Founder & Editor · Last reviewed 2026-11-05
The question
"What is the difference between a Group 1 and a Class 5 race?" The grade or class is part of every race title, and it says a lot about the horses in the race before any of them are named.
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The plain answer
The highest level of race is Group 1 on the Flat and Grade 1 over jumps. Group 2 and Group 3 (Grade 2 and Grade 3 over jumps) are the next two levels down.
Jump racing uses the same grading structure as the Flat, but the races are called Graded races instead of Group races.
Listed races sit just below Group 3, as the stepping-stone between handicaps and the Pattern. They exist on the Flat and over jumps.
Group (or Graded) and Listed races together are known as black type races.
The Pattern is the set of elite races. It began in the 1970s when the major European racing nations agreed a template for when and where elite races should be staged in Europe.
Group races are run broadly at level weights, with allowances for fillies and mares and for younger horses under the weight-for-age scale.
Every British race carries a race classification, which forms part of its official title. Handicaps run in classes down to Class 7, the lowest; on the Flat the top handicaps are Class 2.
Favourites and margins by grade and class, from our results archive
The results archive behind the racing results pages holds 6,087 races run in Britain and Ireland between 1 June and 4 November 2026. The table sorts them by level: the Pattern level is read from the race title, and the class from the official result, which British races carry and Irish races do not, so the class rows are British only. Each race is counted once, so the class rows hold the races without a Group, Grade or Listed tag. That leaves the Class 1 row thin: most British Class 1 races are the Pattern and Listed races already counted in the rows above it. Races with joint favourites are left out of the favourite's record.
| Level | Races | Favourite won | SP book over a fair book | Median field | Handicaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group or Grade 1 | 47 | 25 of 47 (53%) | 16.5% | 8 | 0% |
| Group or Grade 2 | 53 | 23 of 53 (43%) | 15.2% | 7 | 0% |
| Group or Grade 3 | 94 | 28 of 90 (31%) | 16.6% | 8 | 4% |
| Listed | 131 | 48 of 122 (39%) | 17.7% | 9 | 4% |
| Class 1 | 4 | too few (4) | 20.8% | 11 | 100% |
| Class 2 | 318 | 98 of 291 (34%) | 22.1% | 10 | 67% |
| Class 3 | 543 | 223 of 510 (44%) | 15.9% | 7 | 49% |
| Class 4 | 1,395 | 508 of 1,313 (39%) | 16.8% | 8 | 55% |
| Class 5 | 1,192 | 347 of 1,084 (32%) | 17.1% | 8 | 86% |
| Class 6 | 967 | 286 of 873 (33%) | 19.0% | 9 | 87% |
The favourite's best record was in Group or Grade 1 races (53%) and its weakest in Group or Grade 3 races (31%). The record does not fall level by level down the table: Group or Grade 2 (43%), Group or Grade 3 (31%) and Listed (39%) sit below Class 3 (44%).
The level of a race on its own does not tell you how often the market leader wins: some top levels did worse than ordinary class races here. Quality describes the contest; it does not settle who comes home in front.
A favourite's strike rate is not a price check: the SP book column is what the bookmakers built into those prices, explained on what betting costs.
What the classes mean
Under the BHA's class structure (as set out in 2004), Class 1 covers Pattern and Listed races; Class 2 includes Heritage Handicaps. Heritage Handicaps are still a named race category in BHA instructions dated March 2026.
Over jumps, handicaps can sit in the top classes: BHA instructions refer to novices' handicap chases classified as Class 1, 2 or 3, and to Grade 3 jump handicaps.
In the table, handicaps make up 67% of Class 2 races and 87% of Class 6 races; the median field is 10 runners in Class 2 and 9 in Class 6.
Where it costs you
A higher grade does not take the margin out of the prices: the SP book column above shows what was built into them at every level. In this archive the heaviest SP book was in Class 2 races (22.1% over a fair book) and the lightest in Group or Grade 2 races (15.2%). A favourite that wins more often is only a better bet if its price pays more than its chance is worth; the implied probability calculator turns any price into the chance it implies.
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