An Interview with Glenn Larson

Original article written by Regina Moore posted 9 years 2 weeks ago

Year 37 was two-thirds over when Glenn Larson joined the SIM. He introduced himself on the Forum, asked for a mentor, and Carolyn Eaton assigned him to me. By extension, I also was a mentor to his brother Mike, who joined about ten days later.

A lot of times, as a mentor, I’m puzzled by how *few* questions some players ask. But Glenn and Mike both were extremely enthusiastic and eager to learn, ponder, and discuss, which was a delight for a still-highly enthusiastic player such as myself. They both ranked high on the new player rankings, in a very tough crop of newbies. Ultimately, Glenn was named New Trainer of the Year for Year 38.

A very special thing had happened that year. In Year 37, the last yearlings of the now-defunct Dare to Dream program, for newbies, had been distributed. A turf miler filly, who would later be named Borrowed Omen, went to a player who left the game, and Glenn picked her up off the new player list. She won her first stakes Week 14 of Year 38, and then gave her newbie owner the thrill of a SIM lifetime when she ended the season with a wire-to-wire victory in the Steward’s Cup Juvenile Turf fillies. At three, she went from wow to scary, and won four Grade 1 races and received the SIMMY for European Three Year Old Female. Now, at four, she has added another Grade 1 victory to her considerable resume.

In the meantime, Glenn took advantage of free breedings to War Lock, and picked up a nice turf miler mare off the AJ list for $1,000 named Talk to My Hoof. The breeding to War Lock produced the scary filly Hooves of Andraste, who is now two and has won both of her starts, including a sponsored Grade 1, with ridiculous ease.

So, let’s see what Glenn is willing to share with everyone about himself and his SIM stable.

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Q. Would you like to share a brief bio of your personal life?

I grew up in a small town in Northern Maine and earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maine at Orono. I worked in the defense aerospace industry for 26 years, retiring in 2005. I picked up a couple of Masters degrees along the way and now teach high school Math, Cyber Sciences and AP Physics. I have 4 sons, the youngest of which is a 3rd year Cyber Engineering student at Louisiana Tech University. My other 3 sons (and 3 grandchildren) are scattered from Cali to Washington state to Florida. I live in northwest Louisiana with the sweetest Mississippi cowgirl and wife of 7 years, Tammy. We raise barrel racing and track racing Quarter Horses and Paint Horses as well as Fainting goats.


Q. How would you describe your SIM stable?

Evolving? Eclectic? I have too many horses! I am having some small success in the TB miler divisions. The router divisions are very tough, but I am working toward having some decent horses there, too. Outside of the TB divisions, I really like my Appys, Paints, Pacers and Chasers...


Q. You appeared to start out getting involved with all breeds and types. Do you still do that, or have you tried to narrow your stable down somewhat?

I knew that, starting out, I couldn't expect to have consistent big money winners. I decided that I would make it up in volume! I started over 3500 races in my first full year. Even though my earnings per race were not high, I won over $5.5M. I bought or claimed any horse I could find that I thought had a chance to finish in the money. I responded to every new player offer for starter horses or packages and I scoured the AJ barn for new horses and dispersals. After two full seasons, I have finally begun to focus where I am successful. I am working hard to reduce the size of my barn.


Q. How did you find SIM?

I love strategy games and was looking for something new. At the time I had been playing Mafia Wars and Train Station and ran across this simulation on the internet. I was instantly hooked. The only games I play now are this and Ingress.


Q. What has been your favorite moment in SIM?

It has to be Borrowed Omen winning the Juvenile Filly SC Turf Mile in 38, my first full year. I can can't claim that I was a training genius and I was definitely clueless about how special she would become. I sure made a lot of noise that night. I think Tammy was concerned that I might have a stroke. If you've won a SC race, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, I hope you find out!


Q. What do you enjoy most about playing SIM?

Developing my stable and racing. Beyond the mechanics of the game, I love the interaction with other players. There are some really great people playing here.


Q. What do you find most frustrating or challenging about playing SIM?

Waiting.... for gallops, between races and breaks...


Q. How much time do you think you spend each day playing SIM?

Too much, but I love it. Probably at least an hour a day.


Q. You introduced your brother Mike to the SIM shortly after you began playing. Do you two do your own thing, or are you always trying to help each other out?

In the beginning, we communicated via phone or text several times each day. We each have our own approach, but are right behind each other all the way. If I can't win, I hope he does. He has some outstanding horses. We still talk about the SIM several times a week.


Q. You breed a lot of your own horses. Do you have a specific strategy, or do you try all sorts of different things and hope something works?

Maybe some of both. I am trying to develop a strong broodmare band so I spend time researching mares and bloodlines. In the beginning, I bred a lot of marginal horses just hoping to get something decent. I am a lot more picky about what mares I breed now and what stallions I use. If I find a certain pairing that seems to work, I look for mares with that bloodline. Virtually all the young horses I race now are homebreds.


Q. Do you still buy horses regularly? If so, what do you look for?

In general, the only horses I buy now are broodmares or broodmare prospects. I might buy a racer if I thought I knew it was outstanding. Can't seem to ignore the stewbred auctions!


Q. What are your plans for your two Grade 1 turf mile fillies, Borrowed Omen and Hooves of Andraste?

I expect to run them both in the Steward's Cup races this year. Borrowed Omen has dueled Blunt Regard in some classic races over the last two years and will almost certainly again in the SC. She will likely retire at the end of this season and I am hopeful that she will be as good a broodmare as she has been a racer. She's 3x3 to Performing Tricks – seems like a great match for Held High. If Em doesn't talk me out of the first foal, that's my first thought. I am very excited about Hooves. I had an offer of almost $2M for her before she ever raced, but I passed with the hope that she will be as much fun as Borrowed Omen has been. My brother, Mike, also has a really fast 2 yo turf miler filly, Icy Manipulator. I'm looking forward to them battling in the SC. Looking to the future, I always have the breeding shed in my sights and my plan is that both of these girls will join Talk to my Hoof as anchors in my turf miler breeding program.


Q. Hooves of Andraste is a homebred. What prompted you to pick out her dam?

I bought Talk to my Hoof out of the AJ barn based on her race record. She had won over $200k, including a graded stakes race and had finished OTB 10 out of 11 trips. I would buy a mare like that any day. She turned out to be a Star mare and nicked A- to War Lock. My mentor (that would be you, Regina) had generously offered me some free breedings to War Lock in his first year at stud, so that decision was easy. I also have a wow yearling colt that is a full sibling to Hooves.


Q. Do you have any others, besides the above fillies, that you're particularly excited about?

The District is a stew bred turf miler 2yo that I hope will do well and perhaps be a viable stud. Mostly Mad is a TB dirt miler mare that will retire at the end of this year. Her race record reminds me of Talk to my Hoof, so I hope that she will be a cornerstone of my dirt miler breeding program. Spiritual Focus is a scary yearling homebred colt that has promise as a TB dirt miler. I had 23 other scary non-TB yearlings this season and so I am very optimistic about the future. Among my racing age mixers, I like Cream and Beer and Caliente Big Bang - both Appys.


Q. If you were going to introduce someone to SIM, what would you most emphasize that makes it fun?

The interaction with other players. The game can be played in isolation, but it is much more fun to share both your achievements and disappointments. I would encourage every new player to be active in the forum and in the chat room. As far as the game itself, I think that there is no “one way” to play and that makes it interesting. Goals and playing style are up to the owner.


Q. You’ve already had so much success for an intermediate player. What are your short-term goals, and long-term goals?

My short term goal is to be more focused, but I struggle with cutting divisions. For example, I had decided earlier that I was going to back out of the QH breed for a while because it is overrun with scaries and my QH's are not awesome. But, as soon as I decide that, I find Midnight Turns in my barn and he's running fast times and wins the Boos Maker Stakes. So now I am reconsidering whether to stick with QH or not! Long term, I want to conquer the world! I hope to learn enough about the game that I won't always feel like a flippin' newb. Eventually, I would like to be able to produce winning homebreds year in and year out and I want more Steward's Cups!!!!


Q. What do you think is most important thing for a new player to understand about SIM?

That your SIM stable, like Rome, won't be built in a day. There is so much to learn and there are so many layers of complexity that a new player should expect to spend a lot of time just reading and learning. Also, new players have some distinct advantages. A smart newbie will make sure they know what those advantages are and make full use of them.


Q. What do you think new players should focus on, their first week or so?

Besides jumping into the forum and asking for a mentor, just read, read and then read. If I was a newbie (as if I'm not) I would probably try to get into Appys via new player offers in the forum and I would pick up some TB's out of AJ and run them nowhere but Trial Park. Any new player who doesn't understand the value of running at Trial Park needs to go back to step 1, ask for a mentor and start reading again.


Q. You’ve had experience with your bank balance hitting peaks and valleys. Is there any advice you want to offer, in terms of money management?

If that question was about money management for newbies, I would say “calm down, you don't have to spend it all today. Find a mentor, get advice.” If the question is about money management in general, then I think players had better have an idea of expected earnings versus expenses. Make a realistic assessment of your racing barn. If you have been winning $10k per week on the average with $10k of expenses, it's going to be hard to breed horses or buy more horses. On the other hand, if you are winning $300k/wk with $50k of expenses, then you have some options. Make sure you know what you are doing before you let your barn get out of control. I was very aggressive adding horses early, but I thought I knew what I was doing.... lol, I'm really not sure if I did or not!


Q. What changes are you most hoping to see with SIM 6.0?

I hope there is a quiz feature that makes sure that new players know what they are doing before they get into trouble. I hope that something can be done to improve the race betting features. Besides that, I love the game as it is. I am very curious about the upcoming changes to gallop comments and the addition of interbreeding between TB, QH, Appy and Paint.


Q. Is there anything I haven’t asked about, that you want to answer?

Khaki's. I'm wearing khaki's.

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