The handicapper is one of the senior officials employed by the racing authority. He (she) has to be independently minded, fair and impartial, possess a good deal of racing experience and be capable of making logical interpretations of all race performances. He has several important duties, as follows:
- To establish and maintain the handicap rating file. This file will list all horses in training in alphabetical order by age group. Each horse will be identified by name, with suffix (country of birth), year of foaling and sex. By definition, a handicap is a race in which the weights to be carried by horses are adjusted for the purpose of equalising their chances of winning.
- To apportion weights for every handicap and play a pivotal role in race planning, in which he will assist in the framing of conditions races with advice on penalties and allowances.
- When the entries and declarations are published, he will ensure the eligibility of each horse and that the weight it has been assigned to carry is correct, according to the conditions of the race.
- To attend race meetings to observe and analyse race performances. Also, if required by the stewards, he must be capable of quantifying any inordinate improvement or deterioration in the performance of any of the runners.
- To establish and maintain regular contact with senior handicappers of all the major racing authorities and to exchange ratings and performance records of all horses that are entered and race at international race meetings.
They are often helped in their cause by using well-known publications such as, in the UK, Timeform and Raceform or by private handicappers, whose job is to look at the entries and weights and advise whether their horse can beat the opposition.