4-661: The Satsuki Shō ( 皐月賞 ) is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 metres (approximately 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 mile) at the Nakayama Racecourse , Funabashi, Chiba , in April. It was first run in 1939 and is the Japanese equivalent of the English 2,000 Guineas . (Note that the original 2,000 Guineas
8-517: Is currently run at 1,609 metres, or one mile, about two furlongs shorter than the Satsuki Shō.) Trial races provide automatic berths to the winning horses or placed horses as specified. Conditions races Conditions races are horse races in which the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males;
12-407: The age of the runners, with younger horses receiving weight from older runners to allow for relative maturity, referred to as weight for age ; and the quality of the runners, with horses that have won certain values of races giving weight to less successful entrants. Conditions races are distinct from handicap races , for which the weights carried are laid down by an official handicapper to equalise
16-567: The difference in ability between the runners. In Great Britain, for example, the British Horseracing Authority 's rules define a conditions race as being one "which is none of the following; a Handicap Race or a Novice Race, a race restricted to Maiden Horses, or a race governed by Selling or Claiming provisions." Conditions races are staged at all levels of horse racing. As all of the most important races in Europe are conditions races,
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