has stood the test of time. This scale, with only minor variations, is applied throughout the racing world.

Weight for Age is best described as the physical progress a horse makes as it matures. By the age of 18-24 months a horse will have achieved 95% of its mature height and weight, and by the age of four full maturity will be reached.

In general term’s sprinters mature more quickly than stayers and the scale takes this into account. From a handicapping point of view the immaturity factor must be taken into consideration when assessing a young horse’s performance, and where necessary the appropriate compensation should be credited.

So can this figure go up and down? I have noticed a horse at Greyville today who had, say a wfa rating of 9 then and 8 now?

tks for your reply.

yes Callatus as the name suggests, the older the horse gets the weight allowance/immaturity reduces. but also the distance is taken into consideration, wfa at 1200m is not the same as wfa in 1600m. Computaform gives you wfa for the particular distance and time of the year.

As a horse gets older the WFA will get lower - it differs by distance - maybe easiest if you go and have a look at the 'Handicapping Guideline' publication on www.horseracingauthority.co.za - there you will find the 'official' WFA table - some people are of the opinion that this scale is bit 'dated' - however as far as I'm aware no studies have been conducted in recent years to either prove or disprove the validity/accuracy of the WFA scale.

You will also hear on TT a trainer saying that some imported (or more accurately 'northern hemisphere bred' horses) are being referred to as 'behind at WFA'; this is because the foaling season in the Northern Hemisphere typically comes 6 months after the foaling season in the Southern Hemisphere - so those horses would actually only turn a year older' on the 1st of February, where in the Southern Hemisphere their 'birthdays' are set at 1 August

Thanks guys, I do understand it better. Will have a look at that site as well.

Much appreciated.