Thoughts on tweaks to mixer claimers

[Dave Trainer]

I'm pretty sure that suggesting claiming races below 15k all get a 10k purse is an increase on those currently only getting 5k.

It costs $880 to keep a horse per year plus shipping fees. One won in a 2500 to the winner race covers that. If the horse is so poor it can't win that amount per year just pension and put in pasture.

I have no problem with taxation on income at the end of the year.

I do have a problem with an arbitrary cap of x amount and lose everything above it. No, I don't have anywhere near an amount of money that would be above a cap.

[Randall Allen]

In my mind, I always thought the justification for the 15K purse amounts in the claiming races is that you are risking more, ie: losing your horse permanently. I frequently run allowances and sometimes stakes horses in the claiming races. Have I lost some to new players? Sure, but I took that chance running them because the purse amount was a bit higher.


If the amounts are downgraded as much as the Alaska ones, I highly doubt I would run horses like this https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.ph ... ID=1059566 and this https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.ph ... ID=1059593 in the claiming races anymore.

Because the risk would be there, but the reward wouldn't.


Check out this one, https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.ph ... ID=1063624 claimed from me week 1. I wouldn't have ran this one in the claiming races if the purses were lowball.

[Tammy Stawicki]

In my mind, I always thought the justification for the 15K purse amounts in the claiming races is that you are risking more, ie: losing your horse permanently. I frequently run allowances and sometimes stakes horses in the claiming races. Have I lost some to new players? Sure, but I took that chance running them because the purse amount was a bit higher.


If the amounts are downgraded as much as the Alaska ones, I highly doubt I would run horses like this https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.ph ... ID=1059566 and this https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.ph ... ID=1059593 in the claiming races anymore.

Because the risk would be there, but the reward wouldn't.


Check out this one, https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.ph ... ID=1063624 claimed from me week 1. I wouldn't have ran this one in the claiming races if the purses were lowball.

This to me makes the argument for why the purses should be smaller. If allowance/stakes horses are running in claiming races where are we supposed to run our productive and below gallopers to have a chance at being competitive. Right now when you have claiming races with higher purses than allowance races it makes sense to have nicer horses in them. Particularly geldings which are highly unlikely to be claimed in the higher money races. I've put stakes-winning geldings in claiming races and held onto them. If purses were more aligned to the percieved ability of the horse like the plan Laura floated earlier in this thread presumably horses would stratify more in the race types that fit with their ability. So sure a solid galloper wouldn't make as much money if it won a 3k claimer but it at least has a better shot to win said race.

[Randall Allen]

Let me start off by saying he gelded that horse after he claimed it. It was a colt when I ran it.

Tammy, I run them in those claiming races so new players can essentially buy a nice horse for that price. Imagine a new player has been playing the game for lets say a month or a few months and they have some garbage horses. The new player claims one for 32K and it happens to be an allowance or stakes. The new player thinks, 'Wow I got one over on that Randall Allen guy.' The new player wins several races with said horse and possibly even picks up their first stakes win.

What is the long term benefit? The new player gets interested and sticks around. I would rather players stick around than see another Barn Dispersal Auction, full of nags, from some newby that got tired of going nowhere in the Sim.

Plus the more poor players run in these high priced tag races and they can have more money to buy better things. It just doesn't make sense to me why anyone would want smaller purses and essentially cut their own and everyone else's throat. I honestly wish this topic had never even been brought up in the forum.

[Dave Trainer]

In my mind, I always thought the justification for the 15K purse amounts in the claiming races is that you are risking more, ie: losing your horse permanently. I frequently run allowances and sometimes stakes horses in the claiming races. Have I lost some to new players? Sure, but I took that chance running them because the purse amount was a bit higher.


If the amounts are downgraded as much as the Alaska ones, I highly doubt I would run horses like this https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.ph ... ID=1059566 and this https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.ph ... ID=1059593 in the claiming races anymore.

Because the risk would be there, but the reward wouldn't.


Check out this one, https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.ph ... ID=1063624 claimed from me week 1. I wouldn't have ran this one in the claiming races if the purses were lowball.

This to me makes the argument for why the purses should be smaller. If allowance/stakes horses are running in claiming races where are we supposed to run our productive and below gallopers to have a chance at being competitive. Right now when you have claiming races with higher purses than allowance races it makes sense to have nicer horses in them. Particularly geldings which are highly unlikely to be claimed in the higher money races. I've put stakes-winning geldings in claiming races and held onto them. If purses were more aligned to the percieved ability of the horse like the plan Laura floated earlier in this thread presumably horses would stratify more in the race types that fit with their ability. So sure a solid galloper wouldn't make as much money if it won a 3k claimer but it at least has a better shot to win said race.

Exactly Tammy.

Let me start off by saying he gelded that horse after he claimed it. It was a colt when I ran it.

Tammy, I run them in those claiming races so new players can essentially buy a nice horse for that price. Imagine a new player has been playing the game for lets say a month or a few months and they have some garbage horses. The new player claims one for 32K and it happens to be an allowance or stakes. The new player thinks, 'Wow I got one over on that Randall Allen guy.' The new player wins several races with said horse and possibly even picks up their first stakes win.

What is the long term benefit? The new player gets interested and sticks around. I would rather players stick around than see another Barn Dispersal Auction, full of nags, from some newby that got tired of going nowhere in the Sim.

Plus the more poor players run in these high priced tag races and they can have more money to buy better things. It just doesn't make sense to me why anyone would want smaller purses and essentially cut their own and everyone else's throat. I honestly wish this topic had never even been brought up in the forum.

Randall your argument makes no sense at all. If you want to help the new players just give them the horses so they can run them in races at Trial Park. If you put them in 32k claimers the chances are it won't be new players that buy them but experienced ones who can see their value.

[Randall Allen]

New and newer players have claimed them Dave and new players have turned around re-raced them and won races. I just gave an example in that you quoted.


You may not remember, but I used to run a contest for several years called Don't Mix Out, that gave away nice mixers, some of which were given to you when you were a new player. Case in point, when someone gets nice horses and win races they stick around. Also, there is no Trial Park for mixers so that statement was inaccurate.

I guess the fundamental question is whether we want the claiming races to be a place for pure trash only or a place where people can find diamonds in the rough.

[Tom Lin]

You can't turn barns upside down in a moments notice by revamping the claiming structure. We all have barns full of bad horses, especially since less are able to be sent away to AJ. If you need a change make it an addition to the present structure but making purses smaller isn't going to help anyone. An Alaska type track for mixers might get your bad horses raced, if you don't mind racing to cover your expenses.

If anything purses should be increased (on the higher end). Until the present structure was implemented there was limited interest in claiming and claiming races at best. Presently, I would suggest the claiming game is quite vibrant with horses being claimed at all levels.

I have always thought, the $3K level with it's current purse, is an excellent way for a newer player to get initiated into mixers due to it's profitablity.