Not exactly what you’d consider a full time career, perhaps being a Barrier Attendant is something for the person keen to continue hands on work with horses while being in amongst the racing scene.

OH&S has really stepped up in the racing industry in Victoria with Barrier Attendants now being highly visible on televised race days in their uniform including personal protective equipment.

“The protective equipment will include a helmet, steel-capped boots and sunglasses and is the most suitable equipment for barrier attendants’ safety. There are summer and winter uniforms and all equipment is weatherproof.”

According to a Barrier Attendant at East Gippsland racetracks in Australia, if someone were interested in such a part time job, they would “have to get accreditation as well to be able to work, which means you need to apply for the job and work a day, and then be accepted.”

On race days barrier attendants are in use for the loading of racehorses into the barriers before each race.  To be qualified for the job, you’d need to have confidence around horses as well as a decent amount of handling experience.  Barrier Attendants are employed by Racing Clubs and are only really needed on race days.

Consequently those that are employed for such a position tend to have another job, often something else with racehorses or another horse related position.

Take a look at a Barrier Attendant position description (.pdf file) as described on the Racing and Wagering site, Western Australia.

“…his hoofbeats fall like rain, over and over again.” – Rachel Field

Tag: barrier attendant, horseracing industry, OH&S, starting gates, starting stalls

Referring to more than just horse racing, the word handicap comes from the term hand-in-cap.  In the 17th century this was a popular lottery game were players bets were placed in a cap.

These days with reference to horse racing, it’s a bit more involved and there are also races known as Handicaps.  A handicap is assigned to a horse dependent on their racing history and relates to the weight that horse carries over a particular distance or race.

For example, one horse may be in a race and carrying the weight of 56 kilograms while another could have been assigned the weight of 52 kilograms.  Over a one mile race the weight difference between the two will make the race that much easier on the horse carrying the lesser weight.

The idea of these different handicaps is that a more seasoned horse that is proving to be placing or winning on a regular basis is given a higher weight to carry to make the race that bit more fair.

Due to the racing industry making a lot of money through betting, this also helps with the turnover of funds making people more inclined to back a horse that hasn’t proven itself yet but may be at an advantage with it’s lower weight.  The handicap can also depend on the jockey with an apprentice being afforded a lower weight than a more seasoned jockey.

Responsible for determining the weight a horse will carry in each of it’s races, a handicapper must be able to assess a horse’s racing form and have a good understanding of racing.  Handicappers are employed through the Principle Racing Authority.

Links of interest:
Handicapping at Wikipedia.
Principles & Techniques of Handicapping – Mark McGrath.
Handicap Races

“God held a handful of ash, blew into it saying “Let it be the purest of creatures.” Out of His hand galloped the black horse.”

Tag: handicap, horse racing, punting, racing handicap