Feature Race | Auction | Breeding | General | Hall of Fame | Harness | Interviews | Mixed Breed | New Players | Racing | Site Updates | Steeplechasing | Steward's Cup | Triple Crown
First Week Common Mistakes (By Somebody Who Made Them)
Original article written by Dan Gordon posted 14 years 4 weeks agoOK, I've only been a member for one week so who am I to write an article yet? Well, when you consider that I am Obsessive/Compulsive and thus read more articles and other info in one week than most people did their first month, I think that I am uniquely qualified for you to save dozens of wasted hours. More importantly, don't make the same mistakes that I did. Hopefully, you are reading this before having the same pitfalls.
1) Read every article. While I thought this was overkill while I was doing it, I suddenly felt sorry for everybody who didn't do it. There are valuable nuggets in every article that will have you being successful sooner rather than later. Some of the writers are incredibly talented and enertaining too.
2) Spend time at the forum - especially the newbie forum. Again, these are people like yourself that had the same questions and I was amazed at how many people were willing to help. On that, I made a few new friends just by asking what I thought was a dumb question. Two of them even gave me a free horse! I need friends like this in real life! Oh, and people have asked questions that never would have occurred to me. I can't stress this value enought.
3) Don't spend all your money the first week. Some idiot (oh, that would be me) couldn't help claiming horses and buying horses 5 a day. Um, I wish I held back. By building up money, you can then afford a few high quality horses which are better than a dozen maiden claimers.
4) Search hard for the right race. Short fields and/or low claimers in the midwest give you a much higher possibility of a win than a maiden special weight in California with a full field. I don't think many claims are made so you can risk it. And if your horse gets claimed, not a big deal, you can buy more horses!
5) Don't overtrain your horses. I think I worked every horse right after I bought them. More is not better in the SIM. After reading a lot, overworking will cause your horse to finish last more than underworking.
6) The SIM is less forgiving than real life. By this, I mean you can't win with a grass horse on dirt or "get lucky" and win a stakes race with a mid-level claimer. I'm not saying that the latter happens that much in real life but an insane speed duel and the right circumstances makes it an occasional happening. The SIM will not give you that lucky Grade One win.
7) Patience. I know I said not to overtrain. Well, it goes double for racing and freshenings are valuable. I know that I would want my horses racing every day if I could. But patience is a big-time virtue here.
8) Research the breeding.
Hopefully, my next article will be, "My First Stakes Winner". Until then, may all your photos have you winning by a nose.