handicapper

[han-dee-kap-er]

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of handicapper¹

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

Example Sentences

“He made performance ratings before there were published Beyer figures. He videotaped gate workouts in the mid-1980s. His overall knowledge of pace, pedigree and European form is unsurpassed. As a public handicapper, he’s the GOAT.”

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The Cook Political Report, another gold-plated handicapper, rates 72 seats competitive or having the potential to be so, with 18 toss-ups.

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Not surprisingly, both parties have made the 13th District a top target in 2026; handicappers rate the contest a toss-up, even as the field sorts itself out.

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Charlie Cook, who has spent decades as a nonpartisan political handicapper, said he would view Harris “as a serious contender, but no more so than a handful of other people would be.”

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Non-prestigious television, unstudded with stars, may be as exciting and original as the Big Thing Emmy handicappers regard as a sure thing, even more so.

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