I think we would all agree that Stable Size One is great for beginners, but pretty difficult to work with down the road.
The optimum situation is to have as many profitable racers as you can effectively manage and yet leave room for an occasional purchase if something good pops up. With just 5 stalls, Size One makes this virtually impossible. Therefore, 100% of viable stables expand to Size Two after their first season of operation, especially since there is no real life financial cost to do so (although it will cost 20% of your current Photo-Finish bankroll).
Size Two offers up 10 stalls and a little breathing room and flexibility. Now you have the option of expanding your string a little, maybe even adding a broodmare. This size was comfortable enough for me to spend 2 seasons there. I generally had 6-7 racers and a yearling of two. Eventually though, the breeding bug strikes and you want to start producing your own foals.
Breeding is intrinsically satisfying, plus it insulates you somewhat from the necessity of participating in the annual auction. The problem with breeding? You need more stalls. The broodmares must be housed at your stable. As you develop into a breeding stable, you'll find that Size Two is also too contricting.
Which brings us to Size Three. Twenty stalls. Ahhh...much better.
Advancing to Three requires two prerequisites.
The optimum situation is to have as many profitable racers as you can effectively manage and yet leave room for an occasional purchase if something good pops up. With just 5 stalls, Size One makes this virtually impossible. Therefore, 100% of viable stables expand to Size Two after their first season of operation, especially since there is no real life financial cost to do so (although it will cost 20% of your current Photo-Finish bankroll).
Size Two offers up 10 stalls and a little breathing room and flexibility. Now you have the option of expanding your string a little, maybe even adding a broodmare. This size was comfortable enough for me to spend 2 seasons there. I generally had 6-7 racers and a yearling of two. Eventually though, the breeding bug strikes and you want to start producing your own foals.
Breeding is intrinsically satisfying, plus it insulates you somewhat from the necessity of participating in the annual auction. The problem with breeding? You need more stalls. The broodmares must be housed at your stable. As you develop into a breeding stable, you'll find that Size Two is also too contricting.
Which brings us to Size Three. Twenty stalls. Ahhh...much better.
Advancing to Three requires two prerequisites.
- 25% of your current Photo-Finish assets
- A cash contribution to Laurie Brown
Laurie spends countless hours administering the game. She also spends money on hardware and programming. So, with a small cash contribution for the good of the game, you can dramatically increase the size of your stable.
With the advancement to Size Three, you have plenty of room for racers, broodmares, studs, yearlings, and foals. My preference is to have approximately 3 foals each year. Therefore 3 broodmares are necessary. That would mean that my stable would breakdown something like this each year:
With the advancement to Size Three, you have plenty of room for racers, broodmares, studs, yearlings, and foals. My preference is to have approximately 3 foals each year. Therefore 3 broodmares are necessary. That would mean that my stable would breakdown something like this each year:
- 3 Foals
- 3 Yearlings
- 3 Broodmares
- 7-8 Racers
- 1-2 Studs
- 1-3 open spots
This kind of configuration gets you an influx of three fresh 2yo's each year, plus leaves you with a couple spots in case a bargain horse becomes available. If you want to supplement your stable a little bit via the auction, you've got room for that also.
I personally find managing about 10 racers to be the maximum that I can effectively handle. Because of that I am comfortable to remain at Stable Size Three for now. However, if you feel the need, Stable Sizes Four and Five are available, allowing 30 and 40 stalls respectively.
Again, each advancement requires a cash contribution and a sizeable portion of your assets. But if your goal is to join the ranks of the major breeding stables, these advancements will be necessary.
I personally find managing about 10 racers to be the maximum that I can effectively handle. Because of that I am comfortable to remain at Stable Size Three for now. However, if you feel the need, Stable Sizes Four and Five are available, allowing 30 and 40 stalls respectively.
Again, each advancement requires a cash contribution and a sizeable portion of your assets. But if your goal is to join the ranks of the major breeding stables, these advancements will be necessary.
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