The Winner's Handicap
Preserved but no longer current.
The winning horses of previous races being pitted together are first handicapped according to their respective merits : the horse that has won three races has to carry a greater weight than the horse that has won only two, and this latter more than its competitor who is winner of a single race only.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The Winner's Handicap” mean?
The winning horses of previous races being pitted together are first handicapped according to their respective merits : the horse that has won three races has to carry a greater weight than the horse that has won only two, and this latter more than its competitor who is winner of a single race only.
Is “The Winner's Handicap” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.