Starting over

Advice and Other Goodies for Newbies
Forum rules
Do not to post anything abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, or sexually-orientated.
Do not post anything negative about any player.
No advertising other games.
The management reserves the right to delete or lock threads and messages at any time.
Read the complete SIM rules and legal information.
Post Reply
Jim Cassie
Two Year Old
Posts: 4
Joined: 9 years ago

Starting over

Post by Jim Cassie »

Starting over

Long story short:
If you had $500,000 and knowing everything you know now, and we’re starting from scratch, what would you do?
A)spend it on 1-3 high quality racers
B) spend it on a barn full of $10,000 and under horses
C) look to spend it on a quality stud and work the breeding game
D) other

The long version:
I’m not really a new player. I was fairly active in the sim for 2 or 3 calendar years. When I first started I stumbled upon HOFer Fighting Irish, and had him his last few seasons a a stud. Made a lot of money thru him. Once he died, I had a huge (too huge) stable and I kind of lost interest. And fantasy baseball kind of took over

I did stay active enough in the sim to keep my back account active. And I was still collecting breeder winners up until this current sim season.

Now, I think I’m ready to dive back in. I’ve been checking the for sale pages, and looking over some claiming races, to get a feel for things

So, if you were starting from scratch, with $500k, where would you start?

Cheers
Jim
User avatar
Rochelle Bos
Hall of Fame
Posts: 3675
Joined: 5 years ago

Re: Starting over

Post by Rochelle Bos »

1-3 high quality fillies, with good producing dam lines. All the way

Also welcome back!
KINGSWOOD
Pensioner Program
• Pension your 2yo or older horse
• Ship your horse to any Kingswood Location
• Sell your horse to Rochelle Bos for $0


Comparison is the thief of joy - Theodore Roosevelt
User avatar
Tom Lin
Grade 1 Winner
Posts: 906
Joined: 10 years ago

Re: Starting over

Post by Tom Lin »

To start. Mixer claimers. You need racing income and lots of it.
User avatar
Dave Trainer
Grade 1 Winner
Posts: 942
Joined: 7 years ago

Re: Starting over

Post by Dave Trainer »

It depends on where your interests lie. If you enjoy breeding more than racing buy some mares.

If you prefer racing to breeding buy allowance TB milers or mixers as Tom said.
User avatar
Regina Moore
Hall of Fame
Posts: 2702
Joined: 15 years ago
Location: Castle Rock, CO
Contact:

Re: Starting over

Post by Regina Moore »

Since you've already played in the past, I agree with Dave that a lot depends on what you enjoy most about the game, and it's important what your individual goals are.

Also, there isn't any reason why you can't combine some of the options you listed. Lots of cheap horses, because they're good to run in fillers, where small fields guarantee income (assuming you're willing to proactively do entering). Hopefully, one or two higher quality, so you can at least feel you have something good. Though, the problem with high quality horses is -- even with 500k, how are you going to afford them? Most expensive youngsters don't turn out as good as you hope and rarely recoup their cost, and if you buy a proven runner, there's a reason he's on the sales list -- ie, his best days are probably behind him.

Ideally, one should stay away from breeding until they've got their bank balance built up to afford good mares and pay stud fees for decent horses. But you can breed just a few pretty much right away, to keep the future exciting. (See Cleo's recent outstanding article)

A caveat that if you still favor Standardbreds, know that both trotters and pacers are "top heavy" in that there's a huge plethora of freak gallopers, so that some freaks will earn less than 50k. So, don't go spending your money on a freak just because it's a freak.
User avatar
Glenn Escobar
Grade 3 Winner
Posts: 687
Joined: 8 years ago

Re: Starting over

Post by Glenn Escobar »

No one has said anything disagreeable, but if it were me I would get lots of racers, any breed or cost, that had a better than 50/50 shot of returning twice what you pay for them. In other words, convert the 500K into a million ASAP. Then convert the million into 2, and then maybe consider this question again with 4x the cash on hand.

If anyone is willing to give you free or super cheap racers that they aren’t using, this proposition becomes easier over time. Usually such players can be found.
“In the race for excellence,there is no finish line.”

— His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
User avatar
Lily Wilkins
Eclipse Champion
Posts: 1482
Joined: 12 years ago

Re: Starting over

Post by Lily Wilkins »

I would hoard as many $10,000 and under race horses as I could get... I would obtain said horses through claiming, not buying off the sale page.
A string of race horses is what earns you reliable income and, as Glenn said, multiplies your money. With $500,000 you could really get your hands on a LOT of solid race horses and be in a really good position going forward!
𝐴𝑧𝑢𝑙 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑒
Since Year 30
Proudly Standing

Equinox | TR/AWR | Leased Out Y66
Quinny | DR/DM | $20,000
✾ Visit our Nursery to view our floofy little future stars!
Polk Buffalo
Grade 1 Winner
Posts: 828
Joined: 6 years ago

Re: Starting over

Post by Polk Buffalo »

I would buy a bunch of maiden chasers. Chaser maiden races are usually 20k and almost any chaser will eventually win a maiden.
Then I would retire them and breed more chasers.
Did I mention that I like chasers?
Polk Buffalo Stallions
Yoboki Arabian Router 40k
Blue Daub Adee Appy Mid 20k

and many more...
User avatar
Jo Ferris
Hall of Fame
Posts: 3699
Joined: 13 years ago

Re: Starting over

Post by Jo Ferris »

Focus on what interest you. I like a smaller barn, so personally I'd spend it on a few higher quality horses, of course that could seem like putting all your eggs in one basket. Playing the breeding game with no runners would be a risk, personally though I think it'd be fun. However in the context of breeding quality horses, 500k is not a lot of money. If your interested in Paints let me know! I can hook you up with decent runners, mares and free breedings.
Arabian:
Money Run Low - 7.5k
Cass Ole - 5k
Mugello - 5k
All I'll Praise - 5k
Zandvoort - 10k

Paint:
Toby Flenderson - 15k
One In The Woods - 5k
We Can Be Heros - 5k
FLD Eclipse - 3.5k
Scooter - 3.5k
User avatar
Laura Smith
Hall of Fame
Posts: 4985
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: BC, Canada

Re: Starting over

Post by Laura Smith »

Agreed with those who have said that 500k doesn't necessarily buy much confirmed quality. Even a Steward-bred, the most consistently good horses in the game, won't necessarily be profitable, especially at that price.

Agreed with those who have said to focus on cheap, profitable horses and increase your capital that way before thinking about investing in high-priced animals, or god forbid, breeding.
LONG OVERDUE FARM: Keepin' it Canada since Year 16.
Stallions to meet your every need. As long as you need a turf sprinter.
Jim Cassie
Two Year Old
Posts: 4
Joined: 9 years ago

Re: Starting over

Post by Jim Cassie »

Thanks for all the tips everyone!
A lot to think about!!
Post Reply