Australian racing has a number of different class races including the highest quality race of all, the Group One, down to the lowly Maiden for horses that have yet to win a race. Most Aussie races are run on a flat surface from around 800m to 3200m while in States such as Victoria and South Australia there is jumps racing over Hurdles and higher fenced Steeplechase races.
Race classifications for Australian racing can be found below.
| Class |
Description |
| GR 1 |
Highest quality race |
| GR 2 |
One step below Group 1 race |
| GR 3 |
One step below Group 2 race |
| Listed |
One step below Group 3 race - Open Stakes race |
| Weight For Age (WFA) |
Higher quality race where horses carry a set weight in accordance with the Weight for Age Scale. |
| Handicap |
Weight assigned by earnings/performance; |
| Stakes |
Set weight race of high quality |
| Invitation |
Invited horses only |
| Open |
No restrictions on race |
| Quality |
Contains a Maximum and Minimum weight assignment |
| Restricted |
Entry restricted to restricted race conditions |
| Special |
Entry restricted to special race conditions |
| Special Conditions |
Special handicapped races restricted by a number of city wins in the past year. |
| Flying |
Open to all horses |
| Welter |
A race with a higher minimum weight |
| Flying Welter |
Open to all horses, higher minimum weight |
| Mares |
Restricted to female horses age 4 and up |
| Class 1 |
Restricted to horses that have not won more than one race |
| Class 2 |
Restricted to horses that have not won more than two races |
| Class 3 |
Restricted to horses that have not won more than three races |
| Class 4 |
Restricted to horses that have not won more than four races |
| Class 5 |
Restricted to horses that have not won more than five races |
| Class 6 |
Restricted to horses that have not won more than six races |
| Maiden |
A race restricted to horses that have not yet won a race. |
| Hurdle |
Races that are run over jumps - Brush hurdles |
| Steeple Chase |
Races that are run over jumps - Obstacles taller than hurdles |
| Restricted Hurdle |
Restricted jumps race over lower brush hurdles |
| Barrier Trial |
Exibition or training race with no prizemoney on offer |