I want to know a thing or two about horse racing to explain the handicap system. None have made it clear to me why the different horses carry different weights, but they seem to have nothing to do with whether the horse is fast or not. Often the favourite in the race has a good recent record, and is carrying a lower weight than some real outsider. Why would this be? Shouldn't the weights be the same for all horses, or at least they should make it so the slower horses carry less weight to make it more competitive?