I notice my horses who ran today all have 0 for form, while other stables have #'s.
Not surprising they all finished last well off the back.
I uploaded them pre-race in my league when their form was the highest.
Not sure what I did wrong?

Did you export them at least 25 days after their last race so they are in tip top condition
best time to export on the flat i find is a month after Royal Ascot in July

Yes, I did. They were all horse is fit and ready to race, or "Horse is raring to go", with at least 30 days from their last race.
What I did, in case this matters, was wait until they go to their scheduled race, and then after viewing or setting the jockey tactics, I went to summary and exported them so that way it automatically had their jockey tactics set.
I doubt that would matter, but I can't understand why their form is all ZERO.
For example one horse I exported right before she ran and won the Preakness, and another right before he ran and won the Kentucky Derby. Now they have not raced yet, but I don't see why their form won't be ZERO like the 5 that ran today, since I followed the same procedure for all of them.

I don't expect most of them to even be able to place against the big boy farms, but I would like to at least see them race competitively.

So if anyone can help me figure this out, I would appreciate it.

There are handicaps where they will be more competitive during the season. Most maidens in week 1 are equivalent of group 1s

Did you trial them against each other? How many seasons have you played?

They finished tenth place or worse, therefore have 0 in form column. If they finish 1-9, they will have that number in the form column.

You should use the race construction kit to trial your horses against eachother at different distances. You will note the best horses in the CK are not always the best horses in your game.

Thank you friend, I did not know that.
That explains it.
Those horses just weren't good enough. I will need to replace them when it opens up again. I don't mind horses not winning in this league, I know it is tough with great competition, but they can't be running a furlong of the rear of the field.
Yeah I had just run a test to see if the exports were in bad form somehow or not, and ran my best 1m1f horses in a simulated Preakness. The beat this years winning time in my league by nearly 4 seconds, so I think they are ok.
I wish I could see the times from past winners in this league to see what i need to be competitive.

What is CK? is that the name of the league?

Thanks again. I appreciate it.

Yeah, these were not great horses, they were the best I had at the time and I didn't want to be the guy who only runs winners etc.
I am making progress with breeding and am in season 12 now.

some of the horses I am running in todays and tomorrow races should be better. Some of them won big races like Triple crown etc. in my league, so we will see. Not expecting them to win but I don't expect them to be a furlong off the back either.

Thanks for the help and I am always open for advice or tips until I get up to speed.

This happens every season when new players come in. It is a terrible shock when you realise that your in game form means nothing in the league. Every single horse in the league will likely be a multiple G1 winner in the trainers own game.

Everyone struggles in their first season or two. Look back through the seasons and you will see there is usually at least one sometimes two or three who are constantly tailed off. This improves with handicaps and also over time. Keep your current game horses in the CK and race them against your new ones so you can see your improvement.

If you have any spaces and have had time to play upload new horses in the window. Also consider throwing some horses in NH. It is far more open and exciting than the flat. With falls pull ups and occasional small fields getting a win is easier than on the flat.

12 seasons in is vey new, although it is possible to pick up a good horse that early you need to remember that some of the elite trainers are 100s of seasons into their games. My game is approaching 30 years and I am competitive on the NH but have never won a proper G1 on the flat and am now in my 7th league season.

From next week put your horses in the lowest grade race they can get in and you will be much closer.

Most importantly DON'T GIVE UP. There are lots on here who will help and you will quickly improve if you take tips on board. Sadly the first season will always be a struggle but you have a few weeks before the window so if you have time breed and trial as many as you can

Shock is 100% correct, you come in with horses that are cleaning up in game, thinking you will do well and then every single one of them is a disaster in week 1.

This is my second season now, 1st season i ran 8 horses in week 1 and got a 6th, 9th and 6 0's.

Second season, i have had 11 run to date and have 1 win, 8 placed 2nd to 9th and only 2 with a 0.

So really just keep at it, I use Paul's method of trialing unraced 2 year old's against my 'best unraced two yearolds from previous years' as it allowed me to run through seasons quite quickly focusing on horses that were better than the yard sticks.

Link for it here; viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19570

Thanks. Good timing to read this because right now I am resisting every urge to immediately delete all my horses from the server and just play solo.

I just had a horse who routinely won 1m races as a 2yo get trounced so far out the back, and yet the winning time of the race was SLOWER than all of her winning times.
but now suddenly she can't run and is just a nag. She went on to win the Preakness as a 3 yo and racked up 7/2/3 win totals and over 5 mil in prize money halfway through her year 4.
Something isn't right, and I never expected to just come in and win, but this should not happen.
I am starting to see why this never really took off the way it should have.

The fact the CK and the game are not aligned is madness for me personally and I expect every trainer feels the same, why mark felt this was a good idea is beyond me. But that’s what we have. It is always hard to come in as a new trainer. Just listen and learn from those already here. It took me about 4 seasons to break into the top tier and it is a battle to stay there just as it should be. This season through lack of playing time is likely to be my worst in recent history. But I shall be back in force for the next. It’s a marathon not a sprint.

Thank you. It really should be about trying to shave 10ths of seconds off through generational breeding, and not starting off with your horses not even being able to run.
I am sure he wanted to add difficulty, but there were other ways to do it without making your work in your offline game worthless.

Trust me you will find one horse who changes everything. If you wantto post pics or see any of my horses, least those I can still access let me know.

Josh