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Shooting Yourself in the Foot - Treating Deadbeats Badly

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

The SIM tools, such as gallop levels and broodmare quality, are things that I find very helpful in managing my horses. Like labels in other aspects of life, they give players a common language and basis of understanding. But labels also have a dark side. They prompt stereotyping and narrow-minded thinking. They prompt laziness and a reluctance to think outside the box.

I have had fantastic success with getting some of my deadbeat horses to be successful, to the best of their ability, and sometimes way beyond what anyone (including myself) could reasonably think possible. Last year, I had a "different career" Paint router earn 75k, while being a stakes winner and twice stakes placed, thanks to small fields. This year, I've won a 75k turf mile stakes race with a "claimer" galloper in a five-horse field. I've got a ton of these types of examples -- too many to remember.

There are three keys to my success with bad horses:

1. I feel it's my responsibility, as a SIM trainer, to maximize the potential of each and every horse that I bothered to breed. After all, that's what I would expect of a trainer in real life.

2. I don't define a horse strictly by its gallop. I'm aware of its gallop -- and such assists me in making race selection decisions, etc -- but I view the horse as comprising of more factors than just its gallop.

3. I don't expect the horse to be more than it is, and I therefore work within the frame of its individual capabilities (however limited), rather than what I *wish* it could accomplish. Therefore, I don't get mad at it for being a deadbeat.

At first glance, those last two statements might seem like contradictions. It is a delicate balance -- believing the horse is more than just its low-level gallop, while also not expecting it to be more than it is. In a nutshell, I try to let the horse show me what it can do, and not over-think things.

I don't claim to know the ins and outs of the confidence factor, as it's programmed in SIM, but I do think, in terms of such, that there might be something to the idea of not letting a bad horse find out how untalented it is. If one picks their spots, and keeps the competition soft, however infrequently it means the untalented horse can race, it seems to me that some deadbeat horses can start believing that they're Hot Stuff, and race accordingly (relatively speaking). In fact, when I've had a low quality horse accomplish some nice things, I'm usually quick to pension it. Once it wins a few races, and the soft spots run out, I don't want the horse to then find out how bad it is, because it's such a bothersome idea. (Or worse, have someone claim it and hike it way up in class, so it'll get clobbered.) I'd rather pension the horse to pasture, so he can retain the illusion that he's Mister Big Shot.

Such sentiments aside, most events in life are dictated by human behavior, and human beings behave according to their beliefs. In you believe your deadbeats are, indeed, worthless deadbeats, that's going to be reflected in your management of the horse, and the horse is going to race like a deadbeat. So, that's shooting the horse, and therefore yourself, in the foot.

Instead, you can treat your low level horses with the same degree of respect as your good horses. It's understandable if you don't want to spend 500 game points to equipment check your claimers, but you can still give them weekly workouts, with alternating pieces of equipment, to at least get an idea of what each will race best with. If you're thinking, "I don't have time for that", then I have to ask... just how much time does it take to check off some boxes, and work all your horses as a group, using a different piece of equipment each week? I can't imagine that it would take as much as 60 seconds per week.

Likewise, how much sense does it make to throw your low quality horse in a race, in the name of "trying", with a full field of twelve horses -- most of which probably has more talent than it does? That's the actions of one resigned to defeat. At the very least, if you wait half a year, you still might be racing in a full field of twelve, if nothing else is available, but it'll be a field of eleven other horses that are also finding victory elusive, so your horse has a chance.

What's more, if you are giving your horses long gaps between races, keep them fit by giving them a workout every five weeks or so. Again, it's a few clicks that take less than 30 seconds.

Treat your horses with respect, and you might be surprised at how lavishly they reward you -- even when they have limited ability.



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