Hi everyone
I purchased the game last night after a discussion on another forum for sports simulation games. I have played a lot of Football Manager, Out of the Park Baseball and East Side Hockey Manager (when it was still being made)

I love horse racing and I was told this is the best simulation currently available.
I had played a version of this game years ago, it might have been SO2 because I recall you had to pick a region of the game to purchase. I also recall it not being newbie friendly at all. It was damn hard to get going unless you got some early luck being a punter.

This version combines all the regions in one package and seems to be more user friendly. The starting money looks like there is less of a chance of failure right off the bat.

My first question is, am I lowering my chances of winning by not playing in jockey mode?
Right now I am just wanting to learn the training and management aspects of the game. I don't have much interest in the jockey mode but I may later. I prefer to play hands off. Do you have to control your horse during races to be successful or can you leave that up to the jockey you hire?

My second question is, I am playing the US region right now since that is what I am more familiar with. I lived in the US for eight years.
What are the races of the Triple Crown known as in the game? I know they cannot use the real names for legal reasons.
I think I spotted one that happens on May 10th 2010 that I think is the Kentucky Derby, but I wanted to be sure.

I am sure I will have lots more questions as I go along. But I think this is it for now.

Firstly, welcome to the forums and to Starters Orders There are many, many hours of fun ahead of you!

To answer your questions, no you don't have to ride your horses to be successful- I've never ridden any of mine and have won thousands of group races over the seasons I've played.

The triple crown is made up of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont, just as in real life. I have no idea as to the legality of using the real names.

If you have any more questions, just ask. There are some awesome threads on this forum, though, that will answer most of your questions if you do a quick search.

Thank you for the welcome.

I feel a bit embarrassed now. I just discovered the diary option that lets you see the future schedule. I do see that the races do indeed go by their real names. I had completely missed this.

I am also excited because I won my very first grade race. A grade 3 race with a 2 YO that was given to me at the start of the game




Another question is on average, how many races can a horse run a season? Right now I am only getting 4-6 out of my horses. Is this way too few or just about right?
I am running them about 3 weeks apart. However, I think I might be training them too hard. I put them on lot 2 are the beginning of the season and then move them to lot 3 about 10 days before a race.
I gallop them about every 5 days or so. After a race I put them down to lot 1 for about a week then lot 2 for a week and then lot 3 for the week before a race. It seems that their condition falls very rapidly though.

Congrats on your first group wn It's a ridiculously good feeling considering it's a game, lol!

As for how many runs per season, it's difficult to give an average because every horse is different. I've had horses that could only run once per year before becoming 'over-raced' according to my head lad, but others could run fifteen times or more and never suffer any ill effects. Generally six to eight is probably relatively average, though I can only judge by my breeding lines, so that would skew it a bit.

I can't give any advice on training because I auto-train mine. I attempted manual training once in SO3 and gave up fairly quickly because I couldn't seem to get any of my horses to stay at peak fitness for very long. Hopefully someone else will have some knowledge about manual training that they can pass on to you. There are probably some threads somewhere in the forum about this topic, though, if you have a look.

How i go about the training is something like this.
I enter a horse into a suitable race, and, depending on how high up the green fitness bar is I adjust putting them on lot 3 accordingly. If green bar is at or below half way you need about 3 weeks of lot 3 to get a horse fit, if it is between half way and full it varies from between a week or 2 to get them fit. Once a horse has run I drop them immediately to lot 1 (light work) so they can recover, scan the declarations for their next suitable race and then train them the same way as previously noted. I never use lot 2, don't see the point in it, it makes horses lose condition for no gain. I never put horses on lot 3 until their green condition bar has recovered above the corresponding red one, and usually until it has almost returned to the top, unless I am trying to get 2 quick runs into a horse. With time you learn which of your horses can stand 2 quick races.

Hope this helps. It's trial and error to start with.

This is easier than I remember it being.

I still can't train or buy horses worth a damn. But I am really good at the punting game. I have made about 900,000 USD from betting and I have purchased every stable upgrade by the middle of season two.
The rest of the season will be used to accumulate more money to purchase some flyer 2 YOs during the offseason. I have two horses right now that I am going to retire and breed. I don't expect much from them but they will at least be a steady stream of horses that I don't have to pay for.

I am having a lot of fun with this

i have a question as i'm kinda new to the game aswell an can't find a answer for my question..

what do the blue/red light mean after the race againts the horse??.

anhow do you change the race distance is Metres ... other then that loveing it

My guide for max races per season
Distance recommended max races
1000 5f 12
1200 6f 11
1400 7f 11
1600 1m 10
1800 1m1f 10
2000 1m2f 9
2400 1m4f 8
2800 1m6f 7
3200 2m 6
4000 2m4f 5
don’t over race 2yo’s you can effect there future by over racing 6 races is my recomendation

when you load so4 b4 you load a game click on oprions you can select there

breeding is everything you get beter lines every year you nee to start breeding asap

The blue triangle means the horse was relaxed before the race usually because its disposition is laid back or normal which is a desirable trait to look for when breeding your horses. It means it will run to its optimum and not waste energy before a race.

Sometimes there are pink triangles which means the horse was excited and worked up.

Red triangles mean the horse bolted to the start or sweated up badly thus reducing its ability to compete in the race usually with horses with a very excitable disposition.