EquiRatings Special: The Elo Rating

In a new EquiRatings Special Diarm & Sam explain the newly launched Elo Rating. We have adapted a ranking methodology used in many sports called the Elo rating system (named after Hungarian physics professor, Arpad Elo). Basically, everyone starts (or enters the system - in the case of new horses) with the 1500 points. Then, every time someone finishes ahead of you they take points from you and every time you finish ahead of someone you take points from them. You don't lose all your points in one go, but the changes occur gradually as you compete more. Beating horses with high Elo ratings is going to bump up your rating most effectively. Losing to low-rated horses is going to be most costly. This addresses one of the big issues when rating the 'best of the best' – not all competitions are equal. Winning some four-star shorts might entail beating a handful of first-timers, whilst winning Aachen, the same level of competition on paper, is likely to mean that a horse has beaten five-star winners and world medalists. Elo solves this problem, rewarding the better quality results with higher points. You can head over to the EquiRatings Blog for a full rundown and more details but sit back and listen in to find out more.