rightly or wrongly i rarely use prizemoney as a definitive guide when trying to establish the class of a field or a runner, perhaps this is so because the majority of my punting is on the provincial meets & then usually on the weaker events, the lowly class 1 to 4's, with the odd maiden or 2 thrown in for fun.

so is there a difference in class between a $8k c3 on a tuesday at kyneton and a $7k c3 at hamilton on a sunday? yes, usually & no, not always. do i need to know the prizemoney values to work this out? no.

as i have mentioned a few times before anyone tackling these types of races firstly needs to understand how racing is conducted within each state that the punter wants to bet on, watch the movement of horses & jockeys within that region, look for the improvers coming thru & the trainer that can actually do his job, that being to place his horses in the correct company.

so what is CLASS? i duno, perhaps it is a mostly unknowable element of racing that we as punters rely on others to identify for us - the "others" being the trainer who knows what he is doing & the handicapper who isnt to harsh.