Open any British racecard and you will see three sets of numbers next to the runners: OR, RPR and TS. They all try to put a horse’s ability into a single figure, but they come from different places and measure slightly different things. This guide explains each one and how to use them together. It is part of our horse racing guides series.
What do OR, RPR and TS stand for?
- OR: the official rating, set by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) handicappers.
- RPR: the Racing Post Rating, compiled by the Racing Post’s own private handicappers.
- TS: Topspeed, the Racing Post’s speed figure, worked out from race times.
All three are expressed in pounds, so one point is worth roughly one pound of weight. Our guide on how to read a racecard shows where each column sits on the card.
What is an official rating?
The official rating is the BHA’s assessment of a horse’s ability. The BHA describes it as a staircase where every step is one pound: if one horse is rated three points higher than another, the handicapper thinks they would have an equal chance if the higher-rated horse carried 3lb more.
That is why the OR matters so much. It sets the weight a horse carries in a handicap and decides which races it can enter, because most handicaps are restricted to a ratings band such as 0-70. The BHA says around 60% of races in Britain are handicaps. Our guide to how handicap ratings become weights covers that side in detail.
How are official ratings calculated?
After every race, the BHA handicappers give each runner a performance figure: the level they think it ran to that day. They watch the race several times and take account of the weights carried, the course, distance, going, draw and pace, plus things like a slow start or a horse being hampered.
Finishing margins are turned into pounds using a scale that changes with distance. The BHA gives an example of about 3.41lb per length over five furlongs on good to firm ground, against 1.22lb per length over 1m6f. Apprentice allowances are added back to the weight carried, so a claimer’s allowance does not distort the figure.
- A horse usually needs three runs before it gets its first handicap mark.
- Ratings are reviewed weekly, with changes published on Tuesdays.
- The BHA says horses are almost always rated on the horses they beat, not the ones that beat them.
What is a Racing Post Rating (RPR)?
An RPR is the Racing Post’s own private rating, produced by its handicappers in the same pounds scale. The Racing Post says RPRs standardise every performance across different classes and tracks, so you can compare a run in a Class 5 handicap with one in a Listed race on the same scale.
Each run gets its own RPR, which you can see on a horse’s form profile. The RPR column on a Racing Post racecard is adjusted for the weights carried that day, so it shows how the runners compare at today’s weights rather than just repeating past figures.
What is the difference between RPR and official rating?
Both are form ratings in pounds, and both start from the same idea: what did each horse beat, and by how far, at the weights. The difference is who compiles them and what they are used for.
- Official rating: set by the BHA, it controls handicap weights and race eligibility, and changes only when the weekly update is published.
- RPR: an independent opinion from the Racing Post’s handicappers. It has no effect on the weight a horse carries.
When a horse’s recent RPRs sit well above its current official rating, some punters see that as a sign it could be leniently handicapped. When the RPRs are lower, the handicapper may simply rate the horse more highly than the Racing Post does. Neither figure is proof on its own, so it is worth watching the race back to see why.
What is Topspeed (TS)?
Topspeed is a time-based rating. The Racing Post compares a horse’s finishing time with a standard time for that course and distance, makes an allowance for how fast or slow the ground was riding, and then adjusts for other factors, of which weight carried is the most important. The result is converted into pounds.
The standard time matters because British tracks vary so much. Five furlongs at a sharp, downhill course and five furlongs up a stiff hill will never produce the same raw time, so a time is only useful once it is compared with what that track usually allows. The allowance for the ground does the same job for the going, which can change from one day to the next.
How reliable are speed ratings?
Speed figures are only as good as the race that produced them. If the field dawdles early and sprints late, the final time can be slow even though the winner beat good horses, so its figure will understate the run. A horse that gets an easy lead and is kicked clear may run as fast as it ever will.
The Racing Post’s own Topspeed column has made that point: the figures show how fast horses have run, not who will win, and are not meant to be followed blindly. A horse can only be expected to repeat a figure in similar conditions. That is why TS works best alongside a form rating rather than instead of one.
What are Timeform ratings?
Timeform has published ratings since shortly after the Second World War, and its figures are also expressed in pounds. Timeform says its Flat ratings run from below 30 for the poorest horses to over 130 for the very best, and its jumps ratings from below 60 to over 165. Frankel was rated 147 on the Flat.
One key difference is that Timeform ratings are given at weight-for-age, so equal figures mean equal ability whatever the horse’s age. A question mark next to a Timeform rating means it cannot be assessed with confidence, or that the horse is out of form.
How to use ratings when reading a race
- Start with the OR in handicaps to see who is well or badly treated at the weights, then compare it with the horse’s recent RPRs.
- Check the RPR column for who has the best form at today’s weights, but look at when and where those figures were earned.
- Use TS to see whether a horse’s form has been backed up by a genuinely quick time.
- Allow for the going, trip and course, since a figure earned on soft ground over three miles may not carry over to good ground over two.
- Treat a big gap between the three figures as a reason to watch the replay, not as an answer in itself.
Ratings are one part of the picture alongside the form figures and race comments. You can see the numbers for today’s runners on our daily racecards.
Racing Post Ratings FAQ
What is a Racing Post Rating?
It is the Racing Post’s own rating of a horse’s ability, compiled by its private handicappers and expressed in pounds. It puts runs in different classes and on different tracks on one scale.
How are Racing Post Ratings calculated?
Racing Post handicappers rate each run from the form: what a horse beat, by how far and at what weights, converting the margins into pounds. The figure on the racecard is then adjusted for the weights carried that day.
What is the difference between RPR and official rating?
The official rating comes from the BHA and sets handicap weights and race eligibility. The RPR is the Racing Post’s independent rating and has no effect on the weight a horse carries.
What is Topspeed?
Topspeed (TS) is the Racing Post’s speed figure. It compares a horse’s time with a standard for the course and distance, then adjusts for the going and weight carried.
How reliable are speed ratings?
They are a useful check, but a slowly run race can produce a poor time from a good performance. Use them alongside form ratings and allow for the going, trip and course.
Sources: checked on 11 November 2026 against the BHA’s guide to handicapping, performance figures and handicapping overview; the Racing Post’s racecard abbreviations and guide to RPRs and horse profiles; the Racing Post’s Topspeed column as archived by the Free Library; and Timeform’s explanation of its ratings and guide to assessing form.
Header photo: “Tight finish” (Newmarket, May 2014) by Florian Christoph, CC BY 2.0, cropped, darkened and with text added.
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