27 of 39 races are handicaps..............going to be an interesting week this.

I'll swap u some of my h'cappers for u group1 horses

Good

This league is not just for you elite you know

Jaysus how the tides have turned

That was not the point I was making though I do personally have to squeeze 30 into 12 races or blow up some handicaps. More those week one flops or low rated ubers will have a field day.

And no G1’s for me yet John.

i do think handicaps should be a more of a advantage to small trainers, its frustrating enough seeing big stables in them, It gives more trainers a liking to the league and will keep at it if they have a good chance in them handicaps. But if there is big trainers in them you forget about your horse because its more than likely of them winning it than you.

Welcome to the Starters Order league lol not this Ol' chestnut

On a serious note, there has to be some handicap bands changed to slow the process you mention, as we now know the in-game handciappaing is not perfect for the league, but we do also know how difficult it is to get someone to handicap due to race and horse totals, so a change of bands right down to 0-45 to enable the lower guys to have a chance, or using Paul's league, "you got 10 wins you cant enter 0-70/80's" (this will be less popular & not thought how this can be policed) on the Hunt similar in dropping bands drop some 140's to 120's, 100's drop to 90 or even lower, although I really have not looked at marks so I am only going on by what people have posted.

I am sure adjustments can be made, it was always a learning curve with in game handicapping this season, we just need to accept that next season will be better as we will have seen what we need to do to get it right.

I do not think it can be that difficult to change some bands this season to give the little people a chance of a win.

P.s. Nobody start about not being able to run all their horses every week if changes occur, this should be stated in the rule book of the league, "You may not be able to run your horses every week, due to the schedual structure and making the league interesting* to all levels of player"

exactly, i would be over the moon with any win in the league, it motivates smaller trainers to keep trying and they will eventually get into group company in a few seasons. The winner i had today- i was jumping all around the place, its not all about group races for me. Same feeling if as i won the Melbourne cup!

I agree with this 100%.

Sure we can lower the bands of some handicaps. I tend to stay away from them and only enter the graded handicaps or the longer distances races to get a Grand National mark. But I guess some are just hungry for the wins at whatever level they are at.

The handicaps work well enough on the NH it is rare to win off top weight, high rated horses blowing up the handicap is the only issue, on the flat it is less of an issue though all three of my G1H wins have come from low rated horses. Vinny on paper has one in the BMW this week, as do I.

The flat is also a issue, not just NH

The flat is the bigger issue was my point, top weight on flat is easier to overcome. The main trouble is everyone wants to see their horses run each week and the competitive nature of the league and the trainers top, middle or bottom.

I never feel I have a chance of winning off top weight in the NH.

Rarely Top weight horses win on the Nh, Like my one Night star, was carrying top weight and on heavy ground. The likes of bigger trainers targeting handicaps race is just a disadvantage for the smaller. I feel if the top trainers would keep out of races like that then that would encourage more players in the league. If you take a look at the log from previous seasons you see alot of newbies in the league for about a couple of runs, to see them run dead last its demotivating for the newbies, and they dont come back. Trust me it was a hell of season for my first season last season.

Trust me I know. Zero wins on the flat my first season and only 2 handicaps on the NH. Took me 4 seasons to crack the top tier and a fair amount of time being grumpy about the same few trainers winning everything. I doubt any of the top tier have not had the same experience. I remain grumpy often as not but only as I set my own standards pretty high and I am a notoriously bad loser

I cannot say why newbies leave after a few races, but I would guess it is because their game experience leads them to conclude they have top class horses and will just rock up and win, I know I did, season 1 is a grounding experience from which you either walk away or grab the reigns.

But everything you need to succeed is on the forums, I cannot think of a single top trainer who does not freely share their methods. The league is not a quick win, you have to lay siege to it, but for me it should never be easy or hand out freebies. Success, as is true for everything else in life, is hard earned.

Very true josh

Agree, but there has to be something for the casual player, the one's that want to take part in the league and not lay siege due to time constraints, having a life etc.