---
title: "Headgear on the ratings — RatingTheRaces Support"
description: "Headgear now shows next to each horse's name on the ratings. Here's every code, what it means, and what the small ¹ and ² after it tell you."
url: https://ratingtheraces.com/understanding-the-ratings/headgear/
date_modified: "2026-08-12"
---

[Help Centre](https://ratingtheraces.com/support/) / [Understanding the Ratings](https://ratingtheraces.com/understanding-the-ratings/) /Headgear on the ratings

# Headgear on the ratings

Concept all plans new

Headgear now appears right next to each horse's name on the ratings, a short code for what the horse is wearing, with a superscript that tells you when it's a new change.

Trainers fit headgear to help a horse settle, focus or see the race out, and a **change** of headgear is one of the oldest angles in the game. That information now sits **right next to the horse's name** on the ratings.

 [![Headgear codes shown next to the horse names on a racecard, first-time gear picked out in teal](https://ratingtheraces.com/help/headgear/0-headgear-racecard.webp)](#zoom-help-headgear-0-headgear-racecard) [![Headgear codes shown next to the horse names on a racecard, first-time gear picked out in teal](https://ratingtheraces.com/help/headgear/0-headgear-racecard.webp)](#close)

## Where to find it

Look at the **Horse Name** column on any racecard (and on a horse's [history page](https://ratingtheraces.com/understanding-the-ratings/mark-moves/)). Where a horse is declared in headgear you'll see a short **code** straight after its name, such as `h` or `t`. It's on by default; if you'd rather hide it, there's a **Show headgear** switch in the **⚙ Tools** menu at the top of the grid.

## The codes

The card shows the short code, as racecards always have, to keep the grid readable. Here's what each one means:

| Code | Headgear |
| --- | --- |
| b | Blinkers |
| p | Cheek pieces |
| v | Visor |
| h | Hood |
| t | Tongue strap |
| e/s | Eye shield |

A horse wearing more than one piece shows them together. **Hover over the code** for the full name written out.

## The small ¹ and ²

The superscript after the code tells you **how new the headgear is**:

-   **¹: first time.** The horse is wearing that headgear for the **first time**. We pick this out in **teal**, because a first-time change is the one most worth spotting.
-   **²: second time.** Its **second** run in that gear.
-   **No number.** Once a horse has run in the same headgear more than twice it's settled in it, so the number drops off and only the code remains.

We only add a number when we're sure of it. If a horse's headgear changes without a confirmed first-time flag, it may have worn that gear in a race we don't have on record, so we leave the number off rather than guess.

## Hover for the records

There's more behind each code. **Hover over it** and, for first-time and second-time gear, you'll see how the **trainer**, **jockey** and **sire** have done with that headgear at that same stage, for example a sire whose runners tend to improve the first time they wear a hood. It's a pattern you won't find on other cards.

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