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The Art of Running Through Conditions

Original article written by Regina Moore posted 8 years 0 weeks ago

The word "conditions" can be broadly defined as all the parameters of a race -- age, sex, distance, class level, etc.

However, a more specific, narrow definition concerns the maximum success level of the horses that can enter. In race descriptions, the NW2 (non-winners of 2 races), NW3, NW4, and NW5 designations are what are meant by this narrow definition of the conditions of a race. While similar to class, such conditions aren't exactly the same the thing. The allowance class of races has conditions, and the claiming class also has conditions. Conditions are a way of restricting the entries in a race to those horses that theoretically have the same level of ability. Stakes races don't have these conditions, since they presumably attract a superior quality of horse, and by their nature are open competition, beyond the typical age and gender designations.

There's a logical progression of conditions which, in theory, follow along with the incremental success of a horse. In other words, a horse would start out in a maiden race (which is another way of saying NW1 -- non-winners of one race), and once breaking its maiden, it would proceed to NW2, and then to NW3, etc. Doing such is known as "running through its conditions", which is the typical goal for horses that aren't stakes quality.

If a horse is fortunate enough to win five races in SIM before its form declines (prompting retirement), it is "out of conditions", since there's no such thing as NW6. The horse would then only be able to race in highly competitive open company.


THE DEFAULT IS TO FOLLOW THE CONDITIONS
All other things being equal, I strongly recommend entering a horse according to its conditions. Race a maiden in a maiden race. Enter a winner of one race in a NW2, enter a winner of two races in a NW3, etc. If, for example, you enter a winner of one race in a NW4, your one-race winner is competing against horses that have likely won three races, which means they are much more experienced with success than your horse is. Winning races is difficult enough, without giving your horse a harder hill to climb than is necessary.

Yet, of course, in actual practice, things are rarely this simple and straightfoward.


CONDITIONS ARE ONLY ONE FACTOR
With any race, conditions are only one of the factors in deciding where to next enter your horse. If he is a maiden winner, then you'll likely be shopping for a NW2. But what if there aren't any nearby NW2 races available the week your horse can next run? You can wait another week and hope that a NW2 is available. Or, you can decide to go ahead and run in the NW3, especially if, say, the weather is to your horse's liking, or the distance is one he's particularly good at. Or, you might decide to ship a little longer than normal, to run in a NW2.

There isn't a black-or-white "right thing to do" in any of these situations. Part of your job as a trainer in SIM is to make these types of decisions on a horse by horse, race by race, basis. When you get experienced with weighing all the factors, you'll have more confidence in deciding which is the best race to enter your horse in, at any particular time.


A CONDITION IS ONLY AN ACRONYM
A condition, such as NW3, is only an acronym. All it can do is prevent horses that have already won three races or more from being eligible to enter. However, while one would normally expect a NW3 to have a field consisting of horses that have won two races, there might also be horses that have won only one race, and there could also be some maidens.

Early in the SIM year, with 2yo races in particular, it's common for a race with high conditions to have entries that haven't met the maximum restriction for those conditions. In other words, if it's Week 6, a 2yo NW3 race is highly unlikely to have entries that have won two races. If a youngster has already run -- and won -- two starts by Week 6, mostly likely that horse will next run in a stakes race. So, the NW3 will likely draw winners of one race, or even maidens. I've known such races to often have only maidens that enter, and be a small field, since most players won't consider a NW3 as a possibility for their maiden or winner of just one race.

Likewise, the new Saturday racing for mixers greatly expanded the number of non-stakes races. Because there's so many races to choose from, a NW5, for example, rarely consists of winners of four races. The entries have usually won fewer races than four.

Sometimes, a conditioned allowance race can have one or more entries that are dropping in class from stakes races, seeking an easy, confidence-boosting win. For example, a 3yo NW2 allowance race could attract a horse with six-figure earnings, while having only one win in its career. While such horses can be very tough for an ordinary allowance level horse to beat, it's never automatic that they're going to win. But if you can find another 3yo NW2 elsewhere for your allowance horse, you might want to bypass the race with the stakes caliber horse.


MIXING CONDITIONS WITH CLASS
Conditions get a lot more complex when one starts adding in the class factor. In other words, early in the season, I would consider a NW2 2yo allowance race to be much tougher than a NW4 claimer for 4yo+. The latter is for horses that have been racing for over a year and, at best, have only won three races, and are of the claiming class. Whereas, the allowance race is for horses that have already won a race, while racing just a few weeks, and are likely to be future stakes level horses.

For more discussion on mixing conditions with class level, please see my article "Understanding Classes and Conditions"(http://www.simhorseracing.com/featurerace/article.php?ArticleID=12928)


CONCLUSION
As a default, follow the conditions for each horse's career.

Don't be afraid, however, to jump up a level or two in conditions, if other factors are favorable toward your horse -- and most especially if the competition is more in line with your own horse, regardless of the stated condition of the race.


SIDE NOTE
In real life, many tracks write races with much more complex conditions than simply NW2, NW3, etc. For example, a race condition might say, "Non-winners of a race, other than maiden or claiming." So, a horse that won a maiden race, and then two claiming races, would be eligible to enter such a race, since those three wins don't count. Another example is, "Non-winners of two races worth $15,000 (or whatever) to the winner." In this case, a horse with lots of wins from a lesser track with cheap purses could still compete. Another example would be, say, for a track with a current meet that opened May 25th -- "Non-winners of three races since May 25th."

Some races can get even more complicated than the above, per this example from the current Del Mar condition book: Purse $78,000. (Plus up to $23,400 to Cal-Breds) For Fillies And Mares Three Years Old And Upward Which Have Never Won $10,000 Three Times Other Than Maiden, Claiming, Or Starter Or State Bred Or Which Have Not Won A Graded Stakes Race In 2015 Or Which Have Never Won Four Races. (Reading all that makes my brain tired -- and I even understand it.)

In SIM, I think the simple NW2 through NW5 conditions do a fairly good job at maintaining a level playing field for claiming and allowance races. Occasionally, players express a desire for conditions to be more complex, in line with real life, but I don't feel that it's necessary, or that it would be beneficial.



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