I've noticed that there is lack of races for my 2 yr old horses at their preferred distance over 7f. Do I just run them at 5f/6f or do I need to wait until next year when there is the longer distance races?

Preferred distance is not an absolute and generally applies to mature horses. I've had horses with a 6f preferred distance win graded stakes at 9-10f. Pay more attention to your 2 year old's stamina and juvenile constitution. At the outset, most 2 year olds have low stamina and are well suited for 5 and 6 furlong races. You can move them up as their stamina improves and the longer distances become available, and sometimes the jockey will indicate the need to take on more distance, as well. Horses bred for distances of 10 furlongs and more, may struggle to break their maidens until the longer distances become available. Freshman with low juvenile constitution must be handled with care. You may only get them to the race track two or three times before you're advised by the head lad to back off. Another stat you'll want to monitor is realized potential. Realized potential is the darker portion of the potential bar. Some two year olds have nearly their entire potential realized, while others only two thirds, a half, one third, etc. It increases along with other stats as they race and mature. It's generally accepted that racing four times or more will enhance maturity.

I understand how it works now. Thank you very much for the information.

It's a wonderful game with a great deal of nuance....much more than meets the eye and the best of the genre for real horse racing enthusiasts. I've gotten hundreds of hours of enjoyment from it. I hope you do as well.

To add to Mark's comment, here's some examples of different distances on the stamina bar.

5F


6F, notice there's no difference from 5F. That's when I use the breeding indicator. 5F, I start at 5F. 6F+, I start at 6F.


7F, though I have had horses win at 1M + 6F with this stamina bar. That really depends on distance adaptability, and jockey instructions.
Tip: If you have a horse running a furlong lower or above their optimal distance, ask the jockey to "challenge earlier"


1M2F


Those are all I have screenshots of. Here's a general rundown of stamina:

11% - 5F-6F
22% - 7F (Sometimes 1M)
33% - 1M
44% - 1M1F
55% - 1M2F
66% - 1M3F/1M4F
88% - 1M4F-2M
100% 2M+

Note: this does differ in jumps horses, but I have very little experience with those. All I can say is 22% tends to be 2M with them.

I don't really know much about horse racing but I'm loving the game so far (though I'm not very good at it). I'm struggling to get my horses to win even the ones with what I percieve to be good stats. For example I have a horse with 85 realized potential and 90 absolute potential, 75% extra speed rating, 100% finishing application and consistency and I still can only manage to win C5 to C7 races with a less than £10000 prize pool.

Anyway I'll soldier on and keep reading this forum and hopefully I can get better and start to win more races. Thanks for your help.

This is just what I needed! Thank you for your help bcrstrat.

Most of us weren't very good at the outset so you're in good company. If I might offer a bit of unsolicited advice, don't be in a hurry to win. That may sound counter-intuitive, but failure is a great teacher. With the exception of a few wonderful souls, this forum was a ghost town when I started playing so trial and error was my MO. It was both frustrating and rewarding at the same time, but it gave me a better understanding and great appreciation for the game. Good racing!

I am pretty much in the same boat.
Always loved watching the Triple Crown races, but not much beyond that, but found it all interesting, so enjoying the game a lot.

I am probably the last one who should give advice, since I am new as well, but make sure you hire a great, light weight jockey. There are usually more than one of those available. I get 8-0 to 8-4, prefer lighter the better though, and max r very high rating in Skill and Honesty. Obedience is nice, but not necessary imo. Especially since I am no genius in setting the strategy and it might be better to just let them do their thing if they are high in skill.
I pretty much set it for stead pace and late challenge, but change it up sometimes based on the horse. Race handy is good if you want them to stay towards the front.
Anyway good luck and look forward to hearing more about your games.

I think my jockey is about 8.1 and his skill and honesty are really high but his obdiance is only about 60%. I would have liked it a little higher but he will do for now.

I've been using challenge earlier on some of my horses which seem to be working well at the moment. I'll have to try steady pace and late challenge to see if your method works.

Thank you for your tips.