Of course, the handicapper isn’t reducing the weight carried by 3-year-olds out of the goodness of his or her heart, but to make for competitive contests.
In order to work out whether or not the 3 year-olds or older horses are helped enough or too little by the weight allowance, I’ve broken race distances into three groups: 5 to 7 furlongs, a mile to a mile and a half and, finally, races further than a mile and a half. I’ve then compiled strike-rate percentages for each month in the second half of the year, firstly for 3-year-olds, then for older horses.
Again, I’ve used handicaps open to all aged 3 or older in the UK from 2016 onwards for these figures.
Strike-rate percentage for 3-year-olds (race distances in furlongs are in the left column):