The penalty is added to balance the competition, as horses that have recently won may have a competitive advantage. The handicapper adds extra weight to make the race more fair, typically after a victory in a similar event. This extra weight aims to ensure that the horse doesn’t have an undue advantage over others in the race.
Penalised Horses Example
For example, if a horse wins a race and is scheduled to compete again soon, it might be assigned a penalty of a few extra kilograms to even out its chances of winning against other horses in the new race.