Intro to Racing

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Intro to Racing

Where to Enter
Entering your horses couldn't be easier, and is all done through Quick Enter. This is what we call entering when you use the 'Find a Race' button on a horse's page (found in the Racing Information section) - you will see the button just above the section with their energy/condition bars. This search works in tandem with a horse's race preferences and will automatically pull up a list of all available races that meet the restrictions you've set in those. So long as you've set preferences, this is the way you'll be entering races. For more information on how to set preferences, be sure to refer to the Race Preferences Help found on that page.
How to Enter
When using Quick Enter, simply hit the 'Find a Race' button. In many cases, you will be provided with several races that fall within your selected parameters. However, if you have your race preferences set too narrowly, you may pull up very few or no races. Keep in mind that the amount of races vary based on age, breed, and whether it is off-season. For example, 2yos don’t have any races until May and STBs have limited cards in A meets. In order to use Quick Enter, you must have Race Preferences set. It is strongly recommended that you enter within your home region, or the region that your Home Track resides in. In addition, horses have a Home Track Advantage when entered on their home track as long as they are assigned that track via their Manage page. Racing away from home can be detrimental to some horses and others can handle travel better. If you suspect your horse does not like to travel, try entering them at their home track and to see if their racing improves. When you have found a race you would like to enter, simply hit 'Enter'. It is not recommended to enter more than one race per meet, per horse unless that horse has been given Sugar Cubes.
When to Enter
FFH runs on a bi-meet schedule, meaning that for each month during the racing season, there are two racing meets. During off-season, the month consists of one long meet. Entry fees are the same the entire meet, so it does not matter when you enter.
What Equipment to Use
Horses may start out needing any sort of equipment - from nothing to everything. You can figure out what tack they need through notes in Buddy Workouts and/or races. The Race Notes Guide can help you determine which tack to add or remove from a horse when you see one of these notes. If you're starting out with older (or Horse Trader) horses, it's a good idea to put a whip on most horses as it's most often necessary. However, it's best not to equip a whip to 2 year olds until they give a note indicating they need it. Beyond that, you should always wait to change equipment until you see notes. A horse’s tack (equipment) needs can change throughout their lifetime. Likelihood of change is based upon Courage (for ‘confidence’ tack) and Consistency (for ‘control’ tack). Horses with low Courage or Consistency are more likely to need new tack, while horses with high Courage or Consistency are more likely to lose the need for tack. These changes can happen at yearly rollover or when a horse performs buddy workouts. The more BWs a horse does during a year, the less likely they are to experience changes at the yearly rollover. In other words, doing more BWs decreases the odds of random changes at the start of the year. Tack needs may be diagnosed during buddy workouts. Each time a horse does a BW, there is a chance, but not a guarantee, that they’ll show a tack note (if needed). The chance for discovering tack needs through BWs is increased when the horse runs with a buddy who has the Insightful trait. With proper planning, you may be able to discover all of a young horse’s initial tack needs before they ever see the track, which can be quite useful in getting 2 year olds off to a strong start.

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