Hey all, I have a few noob questions. Really excited to enter some horses and watch races. I have some context/comments with some of the questions so it makes a bit more sense why I am asking.


What's a good stable size to start? Should I upload new horses at the mid season upload window?

Does race location matter? (I'm U.S. based)

Do I enter my horses for races all at once or week to week? Are there rules on how often I can enter a horse or how many horses I can enter? (I think I remember seeing two max)

Do I submit my horses with a rating? Do I have to change their rating from week to week or is that automatically done?

When do I start using my own stallions instead of gamebreds for breeding? (I feel like I can't use my own until they get to 100% potential)

Why am I getting the impression from the community that the game races and CK races behave differently? Shouldn't there not be a difference? (I am pro racetrack breeding theory but understand that I have to trial at the CK instead of relying on race results)

Hey Peaches, I'll try to answer best I can, but other more successful trainers are probably better to listen to

What's a good stable size to start? Should I upload new horses at the mid season upload window?
Depends on how good you feel your team is, I have rarely ever added mid season and try to prepare my team for the start. If it was me, I try and fill up to maximum, regardless of how good they are, throw enough s**t at a wall and some sticks ha.

Does race location matter? (I'm U.S. based)
I don't think it does, but I'm not sure, I think you are fine adding US schedule horses as long as it's a league mode game

Do I enter my horses for races all at once or week to week? Are there rules on how often I can enter a horse or how many horses I can enter? (I think I remember seeing two max)
Yes two horses max per race, depends entirely on conditions, some races may be 1 max from memory. I always try and do it week to week and once the results are in, so I'm not rushing to the deadline

Do I submit my horses with a rating? Do I have to change their rating from week to week or is that automatically done?
You submit with a rating then the AI handicapper does their thing. There should be a stickied how to guide in the forum as to how to do this in CK, but from memory you need to change all horses ratings in the CK to 75, there is a shortcut to doing this by clicking on one horse and changing it to 975, this changes all horses ratings in CK to 75. I think for NH it might be 100 but someone else can confirm (same shortcut by using 910? I think?!) If you are adding a horse who has run in the league the season prior, and is now a year older, you should enter it's handicap mark. I.e. I had Leipzig Lady as a 2yo rated 85 I think, if I upload her 3yo version for this season, I need to change her rating (to the 3yo version) to 85 in the CK before I export from CK

When do I start using my own stallions instead of gamebreds for breeding? (I feel like I can't use my own until they get to 100% potential)
I tend not to do this until I get some very good horses 85-90+ potential, that are winning 5+ G1 races, but I'm not the most successful so this isn't probably the best starting point.

Why am I getting the impression from the community that the game races and CK races behave differently? Shouldn't there not be a difference? (I am pro racetrack breeding theory but understand that I have to trial at the CK instead of relying on race results)
Yes this is the case, unfortunately, I've found a 6f horse this year in game, who's rated 95 and can't buy a win, yet is very competitive in CK. Howwwwever, I do tend to find, this is very rare, and most of my league horses have been G1 winners in game.

I'll rephrase my first answer to the first question to, try and look at distances and races to aim for, I normally go for the following (mainly for flat, for NH I just send anything left over). Even though I've played for years, I learned a lot and will be limiting my 3yo's to focus on 4yo+. I like to aim for the AW series for the Prize Money, so will always add Newcastle or an AW track into my trials and then trial at specific courses, Ascot is my go to for all distances, but my 3yo 1m4 horses will always trial at Epsom, 2yo's at York/Newmarket for the 2yo races etc.

2yo (6)
5f, 6f, 7f, 1m, 1m1f and 1m2 horse

3yo (7)
1m Colt/Filly, 1m2f Colt/Filly, 1m4f Colt/Filly, 1m6f

4yo+ (12)
2x Sprinters (5/6f)
2x Milers (7f/1m)
2x Classic (1m1f/1m2f)
2x Turf (1m3/1m4f)
2x Mid Stayers (1m5-1m7f)
2x Distance Stayers (2m-2m4f)

Insightful responses! Thank you

My thoughts on these.

1 - enter as many as you can. I don’t know if we’re having an upload window but as a new trainer if we are it might be worth keeping a few slots open to upload better when you know who your best horses are.

2 - yes is matters. Horses have hidden stats, one of which is track preference. This think is either a pass through stat on breeding or developed by game results, but whatever it is US horses will have a US preference so you will have an advantage over UK horses on a US track and vice versa. Breed with a Dubai game horse and you have a good chance of making a Dubai specialist with dirt preferences. My sprinters and milers mostly come from my US game, so I have seen this play out, but I would say the difference in a small.

3 - as said all depends on the race, some are one others are two. And week to week if you can as handicaps will change. And you can be tactical with this too, so you can blow up a handicap with a monster at top weight so your other horse is more favourably treated……. Least that’s what I have heard….. cough cough …..

4 - only thing here is getting the original rating right, 75 flat and 100 in the NH I think, after that the game deals with it all.

5 - potential is a key stat but it’s hard to maintain as the game always dilutes and degrades stats as it ages, the only way is to find them early and keep them in your own breeding as after game start the pool is basically fixed and your just churning the start position with game breeding making everything worse. I always feed my game pool with my best lines but even then the game screws them up. Think of a league game as a phased approach phase one is find the key three, potential, speed and cruising burst. Phase two getting them all into the same breeding lines and spread over distances and phase three is trial to see if it’s a league line. Don’t get invested in a game until you have all three done and working else you’re literally flogging a dead horse. Starting again is often the only way to make a significant step change. It’s basically just luck, time and a little applied knowledge.

6 - I would not go so far as to say game form is meaningless, but it’s and indicator only, I have had game stars bust at trial and vice versa and there are certain game inhibitions that don’t carry into the CK so a non genuine ‘horse had more to give type’ or one that ‘won’t settle’ in the CK seems to ignore those issues. Once you go all in for the league you need to stop playing the game. Or rather play it with the league in mind. So for example winning a G1 in the game has a positive effect on turning unrealised potential into realised potential, but I don’t need my star 3m hurdler to win multiple G1’s. I need to spread the love and since my horses mostly beat each other I carefully manage my race entires to maximise horse development. Gets hard when your breeding barn is my size but I stopped playing the game years ago, I play it now only to facilitate league horses and run it basically like a factory.

Hope that helps. But keep asking if anything is unclear. There is also a discord group where I share horse pictures and approaches from time to time. But with 26days you’re up against it.

Josh

And keep your expectations measured my first season I think I only won one or two races all season and was soundly beaten by most. It takes time to move from game to league. But there is no magic ingredient. There is nothing I do that cannot be copied. Time and luck, add applied learning as otherwise it upsets people

Only thing I would also add, much of the what I have said is flat or combined game focused, if going pure NH trial form over bars, they still help but you can do well still with average looking horses, other bars likes enthusiasm also come into play.