What You Need To Know
Last updated 20 January 2003
SimulatedSports.com's Horse Racing Game is is a great game, but I found that it took a little while to understand how to get the information I needed to make intelligent decisions. The purpose of this page is to make it a little easier for beginners to get going.
Before I give you my two cents, I want to thank and acknowledge some of the people in the game who have been helpful and whom I've learned a great deal from. Kingab and Mike work tirelessly, and try to promptly and professionally solve problems which aren't mentioned in the FAQs. Supertoy7 is an amiable guy who always has a helpful word, responds to your promptly, and knows his stuff. Fabman has been a cordial fellow who has spent more than his fair share of time giving me advice and helping me out. The entire gang at Vermont, including Ldyssecret work tirelessly and know their stuff. Same goes for Hannibal, and Barndog25, and lobo13 provides valuable information which makes life a lot easier. A big "thanks" goes to the folks at the Sim Racing Form (SRF), where a lot of information can be found. Finally, and this list is by no means complete, a big thanks goes to the folks who keep the Maryland utilities up. There's help everywhere in this game, and most people are helpful if you just ask nicely.
As for betting, Monksfield is a perennial favorite, and for good reason. His tips are usually going to make you considerable money, and even if he is an Aston Villa fan, he deserves your respect. Inzy, aka Inzamam, also seems to get more right than he gets wrong, and the same can be said for Becka, Grouchy, Trotter1, Socalslew, Betdahouse, Carioca, Rharfo, Ell1919, Supertoy7, Con10der, Bayareajef, Fabman, Shagman, and Tntstables, to name but a few. I'd never suggest taking anything anyone says as gospel, but these folks have proven track records I can vouch for, and chances are, if you take their advice, you'll do better than going it alone if you're a beginner.
First things first. I don't pretend that I know everything there is to know about this game. While what I'll suggest works for me, it may not work for you. If you have suggestions or information that will make this a better, more informative page, please feel free to email me. Maybe I'll include your suggestion in my next update. In the meantime, look through the forums, and if you have a question, ask. The people who visit the forums are usually helpful and friendly, and quite frankly, most of them know a lot more than I do.
That being said, this page is geared toward the folks who have spent less that six months playing this game. Having stared playing less than a year ago, I've faced a lot of the same questions which you are probably experiencing, and my purpose on this page is to give you some hints and tips which will hopefully make things better for you. Feel free to check out my tipsheet page and my stable page, which record how I made bets and how I fared, and how I managed my stable. I don't hold these out as records of genius at work, but rather, examples of how I dealt with many of the same issues you may be facing.
The first page you should visit after you singing up is the Help page, where you'll want to read through the information and faq pages. Several times. I would even suggest copying the information here and dumping it into a word processing program so that you can read it offline. Its that important.
SUGGESTIONS:
1). Keep a notebook. During any given week, you will be performing a variety of tasks which require you to analyze information and make decisions. While the game will give you the ability to obtain these pieces of information, I find it more helpful to just copy the information from the game into a word processor, and then print it out and look it over at my own leisure.
You will want to keep track of the following:
a) Your horses and their condition
b) Races which you might want to enter
c) Races you do enter, and races you get
d) Jockey ability for the tracks you choose
e) Training instructions
f) Your bets
g) Auction and claiming info
Keeping track of this information in a notebook helps me in two ways. First, I have the information I need to make decisions promptly, and without the need to switch from screen to screen. Second, I can write notes in the margin, which I can't do in game screens. Third, I have the information preserved so that I can figure out whether what I'm doing is working for me, and whether I need to change my strategy in future weeks.
Keeping a notebook is especially helpful in determining whether I'm placing my horses in races they are competitive in, and how they perform at different conditions and lengths. If you're using a computer, you probably have a word processor built into it somewhere. Use it.
2). Buy a Daily Racing Form (DRF). The DRF (the real thing) comes out just about every day, is available at race tracks and newstands in most metropolitan areas. You can also reach them online -- check google for the URL. It costs $5.00, and if you're just starting to bet on the horses or just trying to figure out what's important in this game, this single, one time purchase is money well spent for you. You only need to get one or two copies to get the scoop on what the aspects the experts find important. Perhaps the most valuable part of the DRF is the section that tells you how to read it. It will tell you about things like Beyer numbers, determining class, and past performances. The information you get in this game is very similar to what the pros and a lot of amateurs use at the track. If you can understand the DRF, you can understand the information you need to be an informed bettor in this game.
RULES:
You have to read, and understand, the rules. This is the single, most important thing you can do after you get your barn. There are thousands of players and horses, and its unrealistic to think that Mike, who seems to run this game almost singlehandedly, has time to fix errors any of us make just because we didn't read the rules. Hey, in real life, if you don't know the rules for wheeling a trifecta bet, and you bet anyway, the track stewards aren't going to fix your mistake after the fact, or give you your money back. Welcome to real life.
1). The Schedule :Know what the schedule of events are. You have to know when entries for races will be pulled in. You have to know the deadline for choosing jockeys, and for giving instructions on how your horse is to be raced. You have to know these things, or you throw away any advantage you have. All horses aren't created equal, and neither are all jockeys, so make sure you make your adjustments.
2). Typos : Its 5 minutes until the race entries are pulled in, and you're typing furiously. Unfortunately, you're not much of a typist, and "1418.1009" becomes "1418.1109". Thus, the race that would have netted you a cool $20,000 ,since your horse surely would have won, turns into a bit of frustration, and instead, your half million dollar colt was just claimed at for $2,500. Garbage in, and you might find yourself without a horse or any ducats in your purse.
3). "Pilot Error": Just last week, I entered one of my horses into two races for 3 yr olds, which I was sure he would get into. Only problem is, on the first of the year, my horse aged one week, and I didn't update my notebook. Thus, I goofed, and my horse didn't get to race. Just about any goof you can make, I've made one way or the other, and I'll suggest checking and double checking before you make a data entry to the game. Make sure your horses are eligible for the races they are in. Make sure that you don't enter a great horse into a claimer. While time is at a premium in this game, take a few extra minutes to save yourself a week's worth of grief.
RACING STRATEGY:
Your strategy on choosing races will differ depending on how far along in the game you are. At the start, you're given 5 unraced horses and $25,000 in simcash. The first, and most important thing you can do is get your 20 races in. You don't have to worry about shipping fees to nearby areas, and you have no other substantial costs, and you have a healthy bankroll(relatively speaking), so its not nearly as important to win a lot of races early on as it is to get in some races. Other stable owners disagree, especially those who are working on their third or fifth or tenth stables. For the absolute beginner, I suggest that you are better served by getting your 20 races in, and then gearing up to make a winning mark.
Once you get to the magic 20 race mark, you are able to sell horses in auction, which is a wonderful advantage. Your blocked horse becomes unblocked, which gives you another horse to play with. Also, with unproven horses, you'll probably want to race each of the horses in 4 different types of races (i.e. short dirt, short turf, route dirt, route turf) before you decided what you want to do with him.
For the beginner, I would suggest focusing on getting as many races under your belt as possible, even if you have no realistic expectation of winning any of the races you enter.
Since you start with 5 horses, and have room for 10, you want to immediately increase your stable. While claiming horses can help you with this, I would suggest that going to the auction is a better way to do things. The lowest claiming race I've seen yet is $2,000, which means that it would cost $2,000 to get that horse. In the auction, I've picked up horses for as little as $1. They're not great horses, and I'll want to dump them soon, but they are fodder for getting myself to 20 races.
In your first week, I'll suggest that you race 2 or 3 horses, and that you do your best to pick up 5 horses at auction. Look for horses where the reserve is $0, and where the auction is closing in 6-12 hours, and place a $1 bid. If nobody else bids, you get horse for $1. If you don't get the horse, there are hundreds of others, and eventually you'll fill your stable.
If bidding at auction, make sure you choose only horses which have the "+" beside them. Horses with the "-" sign next to them in the auction roles means that they are injured or not fit to race. If your goal is to get horses to race to get your 20 races in, you don't need to be playing nursemaid to an injured horse, especially if you can't get rid of the injured horse.
By the second week, you'll have 1 or 2 horses ready to race, and perhaps more than that. Figure that your first week horses will need 2 weeks at least to recover, and that you want to set up a 3 week rotation. If you can race 3 horses in week 2, do so, but train at least 3 for the third week. Don't worry about winning right now. Just worry about getting your horses into races.
By the third week, your first week horses will be coming back, and you should have horses bought at auction the previous week getting ready to run. Again, race up to 3 horses.
Continue this process until you're 5-6 weeks into the cycle. While you could be more aggressive, and run more horses each week, I suggest this pace so that you can take your time and learn a bit more about the game. For the horses that look miserable and have low speed ratings, I've found that I can race them 2 weeks in a row on occasion without much need for them copping a long rest. I consider these horses to be fodder which I'll get rid of in the auction when I get my 20th race. I don't expect to make money, and I don't want to keep them. I just want to use them to get to the magic 20th race. Somewhere between 5 and 7 weeks in, you'll hit your 20th race.
First, this frees up your unblocked horse. Make sure you choose your riding options to have him primed for the first opportunity to race after you hit 20 races. Second, you can now dump unproductive horses into the auction. Put on a small reserve equal to the horse's value if you can't bear to let the horse go for nothing, or just leave the reserve amount at $0 to guarantee he's out of your stable.
Keep in mind that you must be careful if it appears that a horse is not well rested or if you're going to run a horse two weeks in a row. I've run my stable ragged, and you can tell by seeing the injured and the weary. As my purpose now is to get to 20 races, I'm willing to burn through some horses that otherwise might have been perfectly good. I can place them in some claiming races soon, or I can toss them away at auction if need be. But, bear in mind that if your horse goes injured, or is laid up for weeks upon weeks, that ain't gonna help you get to 20 races, either.
Once you're over 20 races, you can now start planning your campaign for global equine domination.
CHOOSING RACES:
I want to get to 20 races. That means that each week that I have a horse ready to race, I want that horse to get into a race. Otherwise, I've lost an opportunity. As I have prioritized getting into a race over winning a race or even determining a horse's ability, I have formed a strategy.
I avoid races where there are 42 entries. For each horse that I want to have run, I am afforded 2 possible entries. Usually, I'll enter my horse into at least one race which has less than 10 entries on Monday night, since that gives me a very good chance to get in the race. For my other entry, I might choose a race I hope to win, but which has less than 20 entrants. If you note in the informational pages, preference is given to certain horses' chances of getting in, depending upon their history, and depending upon your history.
My sister has a different strategy. She has more than one stable, and now her focus is on establishing solid, competitive stables. She wants to give any horse she gets chance at short dirt, short turf, long dirt and long turf races. She also doesn't want to pay shipping costs. That greatly limits her choices, and there are weeks when the only races which fit her primary criteria have 40 signups. Some weeks, her horses don't get into any races.
On one of her other farms in this game, she's advanced enough that she's choosing races based on whether she thinks her horse can make her money. Again, there might be 40 signups, and she doesn't get into some races, but she doesn't waste her horse on a bad race.
I've noticed that the more experienced stable owners seem to race their horses economically, and by that I mean that they give them a number of weeks off if that horse prefers the rest. With higher class horses, it isn't uncommon to see them wait 28 or 35 days, and then incur some shipping costs to find just the right race for their horse.
BETTING STRATEGY:
There are a lot of very helpful books out there, and there are a lot of strategies. Are you going for the big kill, or are you placing insurance bets to cover your bets for the day? Do you want to play win complex bets, or do you feel more comfortable playing the more simple bets, like win, place or show? Once you figure out what you want to do, then you can start to put together a plan that suits your strategy.
1). Don't bet on 2 horses to win the same race. Sounds obvious, and yet a lot of people find they like two horses equally. Even if one of your horses does win, you've made a losing bet by choosing the other as a winner as well.
2). Insurance bets -- If I see a horse which seems almost guaranteed to win, I'll wager a larger amount of money to place or to show on him. The odds will probably be pretty miserable (i.e. 6/5, or 8/5, or even), but there's always a chance of a surprise. Still, outstanding favorites very rarely come in less than third place, so a hefty show bet is as close to a certainty as you'll get in horse betting. And, if your horse comes in first, second, or third, you still get paid. If the horse goes of at 6/5 for instance, the money you get back on a winning bet isn't all that much more than you get back on a show bet.
I call these kind of bets insurance bets, in that the meager amounts I get back fund my ability to make the more exotic, high payoff bets that hopefully will make me some real money. Of course, those high payoff bets lose a lot of times, and hence the insurance bets to cover their cost.
In the interest of fairness, I'll note that a lot of players in the game, and in real life, dislike the concept of insurance bets. Their thought is why make a place or show bet, when the return is minimal. They have a more aggressive strategy, and while one could argue this point for years, I'll leave it at that. They like the system they use to bet, but when I was starting out, I truly appreciated having the insurance bets around to make sure that if I had a bad week, at least it wasn't a miserably ruinous week.
3). Across the Board bets -- This is the term for betting on a horse to win, place and show. If your horse wins, all three bets are paid. If your horse only places, you still get paid for the place and show bets. If your horse only shows, at least you get paid on the show bet.
If you like a horse to win, consider placing the place and show bets as well. If you're right, and he wins, you make even more money with you place and show bets. If he falls just short, you'll still cover your bet with the place or show bets. See above as to the "show bet" v. "heck, no, I'm not going to place a show bet" schools above.
4). Exacta bets and boxes and wheels -- An exacta is a bet that two horse will come in first and second. In an exacta box, you're choosing several horses, and betting on all combinations.
If I like the 4 and the 6 horse in a race, I can bet a 4-6 exacta, for $2, and if the 4 comes in first and the 6 comes in second, I win, usually 4-40 times the amount of the bet, depending on the odds. With a straight exacta bet, though, I would win nothing with a 6-4 finish, since I didn't bet on that combination to finish first and second.
If I like the 4, 5, and 6 horses, I can bet an exacta box for $2, which then gives me the bets of 4-5, 4-6, 5-4, 5-6, 6-4 and 6-5 for $2 apiece, which is $12 (6 bets). If any combination of the 4, 5, or 6 come in first and second, I get paid.
I use exacta boxes when I see two or three dominating horses in a race, and I can't decide precisely which will win. Exactas usually pay reasonably well if the odds aren't obscenely low, but that's because these aren't as easy to hit as you might think. Exactas are worthwhile bets, if you think about what you're doing.
If I like the 4 to win, and think he'll definitely finish above the 5,6, or 7, but I think the 5, 6, or 7 will finish in second, I can play an exacta wheel of 4-5, 4-6, and 4-7 for $2. This bet only costs $6 since there are 3 bets, and if any of them hits, I win. I prefer boxes over the wheels, since I've had better luck with the boxes. If its that close, might as well spend the extra few bucks to cover yourself.
5). Trifectas -- Same thing as an exacta, except you pick the first three horses in order. These can get very costly, very quickly, so beware! For instance, a trifecta bet for the 4-5-6-7 horses for $2 give you the bets of 4-5-6, 4-5-7, 4-6-5, 4-6-7, 4-7-5, 4-7-6, and so forth for each bet, yielding a total cost of $48.
These are usually pretty difficult to hit, and hence the payoffs are pretty substantial. Usually, the $24 bet I just mentioned is going to yield nothing, but if it hits, you can usually count on a payoff in the 3-4 figure range (i.e. $100's - $1000's).
I use trifectas if I feel there are 3-4 horses which are clear favorites, and if it seems almost impossible that any other horses can contend. I also look to the odds to see whether an expected payout would be worth my while.
6). Odds --- I rarely, if ever, bet on a 6-5 horse or other horse with similarly low odds. As a general rule, I look for horses paying 4-1 as the lower benchmark for starting to bet. This is especially important when betting exactas or trifectas. I once played 3 low odds horses on a $2 trifecta box of 4 horses, and the winner only came up at $29! I only made $5 profit on one heck of a risk! If you have horses of 5/2 or better, exactas can be worthwhile.
7). Bet What You Can Afford To Lose -- All most people need is one or two instances of betting too much and losing it all, and they see the wisdom of this suggestion. While you're hoping to win, you can't expect to depend upon it. When you're starting out, you only have $25,000 to spend. I would strongly urge you to not make several $5,000 bets. If you win, you're in clover. If you lose, which happens far too often, you've just financially crippled yourself. Take a look at my tipsheet page and the weekly pages which chronicle my weekly bets for a more in depth discussion of how to not bet more than you can afford.
8). Do Your Research -- As with most other endeavors in life, the more you prepare and study, the better you're going to do. There are so many different facets and statistics to study, that you can spend hours on any given set of horses in a race. Speed numbers (similar to Beyer numbers in real life racing), are a helpful index, and its worthwhile to see whether a horse does well at distance or in sprints, and whether the horse is a closer or opener. Are the horses coming off a layoff, or did they race last week? Has there been a big dropoff in speed or class in a horse's history? It could mean that the horse will come back with less ability.
9). Envision The Race -- Let's say that you note that in a 10 horse, 8 furlong race, you note that horses 1-5 have much faster speed ratings than horses 6-10. That tells you that horses 1-5 will probably be leading the pack. If you note that horses 4 &5 are closers, you can expect that as the race breaks, they will hold off until the final turn, and will probably run with the middle or back of the pack. If horses 2&3 break quickly, but fade after 6 furlongs, expect that they will lead, but that you'll see the closers mixing it up in the final two furlongs. And if the 1 is just outstanding from start to finish, and looks like he can go 9 furlongs in strong form, expect him to be in the mix all the way, and start to pull away after 5 furlongs.
And so, you expect that as the race breaks, the 1,2 & 3 horses will jump out, along with perhaps with one of the 6-10 pack. By halfway, you should see 1,2 & 3 pulling away, the 6-10 pack starting to drop away like flies, and the 4 and 5 horse starting to edge into contentions. By the third call, the 1 should be taking a little lead, the 2& 3 should be falling away, and the 4&5 are moving up. During the final stretch you should see the 4&5 coming even with and overtaking the 2&3, and starting to bear down on the 1.
Now that you have envisioned the race, go back over your information, and see if there's anything that suggests that you might be wrong. Look at the odds, too. In the above example, if I see that the 1 horse has odds of 12-1, that tells me that something's probably wrong with my analysis. In the above example, I'd expect the 1 horse to go off at odds of 4-1 or lower.
10). "Use the force, Luke" -- After you've looked at the race, and made your decisions, do you feel comfortable in choosing one or two horses above all the others? If you still have a nagging feeling that something's wrong, that you might be missing something, then don't bet the race! Intuition shouldn't be the driving force in determining your bets, but I've lost more often than not when I feel uncomfortable in making a bet.
11). Don't bet maiden races, and definitely don't bet when untested horses are in the mix -- The whole point of handicapping a race is to make an intelligent decision based upon previous information and experience. If there isn't any previous experience to analyze, then you're just guessing. Yes, I know there are folks who can divine a horse's lineage like the Delphic Oracle, but I'm not one of them, and I want to see how a horse actually performs before I lose my hard earned money.
12). Bet Sensibly -- Just as in real life, the first, sanest rule of placing bets on horses is to bet sensibly. Don't take almost every cent you have and put it on a "sure thing" or a "hot tip". As a rule of thumb, I suggest not betting more than 1/20th of your wealth, or more than $3000 in any week if you have more than $60,000.
13). Don't Worry About0 "Maxing Out" your bets -- You may note in some of the handicap boards that some of the touts will suggest betting $20k here or $10k on a trifecta that is a "mortal lock" to max out. What they mean is that the game limits your winnings in any given week to no more than $500k, regardless of how much you bet and how much you win. With a starting stake of only $25,000, chances are you won't be able to fall into a wager that will "max" you out for quite some time, and in my mind, it is irresponsible to try to play that big money game until you have a chunk of change. If you look closely, you'll note some of the touts will bet more than $200k with the hope of maxing out. Sometimes it works for them. All too often, it doesn't, leaving them with a big hole in their pocket. Down the road, when you have six figures of disposable cash, you can start to think about playing to max out your winnings. Until then, just bet sensibly.
I started to place bets in this game because I misspent on some claiming horses early on, and then unwittingly bid on a horse which was in Spain, and which I had to get home. As I learned a little more, I found that I wanted to be able to ship my horses to get into the races that were best for them, and that cost money too. So, in the early weeks, I found myself with about $15,000 still left, and an average shipping cost each week of several hundred dollars. I played fewer bets, put my bets on the insurance situations (i.e. mucho dinaros on a favorite to show), and places small bets on small exacta boxes. While not as flash, I played the safer, lower return bets, but at least I was getting a positive return.
As I've accumulated a little more cash, I'm starting to play slightly more exotic bets, like trifecta boxes, and I might take a chance on a longshot or two. But that's only because I was somewhat frugal with my bets earlier on.
And, as a matter of practical advice for real life, if you go to the track, go to have a good time, but don't go expecting to win enough to pay the rent. Decide how much you can afford to lose and spend on that day, put it in a different pocket from where you keep your money regularly, and don't take an ATM card. Betting can by hypnotic and enticing, but it can turn into a nightmare if you don't know when to stop. See Rule No. 7 again. And again!
13). Races with a single overwhelming favorite -- These are often races which pique my interest, in that it isn't that uncommon to find a favorite isn't as invincible as the odds seem to suggest. Thus, if you have a horse going off at 3/5, and the others go off at 4/1, 6/1, 9/1 and higher, if there's a good chance of the 4/1 or 6/1 coming through, you're going to make a lot of cash.
14). Things the Pros Look For -- I've spent enough time around the track to know there are certain things that the winning professionals look for. Check the jockey's winning percentage. Lousy jockeys usually have lousy percentages because they don't do well. I'd rather have a poor horse with a great jockey than a great horse with a lousy rider.
Look for how much rest the horse has had, and check to see how much the horse requires to do well. While 14 day cycles from race to race aren't uncommon, I find it more the custom to go 21 to 28 days between races, and with the higher caliber horses, sometimes 35 or more. If a horse needs 21 days rest, and just raced last week, look for him to turn in a lackluster, considerably slower speed.
Check the horses' ability at the distance. Look at the past races. Does this horse do well at 6 furlongs, but seem to finish way behind the crowd at a mile and a half? Does every other horse pass it by each time you get past the 7 or 8 furlong marker? For longer races, like a mile and a half or more, has the horse been able to be competitive at the finish line at that length? Is this a horse that takes 5 furlongs just to warm up, or is 5 furlongs his best distance?
Turf of Dirt/ Offweather -- Most horses drop about 10% or more in speed when they race on turf, but there are those horses which actually thrive on it. Similarly, there are horses called "mudders" which excel at running in sloppy or yielding conditions, but are mediocre otherwise. What is the condition of the track? If sloppy, Is the horse you're betting on, or its competition, a mudder? Keep the condition and style of track in mind when placing your bets.
Class -- If a horse has raced a 15,000 allowance, and now is racing in 5,000 allowance races, that horse has moved down in class. It has probably improved its chances of winning, in that better horses usually race for and win more money. Thus, while a horse which has class to win a 150,000 race could race in a 5,000 allowance and win, it could almost certainly win more in a 50,000 or 100,000 allowance, and the stable owner races to win. But, if you ever do see a horse making a big movement down in class, and if it did well at a higher class, look for that horse to kick butt at the lower class.
Similarly, if a horse is moving up in class, its moving into a more competitive division. If a horse which had been racing in 5,000 allowance races entered a 30,000 allowance race, it would have a rough go, in that the horses are faster and stronger than its seen before.
Is This a Warmup Race For This Horse? -- If a horse is accustomed to running 14 furlong races on dirt, has a distinguished record at such, and this week is racing a 8 furlong race in a tougher class, ask whether this horse is really here to win, or whether this horse is just warming up for the big killing in the Stakes race next week. In warmup races, it's rare to push the horse to full throttle.
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