New Player Walkthrough Part 4: Expenses

Original article written by Madelene Gilbert posted 15 years 0 weeks ago

Expenses:

There are different expenses that are involved with owning horses. These include boarding fees, shipping fees and vet fees. Some of these can be unexpected and come at great expense, so it’s always good to keep extra money (that $20,000 I mentioned before) in your bank account.


Boarding fees:

Your horses have to stay somewhere, right? You have two options for housing your horses: either at a racetrack or on a farm. Tracks are run by the game and the boarding fees are set. Farms are individually owned by trainers, who set their own fees. Boarding your horses at farms is usually less expensive than boarding at the track (depending on where you go). Also, horses recover faster when boarded at a farm as opposed to the track.

Boarding is paid once a week, shown as "Board Paid", and is calculated at midnight on Sunday. The boarding fee is based on wherever your horses happen to be on that night and includes all of your horses (except foals; they don’t count towards fees).

There are two farms in particular that are good for new players, as they offer free boarding. Madrona Ridge Farm is owned by Ryen Hanna and is located in Washington state, just a few hours away from Trial Park. Whispering Oaks Stables is owned by Ronda Figal and is located in Kentucky. This farm is within easy shipping distance to most of the east coast tracks. Boarding at either or both farms is a great way to save money on boarding costs.


Shipping:

You pay shipping fees anytime you move a horse from one location to another. Shipping is calculated by travel time and distance, depending on where the horse is and where he/she is going. The lowest possible cost is $100 one way. Note that shipping is not automatic; you have to physically send your horses to and from the track.

You can ship your horse to the track immediately when you enter a race or directly there from the “My Entries” page. I recommend doing one of those two, as you can accidentally send your horse elsewhere if you ship from the horse profile page. In order to ship a horse back to a farm, you have to do so from the horse’s page. Or, if you find yourself running at local tracks, it’s easier to set a Home Location for you horse. You can do so from the horse’s profile page. This will allow you to send the horse back to the farm from the “My Results” page, similar to how you can send them to the track from the “My Entries” page.

Be sure to check the shipping menu though; sometimes there will be a cheaper farm closer to your track. Use the “Sort by Travel Time” option, and be sure to scroll down through the menu, as the list is organized by time not by the shipping cost. Yes, it can be cheaper to ship from a longer distance. For instance, if you race in New Mexico, it is cheaper to ship to Kentucky than it is to Washington.

Shipping does fatigue your horses a bit, so it is unwise to ship your horses the day of the race. The longer distance you ship, the more fatigued your horse will be. You can easily get away with shipping Tuesday horses on Sunday (after you pay the weekly boarding fees) and Friday horses on Tuesday. Of course, if you horse is going to be traveling for more than 5 or 6 hours, it’s wise to give them more time to recoup at the track. If your horse is being shipped halfway across the globe, a week’s rest or more is recommended. However, your horse shouldn’t need more than 2 weeks to recover from shipping fatigue.

Now why spend so much money on shipping horses to and from the track? Why not leave them there? Yes, chances are the fees shipping both to and from a nearby track (the $100 fee) are going to be more than what you would pay if you just kept your horse there. But remember, horses rest up much better at a farm than at a track. Trainers will tell you that shipping the horse to a farm is worth the little extra money. Most of the time it’ll only be a $30 to $70 dollar difference anyway between boarding at a track and the shipping costs.


Vet and Injuries:

Dr. Hacklu is our resident veterinarian here on the SIM. For a small fee he can tell you the condition your horse is in; whether he/she is ready and raring to go, or if he/she is fatigued and not at peak performance. For new players, this fee is $500. Note that this will increase as you get further along ($700 for Junior High, $1000 for regular players).

Not every horse needs to be vetted all the time. This is a waste of money that you’ll probably need later. In fact, if you play the game smart, chances are you will only need to see the vet once or twice. Given your horse is well rested and at the track in time, he/she will be more than ready to race. Most players generally vet check right before a big race or a week or so after a workout, just to make sure the horse isn’t fatigued or anything else is wrong. If, for instance, your horse is running in a tough field on a Friday and you’re not sure how they’ll perform on two weeks rest, then a vet check will tell you if he/she is at peak performance, is willing to run but not 100%, or won’t be able to run at all.

You shouldn’t have to vet check your horses after buying them. It’s not really necessary. You also don’t need to check on your horses every single day. The vet’s reports will vary depending on your horse’s recent activities. If you vet check immediately after shipping, working or racing, the results will be much more dramatic (reports of fatigued, run down, etc) than if you wait a while afterwards.

Sometimes horses will become injured. When this happens, a vet fee will automatically be deducted from your bank account to pay for the visit and repairs. Some injuries are just the luck of the draw, but most usually occur by over-racing your horses or working yearlings too early in the year. As stated previously, horses need about 2-3 weeks rest in between races. If you run back to back weeks (with some stakes exceptions) or even every single Tuesday/Friday, you run the risk of injuring your horse and even killing them. For yearlings, working them early in the year (Weeks 1-4) carries a much greater percent chance of injuries as opposed to later in the year. However, both over-racing and early workouts can be easily avoided, and therefore sudden injuries (and costs) can also be avoided.


Horse Whisperer:

If you have SIMperior, this is another option. Basically, the Horse Whisperer tells you what kind of surface (dry or sloppy) your horse prefers to run on. This will vary depending on your horse. It's also a good idea to note this, so you don't have to repay for his services. He costs the same amount as the vet.
(Weather conditions will be explained later)


Make sure you are aware of these expenses and that you always have enough in your bank account to cover sudden costs. If, by chance, you fall into the negative and can’t pay the fees in full your horse (aka the money culprit) may be removed from your stable. And you certainly don't want that!


Now we’re finally ready to get those horses to the track! Part 5 (and perhaps Part 6) will discuss everything you need to know about the racing aspect of the SIM.

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