Costs of Owning Horses

[The Steward]

It is important not to buy more horses than you can afford. Here is a breakdown of the most common costs.

MAINTENANCE COSTS
Day Rate - $5 per horse per day, for all horses except foals and pensioned horses. New Players (those in their first 20 weeks of game play) are excluded from paying the day rate. If you own 100 active horses, they will cost you $500 per day.

Board - Board is a weekly charge that is assessed at 12:00 AM Pacific time each Sunday morning. The charge can range from $20 - $200 per horse, depending on which farm or track the horse is at when board is assessed. If a horse is in transit at the time board is assessed, its location (and therefore board rate) is its destination. If a horse is boarded at a player's own farm, then a board fee is not charged. Generally, racetracks have a higher board than farms.


RACING RELATED COSTS
Shipping - Shipping a horse always costs at least $100, and can run as high as $1800 when going halfway around the world. While horses never *have* to be shipped, most racehorses will need to be shipped on a somewhat regular basis, in order to run in the most ideal races; as well as to and from farms, if players want their horses to have the benefit of farm rest between races.

Entry Fees - Entry fees only apply to stakes races, and are always 1% of the purse. (So, $500 entry fee for a $50,000 purse.) The entry fee is taken out of the player's bank at post time; therefore, a player can enter stakes races and scratch repeatedly, without paying an entry fee.

Veterinarian - A visit by Dr. Hacklu costs $500 for New Players, $700 for Junior players, and $1000 for all other players.

Horse Whisperer (SIMperior members only) - A visit by Clark Hoss costs $500 for New Players, $700 for Junior players, and $1000 for all other players.


There are a variety of other costs that players might need to pay at any given time -- sending younger horses to Greener Pastures, nomination fees, stud fees, treatment for injuries, etc. But the above are the most common that a player needs to keep in mind, when considering how many horses to own.