Undefeated horses and potential?

[Savina Lazaki]

So there's a horse I'm thinking about submitting a claim for, but I'm on the fence about it. The horse in question is currently undefeated, and what I'm wondering is does the SIM incorporate the idea/possibility of horses maybe having a little something extra they just haven't been asked for yet?

Do SIM horses/jockeys "know" when they have the win in the bag and not push for max? Or will SIM horses always turn in the highest speed figure the RNG gods will allow that day?

[Stormy Peak]

So there's a horse I'm thinking about submitting a claim for, but I'm on the fence about it. The horse in question is currently undefeated, and what I'm wondering is does the SIM incorporate the idea/possibility of horses maybe having a little something extra they just haven't been asked for yet?

Horses have a talent setting...such as 'claimer, allowance, stakes...etc. Horses can improve, and in some cases even go into decline. When you gallop a horse, it will tell you then if a horse has a chance to improve...by letting you know if it's a "Late Bloomer" or a "Progressive". If if it's a 'Peak" it's not going to get better, and in time will start to tail off.

A Late Bloomer can sometimes jump up into a better talent setting...a Claimer might jump up to a Productive. In some of the more rare cases and usually with horses that have excellent breeding, a 2 year old claimer - late bloomer, might even jump up to a stakes or even a freak.

But in my experience...a lot of times a claimer later bloomer only jumps up into like a Productive or an Allowance, but there's not a huge improvement in performance. They get a little bit better but usually don't set the track on fire.

Do SIM horses/jockeys "know" when they have the win in the bag and not push for max? Or will SIM horses always turn in the highest speed figure the RNG gods will allow that day?

No, the jockeys in the Sim don't have a huge influence in the out come of a race. A 'natural' type jockey might get your horse to finish by a nose over a jockey who just 'knows where the finish line is'


Hope that helps a little.
Other's might have different experience from what I have had. As for your potential claimer.... I never run my horses in claiming races...so I leave a lot of money sitting on the table. Claimers are a good source of income, but you can lose a horse. I run my different careers, claimer, and productive types in regular races all the time, and more often than not they earn enough money to pay for their upkeep...but too... I have 6 year old maiden geldings in my barn...lol....geldings who '*might* have won races in the claiming circuit.

Stormy

[Kelly Haggerty]

You can ask the bloodstock agent about horses in claiming races, if you wish. I've done this; however, it costs $10k so it is only worth it if the claimer is pretty high end.

[Savina Lazaki]

So I did that and got:

' ' is a really impressive animal. What are you waiting for? Buy! Buy! Buy!
Additionally, I'm not sure ' ' will ever be a steeplechaser."

So the question now then, is this real/accurate? Or is like the other lady whose hair catches on fire every time she sees a standardbred?

[Andrew Chillin]

Buy buy buy is accurate to a certain point. It means that horse should be productive gallop or better and that’s the best bloodstock agent can tell you.

[Nathan Klein]

"Do SIM horses/jockeys "know" when they have the win in the bag and not push for max? Or will SIM horses always turn in the highest speed figure the RNG gods will allow that day?" If the horse is way better then the rest of the field it'll likely not give it's highest speed figure. The horse will only do as much as he needs to win. A horse will give his best speed figure when another horses challenges him to do his best.

[Lance Macisaac]

Jockeys' only real use is to decide photo finishes. If two horses finish at the same time, the one with the better jockey will get the win. They don't really have AI so to speak. If it says "ridden out" or "urged along", that's just flavour text. So no, they don't let up on horses once they're clear in the stretch.

[Dylan Christensen]

Jockeys' only real use is to decide photo finishes. If two horses finish at the same time, the one with the better jockey will get the win. They don't really have AI so to speak. If it says "ridden out" or "urged along", that's just flavour text. So no, they don't let up on horses once they're clear in the stretch.

I’m almost 99% sure you’re wrong on this. Jockeys only mattering at the line is only to say that’s when hockey ability matters. The jockey will still let up on a horse.

[Lance Macisaac]

Jockeys' only real use is to decide photo finishes. If two horses finish at the same time, the one with the better jockey will get the win. They don't really have AI so to speak. If it says "ridden out" or "urged along", that's just flavour text. So no, they don't let up on horses once they're clear in the stretch.

I’m almost 99% sure you’re wrong on this. Jockeys only mattering at the line is only to say that’s when hockey ability matters. The jockey will still let up on a horse.

I may be wrong, but I've never heard of a jockey having any impact on a race at all other than in photo finishes.

[Savina Lazaki]

Judging by how that horse performed (won again by 1 1/2, lowest figure of career), and then scrutinizing some of my own horses and others I could find that have strung wins together, I think I'm going to assume an assumption along the lines of what Nathan mentioned.

I should not have included the "/jockeys" bit in the original question.

Thank you everyone.

[Mara Jade Vess]

"In the SIM, horses usually only run fast enough to win, so a standout horse in a mediocre race won't run that fast and thus won't get a very high speed figure" - source