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First Strides
Horse Care
Racing
Distance & Surface
Viewing Results
Style & Pace
Tracks & Jockeys
Grades of Races
➤Evaluating Talent
Entering Races
Performance Ratings
Campaigning
Series Races
Racing Awards
Transitioning
Off Season
Color Shows
Breeding
Stats & Traits
Genetics
Change Log
Item Database
Horse Care
Racing
Distance & Surface
Viewing Results
Style & Pace
Tracks & Jockeys
Grades of Races
➤Evaluating Talent
Entering Races
Performance Ratings
Campaigning
Series Races
Racing Awards
Transitioning
Off Season
Color Shows
Breeding
Stats & Traits
Genetics
Change Log
Item Database
Evaluating Talent
| Introduction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Factors and Tools | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As you will learn throughout this page, there are many factors that go into determining your horse’s talent and grade level, and this page will explore the tools that can be used to help a player do so in a useful manner. While Potential isn’t the only factor at play, it is considered the baseline for determining a horse’s talent level. Potential, as discussed in the Stats & Traits section of the Handbook, is simply the sum of a horse's six base stats. For players with Hidden Stats, you can see their exact potential while players without Hidden Stats can see a Potential Range. If a horse has 1 Breaking, 1 Early Speed, 1 Versatility, 1 Rating, 1 Acceleration, and 1 Late Speed their Potential would be 6. On the other hand, a horse with a 10 for each stat would be 60 Potential, otherwise known as Peerless. Potential is simply another word for aptitude or talent. It is a measure of a horse's predisposition for racing well - or racing poorly. The higher a horse's Potential, the more likely they are to end up performing in the highest grades of races. |
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| Entry Suggestions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How it's Calculated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Entry Suggestions can be found on your horse’s main page just below the ‘Find A Race’ Button. On this page, we will only be discussing the “Grade” portion of Entry Suggestions. It will display as Allowance, Grade 3, Grade 2 or Grade 1. It is calculated using the following factors: current Potential, current Peak % and current levels of Courage and Consistency. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What it Indicates | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Your horse’s Entry Suggestion Grade gives you an excellent idea of where to enter your horse. This would be a solid guideline for where your horse will place best against other horses. If a horse is performing very poorly at his suggested level, it’s a great time to ask a moderator or admin for help determining what might help your horse perform better! It is important to keep in mind with two year old racers that if a horse displays Grade 1 - the only juvenile G1 races are Series races so it is perfectly acceptable and good practice to prepare for series races for your two year olds in G3 or G2 races. Icons for horses aged two and three will display their capability for being young horse Series runners - Gems, Trinities, Midsummer Futurities and Derbies, and the Fairs! Hovering over the icon will indicate what your horse is a good candidate for. When determining if a horse gets a Series Icon, it considers peak and distance aptitude genes. If your horse doesn't have a Series Icon, it doesn't mean it shouldn't be trained and raced in the young horse Series races - the Grade Suggestion is just choosing the most likely ones. |
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| Performance Ratings (PR) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What it Measures | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Performance Ratings are a measure of how well a horse ran in a specific race. You can purchase these as a stablewide upgrade, but you can also estimate them by looking at a horse who placed before or after your horse in the race: Lengths Apart * 2 = Difference in PR.
PRs can vary from race to race for even the most accomplished horses. They are influenced by many factors each to varying degrees. Some larger components of PR include: Potential, Peak, Rest, Morale, Equipment notes and in some cases Mud and Experience. Other components of PR include: Energy, Consistency, Courage, Experience, Favorite Distance, Distance Proficiency, Surface Proficiency, Equipment, Jockey (and Familiarity), Track Conditions (Mud), Style Proficiency, sometimes Colt Composure/Filly Power, Track Familiarity, Travel, Soundness, Maturity, Pace, and Track Bias. This sounds like a whole lot of stuff, but it gets a lot easier to understand as you begin to race more! It is worth noting here that injuries incurred during a race can reduce PRs and some things that have little to no influence on PR can contribute significantly to chance of injury. |
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| What it Indicates | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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You can use PR to determine what grade your horse should race in, as it is the most specific and detailed way to gauge a horse's true ability at a specific point in time. While all horses will experience rise and fall in PR, a significant change in PR can also indicate a problem. A horse could run a 200 PR one week and turn around and run a 190 PR the next week, but running 200 and then 150 would be concerning. Looking at the various factors that contribute to PR can help you determine why your horse's score might vary. Horses who are downgraded will also have handicapped PRs, causing them to run a lower PR than they would have in the appropriate grade. Performance Ratings are never a reliable indicator of talent if accompanied by a 'Handily' note. Should you ever see this note, enter your horse in a higher grade immediately. Always keep the date of last PR in mind. If a horse's last PR was 6+ months ago, it may in no way indicate their current capabilities. If you're looking at a 4 year old who last raced as a 2 year old, you might as well ignore their previous PR(s). |
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| Putting it Together | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What to Use When | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Now you're probably feeling a bit confused about when and where to use the various ways to measure your horse's talent. While any and all of these measures can be useful throughout a horse's life, there are certain times when one may be more useful than others. The sections below give some general guidelines as to determining where to enter horses of various ages and circumstances. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 Year Olds & 3 Year Olds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2 year olds, as a whole, are lower (current) Potential than older horses as they have not yet reached their maximum Potential. There is not significant difference between one horse and another, so Potential is rarely the deciding factor in 2 year old races. What is the most important factor? Peak! In fact, a 6 potential 2 year old can win series races over much higher Potential horses if their Peak and other smaller factors are better. PR can be useful as the year goes on - however, Potential is rarely a reliable grade or talent indicator for 2 year olds. 3 year olds are often somewhat in the same boat - as they are not maxed usually when it’s time for their Series races. |
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| Normal Mature Horses | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Normal older horses are loosely defined as horses who are maxed in Potential, have high Morale, and are at Peak. These horses are the easiest to manage and enter in races, as they are very straightforward with little variability. Unless there is a problem, high Potential horses should race well. When determining what grade a mature horse should be competitive in, look to Grade Suggestion. This is the easiest evaluation method and, thankfully, reliable for most well-attended horses. |
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| Special Circumstances | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Every now and then you will come across horses with special circumstances. These may be horses who meet any of the following cases: out of Prime and losing Peak, low Morale, and/or low Courage and/or Consistency. Performance Ratings are the most reliable indicator of what grade horses with special circumstances should enter. You may also find PRs more useful when determining whether a horse should enter regular G1 races or Stellar races or when deciding which of your horses to campaign for series races. |
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| Guidelines | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The chart below serves as a loose guideline for choosing which grade to enter. . When in doubt, always check PR if a recent, not 'Handily', PR is available.
If you don't have Hidden Stats (and exact Potential) and don't want to calculate out PRs, you can use the chart below to figure out what grade to enter based on your horse's Potential range. This guide is for horses entering 3yo+ division races. Younger horses of any potential may be able to enter higher grades. Refer to Peak (or PR) for young horses. It's recommended that you start with the lower suggested grade for a horse's first race as they will probably have race notes. After that, try entering them in the higher grade a few times to see how they do. Only bump back down to the lower grade if a horse is never placing 6th or better.
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