Entering Races/Points System

[The Steward]

How to Enter
Entering your horse in a race is a simple process. Horses must be Age 2 or older to race, and can't be retired. Races are available to enter two weeks before post time.

Click on the Magnifying Glass on your horse's page and you will get a list of races that horse is eligible for. Pick one that you think best suits the horse and click on "enter this horse." Make sure that you ship the horse to the track before race day! You will not be allowed to ship away from the track once it is race day.

Where Should I Enter?
It can take some time to learn where to enter your horses. A horse who hasn't won a race yet should be in a maiden race, and a horse who has a hard time winning in "open" races should run in a claiming race. Look at the horse's parents. Were they better sprinting or routing? Were they better on turf, or dirt? That's where you should run your horse.

Points System

Look at any active horse's page, and you will now notice that they have points listed under their stats. These points are calculated on the following system:

Type 1st 2nd 3rd
Maiden 5 3 2
Maiden Claiming 5 3 2
Claiming 5 3 2
Allowance 10 6 4
NW2/3/4/5 Lifetime 10 6 4
Listed Stakes 20 12 8
Grade 3 Stakes 30 18 12
Grade 2 Stakes 40 24 16
Grade 1 Stakes 50 30 20
Special Stakes 100 60 40
The special stakes races are the Steward's Cup (any of those races), the American Triple Crown races, and the Desert World Cup.

Any race run before Week 1, Year 17, was given a total value of 10 points with the exception of the "Special Stakes" of Year 16. Those points were added in.

Any horse that is currently active that ran before Year 17 was given 5 points for a win, 3 points for 2nd, and 2 points for a third in anytype of race.

Points will be used to determine official rankings of each division, and also to determine the order of entries for stakes races, allowance races, and non winners races.

Preference in Races
Maiden races and claiming race are first-come, first serve. If you enter your horse into a maiden race which is not yet full, your horse is guaranteed a spot in the race (or a split race, should the original draw enough entries).

Stakes races and allowance races give preference to those horses who have accumulated the most points over the course of the career running on the surface that a given race is being run on. Thus, you could enter a stakes race that is not full at the time of entry and later be moved to the waiting list if a more qualified horse enters the race. Similarly, you can enter your horse in a full race and bump another horse to the waiting list if your horse is more qualified. After points, if there is a tie in points, the next default is earnings. The horse with the higher earnings is given preference in case of a tie. If the horses have the same earnings, the tie breaker is time of entry.