View from a New Stable

Darkwood Stable became part of Photo Finish racing at the beginning of August 2006 (real time). I joined at the encouragement of a veteran member after struggling with another racing sim. I picked my 2 starting horses without realising there was a way of checking their race form. Perhaps this should be pointed out at the start? Luckily I got a couple of decent mares in Dark Queen and Jungle Fever. I never picked a stallion as I thought mares are more use when their racing is over, already thinking ahead.

I was quite surprised at the basic simplicity of the game – decide on your horse, pick a race, see how it does. Until I realised it’s a bit like backgammon, you can learn the rules in ten minutes but the strategies and subtleties of the actual play can take months if not years to get to the bottom of. Picking the right race takes a bit of learning, it’s very tempting to follow the horses AR as they sound so authoritative and when you are new it seems there is not much else to go with. I later found “Amanda’s past perfs” rather more helpful in finding out about your own horse. It can be useful too, to look at the other horses in the race you are entering using the same guide, but it can take ages to do and I get confused sometimes with all the information available.

One thing you learn very quick is to give enough rest between races. All of the horses I acquired that had had a lot of rest by being at Endless Vista for a long time had really good first races. Secret Talent won her first race for me, a group 3, by 7 lengths - I thought I had the makings of a superstar but subsequent results were not as impressive. Perhaps I should just race her twice a season…………
One of the best parts of the game is the other players and the forum. Most of the veteran players are free with advice and help when you are starting out. Some will help with obtaining new horses at beginner’s prices, free visits to stallions etc. Though I find it sad and frustrating when the occasional newbie takes advantage, as it makes veteran players think twice before offering practical help.

I have also found it helpful to keep my own paperwork for each horse – how much it cost to buy, cost of entry fees and maintenance and winnings. It lets me know which horses are in profit, covering their costs and those that are making a loss. I’ve also found it useful to go through the races for the coming couple of months and make a list of likely races for each horse and I’m fairly sure others do the same.

I have found this a game with a good balance between ease of play and yet difficult and strategic enough to keep the interest going. Breeding and selling add an extra dimension. My newbie season was used to gain understanding of game basics. Hopefully the next season will be successful enough to enable me to purchase better horses for racing and keep the stable on a sound financial footing. And then there’s looking forward to retiring some of the mares for breeding, and the two year olds to race and the new competitions………………..

Roll on the new season Yipeee!!!!

Penny
Darkwood Stable