Aladdin,
The term ‘weights’ isn’t one commonly used in racing, but it probably refers to races that are run at ‘weight for age’.
That effectively means the horses all carry the same weight, except that younger horses (2 and 3 years old) carry less weight than older horses based on a long standing scale that allows for their immaturity. In these races, the weight caried has nothing to do with the handicap system or the current handicap rating of the horses.
With regard to the different handicap ratings for flat etc, well in a flat race race on turf, the flat rating applies – in a flat race run on an AW track (e.g. Kempton, Lingfield), the aw rating applies, in a hurdle race it’s the hurdle rating and so on.
If you haven’t already read it, this might help:
http://britishhorseracing.com/inside_ho … apping.asp
I suspect these answers will simply lead to more questions – feel free to ask and I’ll do my best to answer. If you are referencing something from another website, it would help to have a link that would allow me to see the same material.
AP