"Blowouts" before a race

[Jim Hoffman]

I know a lot of trainers (in real life) believe in "blowing out" a horse leading up to a race, believing it will sharpen them. Usually it's a 3 furlong breeze 3-4 days before the race.

Does this tactic work in the sim? Or, if I do it here, am I setting the horse up for disaster?

[Cleo Patra]

A workout would definitely be a disaster. It takes 5-6 days to recover from a workout approximately, then you have to add shipping tiredness. However, if you vet a horse and they are ready to race, it’s pretty safe to gallop 3 days before they ship (so 5-6 days before race day). The vet is your friend. If they say the horse is tired at all, whatever work you do will take even longer than normal to recover from, so keep that in mind.

But usually racing every 2-3 weeks is sufficient to keep them fit and firing.

[Kelly Haggerty]

You should go read Regina's articles here. It will save a lot of time and potentially keep you from getting your horse hurt. https://www.simhorseracing.com/featurerace/index.php

[Darcy McBride]

A workout would definitely be a disaster. It takes 5-6 days to recover from a workout approximately, then you have to add shipping tiredness. However, if you vet a horse and they are ready to race, it’s pretty safe to gallop 3 days before they ship (so 5-6 days before race day). The vet is your friend. If they say the horse is tired at all, whatever work you do will take even longer than normal to recover from, so keep that in mind.

But usually racing every 2-3 weeks is sufficient to keep them fit and firing.

What Cleo said.

[Regina Moore]

I give a timed workout a week before racing if the horse has 4 weeks between starts. In Year 46, my Triple Crown trotter Lifeholic had a four-week break before the Steward's Cup. He got a workout a week ahead and won by a super easy (for harness horses) two lengths in the SC.

When players wonder if it's "okay" to do something concerning tiredness, vet your horse frequently while you're doing the new thing to see how it reacts. That's the fastest way to develop instincts about where the tiredness limits are.

Also, the FAQ on Training Your Horse includes:
A timed workout will increase a horse's fitness and experience level, so if used in conjunction with a race, you will be able to give the horse a big boost going into the race. They can be also used to keep the fitness and experience high during a break from racing.

The important thing, in my opinion, is to make sure your horse is fully rested before doing a timed workout.