Re: Suggested improvements
3. I posted about this a few months back and there was a couple of comments in support of that as well.
4. You can build a modded schedule to include only the races you want if you like, or users like MJtags has a schedule built off of the 2019 season. There's lots of info about building a new schedule and new feature races in the Game Mods section and some stuff in the manual. If you do decide to make your own races, I highly recommend this post from SiriusChill who helped me sort out my schedule errors by teaching me about the SO6 featureRace format, which you can convert in the game to SO7, which is a lot easier than the format SO7 files use when you're typing out a lot of them:
https://www.startersorders.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=152958#p152958. I've since done like 400 USA races and 100 NZ races that way.
5. You can use the Legend Editor to create new legends if you like. There's information about that in the instruction manual as well. It's actually really interesting to look at, because you get to modify the information that is hidden on all the other horses, like if they have a preferred track and when they mature. You could be really detailed about it. If you're concerned about how long Legends are in the game before they retire, never to be seen again, there is a checkbox for "legends repeat" on the Legends screen when loading up a new game.
6. No one knows the difference between the pacifiers. The easiest way is to just start by selecting the top one and then switch if there's no change. Unless the head lad specifically says the horse needs a pacifier, "Not settle" or agitation in the paddock is usually from other things. It could be they're just a hyped up colt, if the race is outside their internal preference (like a class too high or the pace is wrong), or there is a genetic component to it as well. That can be bred out of your line by not using horses that won't settle during races.
7. I'm not sure about the weather but I found that in the first season of the game, it's not as "settled" yet. I'm playing the Australian schedule and end up with a week of rain in January - which is usually when it's 40C. I've played other simulation games where the first year was always a bit out, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was just the simulation calculations working themselves out.
8. You can also mod the jockeys, trainers and even stables. SiriusChill has modded lists for the UK schedule I think, in their post in Game Mods. They also have a little visual change that adds increment lines to the horse stats, which is a godsend IMO. I'm pretty sure jockeys are as simple as changing the names if you just want different names, but you have to change things like weight and such if you want accuracy. As per the instructions in the manual, you have to check that the Legends don't have preferred trainers/jockeys and remove them before loading up a new jockey list.
So TL;DR mods are your friend in terms of schedules, races, jockeys, trainers, other stables and visual improvements. There's a nice race graphics improvement as well. Some people have done/are doing new versions of the racecourses themselves as well to make them more like real life. If you make any modifications to the data files, you have to start a new save game, but you can transfer your horses from your current game. Visual mods should kick in straight away.
I definitely support the idea of better training feedback at least - for jockey feedback, make sure your jockey has high honesty and he'll tell you stuff like "will be better over a shorter distance" or "we were outclassed".