I was just wondering if anybody was experiencing overweights in SO4. For example you race a maiden race all horses carry 8 stone and the trainers book jockeys that are from 1lb to 12lb overweight.

If your jockeys weights are real ones like mine then you will experience this mate. Marks jockey weights are not correct but work better in the game.

Cheers Jay.

i get this sometimes but you do in real life 2

It doesn't happen so often in real life though! A trainer might use a slightly heavier jockey if he is much much better than any lighter ones available. In the game however the trainers don't seem to book better jockeys who happen to be heavier, the bookings seem to be random.

Also if I retain a jockey how come I still have to book him for every race!! J P Spencer will only ride my horses if I physically book him, but I've paid for him to be my retained jockey!

A retainer jockey will only ride your horses in feature races. Non feature races it will be a random jockey unless you have an apprentice then he/she will get the ride.

I was wondering that two...one time I went to look for the retained jockey and he wasn't even in the list, presume he was riding in the other meeting on the day I was racing

Different jockeys seem to have different characteristics

I used to have Pat Smullen as my retained Jockey for several seasons, and he would show up on my list for every race that was a 0-100 handicap or higher. But, that didn't mean I could always book him. I occasionally got the message - "Jockey refuses ride", or words to that effect. He would typically only ride for me in feature races.

I eventually got fed up of seeing this message and sacked him. I hired Mick Kinane to replace him. Mick show's up on my list constantly, with the main exceptions being for sellers and claimers. He's happy to accept rides, even for 0-70 handicaps and other non-feature races.

I've been watching this with my horses, since the topic first appeared. I've had several runners with +5lb or even +11lbs. I'm not convinced the +5 or +11 means anything, or has any effect. I think my horse runs as if it's running off 8 stone even, and the overweight is in print only.

Surely it means something Col. If it doesn't mean anything then all the jockeys would be better riding at 7 stone, that way then we would have no overweights. So basically I could, if the weights didn't mean anything run a horse in a maiden race carrying 8 stone and shove Peter Kay on board and watch the horse race like there was no difference.

I know what you mean. The poor horse would be crippled with Kay onboard, with a back shaped like a U nail.

What I'm trying to say is, we see 8 0 +11lbs on the form card, but instead of the horse running likes it's carrying 8 11, it's running like it's carrying 8 0. I've had several horses romp home a "dist" in front, despite big excess overweights, and my horse is not that good.

Thanks Col. I will just take that part of the game with a pinch of salt.