Rich,

Would like to have seen only Two upload windows, there are to many horses uploaded and turn over is just to vast. Horses do not even really get a season of running before they are cast aside, with limited upload windows trainers will have to think more on what they want for there stable, no form lines can be visible as uploads at multiple stages ruin it in my opinion, i know everyone wants to better there stable with the newest horses they have found but there will always be a new season to put them in rather then always having this unknown quantity to many times in the season, by doing this hopefully form lines will be easier to read and the handicapping will be easier to.

Having said this im still very new to the league and am just thinking of what can be implemented without no hassle to TOM and staff.

Transfers to be stoped from different leagues to it just seems like the worst horses are transferred out to rot in other leagues whats the point?

i think the stable sizes and upload windows are ok as they are - they dont NEED to be changes just yet.

the schedules could be improved however and i think new schedules could be devised quite quickly and in time for the league to start whenever you want it to rich. also dancing brave donated his finances towards improving the prize money for the nhc races and maybe have some more sponsored races like the moores millions.

so basically is your decision whether we stick with the current schedule or we devise new ones? speaking for the nhc , i know there are a number of us who can put our heads together to creat a great new schedule to which we feel will make the nhc even better.

i agree with some of your points hackett. i for one used transferring horses as a way of freeing up space in the uk league . i think transfers should be stopped and also the number of retirements stopped.

i would keep the number of upload windows the same, but stop transfers and also limit the number of retirements (if any at all). then a trainer can either upload a few horses to begin with and then grow their stable as they improve in the game, or they can fill their stables with talent which they are confident can see them through to the end of the season - and then , as you say hackett, use the new horses they find in the next season of the game!!

I created the UK flat schedule for the league and hope this can be improved upon with more handicaps and less group races by you enthusiastic souls out there.

The upload windows are too frequent and means the top trainers continue to win more handicaps with new rated horses than they should.

I feel in the interests of equality upload windows should be infrequent. Horses can eventually find their true level thus making competition more of a feature of the league.

I also agree with Hackett and Hurricane No transfers and no retirements.

I used the UK league to obtain a very low handicap mark for one of my runners and then transferred it over to the USA league to win a race. Also UK horses started off on a rating of 75 whereas the USA league started on 80 again an unfair advantage for transferred horses.

You got me with the coalition thing Rich quite right there was no coalition pre election very well done on that astute observation.

But you got the meaning anyway.

Personally my biggest change to the league would have to be graded races example 80-110 handicaps, reduced field sizes for group races and handicaps on certain courses with the top 12 rated horses getting in for group races.

I would even go as far as introducing graded boundaries for group racing for example G3 for horses rated 100+ group 2 for horses rated 104+ and group 1 races for horses rated 108+ but that is just a personal thing. I hate seeing horses rated below one hundred targeting group races instead of handicaps.

yeh steve i see your point on the upload windows !! but a couple are needed for the newer trainers to add better horses as the season progresses!!!

i just think the schedules need some tweaking, but nothing major. one thing i agree with completley and touched upon when the league stopped was that this season their MUST be an end to horses in group 1 races with form 000000000. it just makes an unnecessarily big field with half the horses having no chance whatsoever. horses under a certain rating should not be able to enter group 1's. if this is hard to enter in to TOM then just scratch all the horses with too low a rating after the noms close!!

but its obv up to rich on whether the shcedules will be improved slightly and whether these other aspects will be changed

All very good points, one the one hand I really like to see horses compete against each other all season, on the other I want those improving their horses by playing the game getting rewarded as well.

This is something I want to trial in USRA in the future. At the moment I think we need to reward those who play the game and improve their bloodlines, it's not realistic but from a gameplay angle it's important. Otherwise whoever is the best in week 1 is going to be the best in the season, fair? Maybe. Predictable and boring? Probably.

One thing I would like to see is a minimum of three runs before getting a handicap mark, that way you can only enter a handicap race once you've got a handicap mark. This is 1) realistic, 2) better for the game.

However, handicaps are almost always suited to those ahead of the handicapper, in real life and in the game.

Transfers: i've never really seen the point of

Retirements: i think this is fair, sometimes you upload a horse and it's total garbage.

I agree with a lot from everyone's posts... I think Retirements do come in handy as I have had some utter garbage where there has been no point in even having them in the league because they were finishing last in handicaps off 30!!!.

I do agree with no transfers bar possibly ukra to nha i.e. my horse at 2m on flat was decent could not compete with the likes of everyone elses horses that dominated on the flat but was able to win over the jumps. but overall I do agree with no transfers

Also agree with no uploads as there are times when my horses would look like winning a race of a decent mark but then an upload window would come and all these new better horses of silly marks would demolish mine!!!

All in all I think we should back the new president and get this league underway, forget the past and get cracking as for some of us trainers even winning a banded race might put a smile on our face which makes it that whole load better when winning a decent race as I'm sure everyone has at least one beast in the stables!!

So Many great ideas......None implemented.
If its not broken, dont fix it????
It was broken, it does need fixing.
Same schedules, same trainers, same races, same winners.

I don't think we can change who wins? As much as I'd love to win lots of races I have to admit other people have better horses, I don't deserve to win but that drives me on to getting better stock.

Happy to hear your ideas though scotty. What works fairly for everyone?

More handicaps and less group races.

Stop poor horses running in group races.

[quote="anubisrich"] At the moment I think we need to reward those who play the game and improve their bloodlines, it's not realistic but from a gameplay angle it's important.

Why is it important to reward these types of players?

Personally I would reward the players who play for the fun of the league and win hardly any races at all - and to do that we need to remove a great number of group races and replace them with bracketed handicaps.

...and stop top trainers removing their second string horses and replacing them with a fresh set of superstars every four weeks or so - it kills the league stone dead.

Agree with this totally, only way to fix this in my opinion stop them upload windows coming to often in game, can upload windows be opened to individual trainers? This would be great so that new trainers can start whenever they wish!

Regarding points above:

Flat schedule is very good but like mentioned would like to see more handicaps at all levels and maidens!

Again mentioned to many uploads lets get more of the competition aspect going in this league if my uploaded horses dont cut it and are only small handicappers then so be it but let me compete against the same sort of uploaded horses from other trainers! Gets frusrating to find the competition of your horses constantly changing with new uploads, top trainers good horses at start of season drop down to my level on uploads to make way for there new beasts in windows making my horses not even competitive in the smaller races.

Maybe some retirements (not loads mind) get trainers serious/selective about what they are uploading, but no transfers, i only play UKRA and i just used the whole of my transfers to put horses in the usra league which they would not even run in, whats the point!

30 runner fields are just silly in Group Races maybe the sprints have higher but come on 30 runners in the derby, 12 sounds a nice number and with ratings based entries at least it should be the best running not 98 rated horses entered just for the sake of it.

sounds like we are all pretty much agreeing on these things which can be easily changed. i think they can be implemented quickly and the league started quickly.

steve - would you be willing to create a new uk schedule including the improvements mentioned i.e. more maidens and handicaps. there were too many weeks where there were 2 6f group 1s and 2 1m2f group 1s and the lower trainers were left to enter only 5/20 races!!

the nhc schedule is pretty good but could be improved as it was done quite quickly i have been told. there are a number of people who have stated their enthusiasm (on yuku) to help create an even better nhc schedule.

as for uploads - would it not be easier to allow uploads at any point during the season??? for example, the stable sizes are set at x, and there are no transfers or retirements . Therefore top trainers can balance how many horses they upload to begin with to allow room for improvmement, new trainers can enter at any time and also 'feel their way into the league' as opposed to uploading 10 horses to find maybe only 1 or 2 are good enough etc.

maybe there are problems people will pick in that suggestion, but their is definitly a minor tweak which can be made to stable size/retirements/uploads/transfers which can improve the balance of it all

Those improving there stables can still upload a few to start and more of the chunk of there stable when they have, uploads could be stopped by a certain time in the season (ie derby June last window) to give the horses uploaded more of a seasons career, id like to see a true champion horse season to season, limited uploads will see to this and maybe horse will then appear in the league again the year after which hardly ever happens, trainers will always benefit from the improvements of there horses by selecting these horses for the next new season hopefully giving everyone the chance to compete, the best trainers will still be the best probably but the trainers at the bottom will be given consistent competition with those who have uploaded at there level.