handicapper

American  

[han-dee-kap-er] / ˈhæn diˌkæp ər /

noun

1. Horse Racing.

   1. a racetrack official or employee who assigns the weight a horse must carry in a race.

   2. a person employed, as by a newspaper, to make predictions on the outcomes of horse races.

2. a person who determines the handicaps that will be placed on competitors.

---

handicapper British  

/ ˈhændɪˌkæpə /

noun

1. an official appointed to assign handicaps to competitors in such sports as golf and horse racing

2. a newspaper columnist employed to estimate the chances that horses have of winning races

---

Etymology

Origin of handicapper

First recorded in 1745–55; handicap + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Every horse in training is giving an official rating by the handicapper based on the level that they run to.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

The Democratic desire to win in 2028 “is very, very strong,” said Charlie Cook, a campaign handicapper who has spent decades impartially analyzing state and national politics.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2025

Andy Beyer, the legendary Washington Post handicapper and namesake to Beyer speed figures, called Siegel the “World’s Greatest Handicapper” in his 1993 book “Beyer on Speed.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 5, 2025

During an NHL lockout, he was the in-house simulcast handicapper at New Jersey’s Meadowlands racetrack in the fall of 1994.

From Seattle Times • May 3, 2024

During the Depression, in the midst of his doctoral studies at Harvard, he worked as a handicapper for a horse-racing syndicate and was so successful that he lived lavishly on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell