Admin in Aussie Pub

[Vagabundo Stables]

Again I'd like to thank Carl for taking time out to talk to us tonight in the Aussie Pub.....

For those of you who were unable to make it. I'll try to post what I took from it and hopefully others will chime in on what I leave out...


1. I think the biggest news was that racing your horse too often affects its aging process. I assume this varies from horse to horse but it seems that whats best is to hold the horse out for the best race that you can win money in instead of running it 2-3 times per week to rack up wins. I probably worded that wrong....take it as a horse can only run so much before it begins to slow down. Probably the best way to put it.

2. There are no plans for a 3 month season.

3. Admin hopes to significantly improve membership. I think he said double by fall 2007.

4. They are still working on making some changes to the viewer "to make it more realistic" Related to this is horses passing on the inside and outside. These changes will be gradual.

5. New seasonal and allowance races are in the works along with applying the weight handicaps to other races. Weight handicaps will not affect claiming races. Month 2 will see another stakes races with weight handicaps.

6. A new newbie orientation section is in the works with contributions from Rory. Admin made it a point to say he is proud of the way the players are helping out the newbies.

7. Burky (Bill) is going to be working on making a stats page for stakes winners.

8. Fixing the lifetime mares/sires list is still on the list.

Right now that's all I can remember maybe others who were present can share anything else that I may have missed.

Good luck to you.

Brian

[Vagabundo Stables]

Also the idea of year long breeding was brought up. Nothing definite, seems to be up in the air. Probably a good time to express you opinions on it.

Brian

[Ginkamo Stables]

Unless something has changed, you can still breed all year long, you just can't breed yearlings, all year long.

[Hendersons Stables]

I don't know if anyone else did the same thing as me but I copied and pasted the whole chat and saved it for later review so any question or if there something someone can not remember I got the whole chat
[Thunder] 8:32 pm: next topic.... wet tracks. I believe the wet workout track is next to useless
[Stine] 8:32 pm: why Norm.....everybody leaving...lol
[Thunder] 8:32 pm: good in races no benefit in workouts
[Thunder] 8:32 pm: lol no Jeff
[admin] 8:33 pm: im on the verge of just removing it, here in the states there wont be any more off tracks pretty soon
James

[Thunder Downunder]

The only thing that I see missing from your list is that the wet tracks will be eliminated from the game both in racing and works in the near future. In essence, the track will always be Fast/Firm to bring it in line with the real (major) racing tracks in the U.S.

The major issue of the 3-month season was turned downed by admin because it would be a programming nightmare at this stage.

I may have missed the point about season-round breeding of yearlings. I don't this issue was resolved by admin. Hopefully he can post something in the Forum, one way or the other.

Thanks to the people who were able to spend some time in the Chat Room, I know admin was pleased to hear suggestions/concerns/praise and has promised to attend the Chat Room get-togethers a couple of times per month.

Norm

[Hendersons Stables]

Ok after looking at what I saved It only saved from 8:30 on did anyone else save the chat last night if so think you could send it to me?
James

[Phyl Farm Inc.]

I like the thought of no more wet tracks. Even though I have a couple of nags that like it wet. Ray is also correct. You can breed all year long. It's only that after the 1st you can breed only 2 year olds and up. The thought about racing too much is very interesting indeed. I guess once a week is plenty anyway. However,with that in mind I think the entries might tend to fall off and right now we can hardly afford that to happen. I guess it's a catch 22 so to speak. Or 6 of one half dozen of the other.

[Hendersons Stables]

ya I totally agree with you Sal + it would seem to lower the value of all horses since as of now they hardly ever run pass 4 yo's and now we need to start looking at how many races they have ran they could be 2 yo's with a bunch of races and already going on the down side(starting to slow down)? Of course I don't have the foggiest ideal on how many races a horse can run before they start to slow down and I am sure its different for each horse but it would seem like more of a chance buying a horse with a lot of races I no I'll think twice about buying a horse with a lot of races?just my 2 cents
James

[Ginkamo Stables]

Horses like Hopped Up and Heart of Oak are slowing down but they are still pretty fast.

[Vagabundo Stables]

Yes I'm sorry it was the idea of yearlong yearling breeding that I took to be a possibility. Sorry for the confusion.

[Aardvark Stables]

I'm not sure what Carl has decided about year-round breeding for yearlings, but I did find it interesting that horse regress not only as the years go by, but the more races they run. I went back and reviewed a few of the best horses and most run well up through 40 races or more. Corn Beef Hash looked like a word-beater running in his 42 race of his life. Hunting With Blanks is still running well with over 50 races in his life. I think the point that Carl was trying to make is that there are owners who run horses at levels that are too low for the quality of their horse (running in St Allow vs Stakes races). Since each horse has only a certain amount of "great" races, they are losing the opportunity to win more money in order to win a race. I don't think this information will change how I play the game as I don't generally look to claim horses with 30 races or more, unless I like them as breeders. I think there is enough horse-flesh on this site that fields will remain full (once the new season starts) if people run there horses where they fit and not just where they can get an easy win.

[Stine Stables]

I came in near the end of the chat but things seemed very positive. I thought I understood that yearling breeding all season long was a possibility but up in the air. Like I said I wasn't there the whole time.

Aging of horses - as I understand the horse will still age 1 year every season, however the number of races also affects a horse. As Sal said, this causes entries to fall off, however with aging in mind, you'll have to think twice, if you want to stay competitive in the stakes races. Race your horse too much in low value starter allowances and you may not be competitive past 2 or 3 seasons.

I think it would increase the value of a horse if it is truly a stakes horse and you only race it at that level. One you can race it past 3 years old, posibbly 4 or 5. Two you would have a very valueable horse for breeding or sale or auction. I like the idea. We may see horses now running past 3 years old. Now I just need one...

[Hendersons Stables]

ya I see your point Jeff,,this is a new thing right?or has it been like that cause the way you make it sound Aarduark that it is already like that?Is this something to happen in the near furture...man cant believe I didnt get the whole chat saved....lol....
James
RE:After looking at the chat from last night I see it is already like that does anyone know how long its been like that or is this something pretty new?

[Stine Stables]

I didn't read Aardvarks post, it wasn't there yet when I posted. I took it to mean that it's always been like that......not sure now that I think about it. Aardvark raises a point that horses like Corn Beef Hash still running strong after 42 races. Now , at 3 years old and 42 races, when is the number of races going to start affecting him? Possible in the 4th year? I'm hoping we'll get to see him race through his 5th year since he's gelded and there's no reason to retire him.

He hasn't raced a s allow since his 13th race when I suppose Belmont figured out what he had and has only raced in Stake and Open A since. I wouldn't say he's been wasted but maybe if he only ran half as many races he'd maybe still be going strong in his 4th 5th and maybe 6th season. Hope we find out.

Now suppose if he'd only had say 20 races so far...definitely wouldn't have won as much money but perhaps run into his 6th season....???? and then maybe still win as much money as he has now or maybe more....???

For a stable like mine that would be great having a horse like that carry my stable and perhaps break even or better and still having 15-20 horse racing....????? Something to think about.

[Aardvark Stables]

My take is, the number of races have an impact on your horse has always been in the game. For some reason, I was thinking that only age was a factor. Also, Carl mentioned that the decline is "gradual". CBH will not all of a sudden be unable to win at $2K.