Celebrating the Sim Tipsters: DrFager & Rock63 Tipsheet Pioneers
Arkansas– We pay tribute to the game’s Tipsheet Writers in the $75,000 Simhistory Day DrFager & Rock63 Tipsheet Pioneers. First, some (LOL!) background info……………
DrFager ran the Maryland Analysis site back in ’99 to ’00 or so. DrFager (Joe) not only provided a tipsheet for Maryland, but also ran his website like a “track,” posting a weekly recap of each race. Additionally, Joe also covered the Maryland stakes in the old SimRacing Form in conjunction with his site. You can still see some of Joe’s work nowadays on the Racing Terms page linked in the game.
Rock’s Texas Cookin’ tipsheet existed for a very long time — 1999 to about ’02. Rock63 (Bryan) also revived his site from time to time afterwards. He handicapped the full racecard for the most part with his top 3 picks, but sometimes tackled each horse in the race. Today, the game cards a series of Rock’s Texas Cooking Stakes that take place every year in the spring.
Tipsheet History (and blarney!): Back in the old, old days, betting was a big part of gameplay. Players could make Sim millions at a time — it was like the Wild, Wild West and of course Sim gamers looked for help in order to get in on the action. They looked to the game’s Tipsters who handicapped full or abbreviated race cards and posted them on web pages.
Some tipsheet writers wrote about each horse in the race, while others gave only their top three. Some published complicated, fancy sites, while others were as plain jane as can be. The game had less than 30 or so tracks and, believe it or not, near each track had a tipsheet. Also, the game’s racecards only numbered about 10 races (and even less early on), so complete tipsheets were possible to manage week-to-week.
Eventually, the game had to overhaul betting, and, unfortunately, it was pared down so much that tipsheets weren’t useful anymore. Additonally, the SimRacing Form (forerunner of the Black Type Bugler) grew in popularity and participation — folks could find their “Sim writing” fix by looking up their stakes horses in the SRF’s coverage. Tipsheet visitors tired of pop-up ads and screen-crashing banners on the tipster’s free webhost pages. And they tired of tipsters missing weeks and not updating their sites.
But, most of all, the Sim just kept growing and growing. The racecards ballooned, making a tipsters workload too much to handle each week. Some tried to team up as partners for one track, and that worked for a spell. But the game kept adding more and more tracks and visitors grew discouraged when their horses raced at a track without a tipsheet. After so many letdowns, eventually they quit searching the sites all together. Besides, it just took so much time for a gamer to play the Sim — fancy-dancy shortcuts like Rafi and stuff just didn’t exist or were only accessible as third-party downloads back then.
So, tipsheets were pretty much kaputt by ’02 or ’03. There were some attempts to revive them like the old Kentucky Tipsters page run by Mano, but they didn’t last. Like it or not, Monk’s Bets From Above pretty much finalized the tipsheet movement. Here was one “anonymous” player (Monksfield who later revealed himself to be Brundlefly!) who simply posted his picks on the game’s Betting Message Board. Monk was free of webpages and webwork. He was free of writing up traditional racecards and meeting visitors’ expectations. Instead, Monk just posted some good Sim bets each week. Developing a Sim-wide reputation for major success, Monk’s Bets From Above became a Sim phenom.
Again, the overhaul to Sim betting ended even Monk’s sim bets. Some tipsters kept going for fun. Others moved on to greater participate in residencies or became writers in the SRF (like Monk aka Brundlefly himself!).
Will tipsheets ever return to the Sim? It could be that they’ve been missing from the game for so long, that they’d be welvcome again in some sort of capacity. Perhaps if Billgulch revises betting more favorably in the rewrite?
Zzzzzzz………. anyone out there?
Whewey, I’m rather rusty-dusty after an 8-week writing layoff. There is a race somewhere in this article… oh yeah!
OK, seven furlongs for main track distaffers. A beautiful mare named Cheyenne Gold gets the slight oddsmaker’s nod at 9/2. She’s a graded competitive 4yo by Seeking The Gold. Trainer ozioziozi saw her spit out the bit on Smackdown day, but didn’t send her to the farm afterwards. Instead, Cheyenne Gold rumbled in a listed stakes speed duel a two weeks ago, finishing an honest 3rd. Cheyenne Gold runs tough on two weeks rest though and 7/8ths is her ticket.
Freeky stable brings Fu Fu Mascus(IRE) (5/1) who just sizzled with a gorgeous ALW number. With a 106 SP#, the 4yo Giant’s Causeway(IRE) daughter picked up her 9th career score. She’s been in and out of the stakes raks for the most part of her 20-something career. Hard luck royal bred needs to toughen up and show some consistency. Great shot as a stalker in this spot though.
We got a trio at 7/1 a piece:
- Year Of The Buda (lacostra) grabbed a show spot in a Grade 3 two back. The veteran 5yo event Of The year mare lacks consistency and enters all top class levels. Hmmm… she’s much better suited to the listed ranks so let’s toss out her other graded debacles as well as the injury-prone race over the late springtime. Instead, I like this midpacker in this spot. She’s gonna be right there at the wire.
- Exbourne’s Globe from 73059 stable (what an unimaginative stablename, Boo!) steps up to the black type after a 103 SP# ALW palcing. She can win off and on stalking the lead. Spinning World lassie worth a shot if she can overcome the 12-hole.
- Awesome Again gal Dry Spell won over this distance in a late rally three back. The 5yo mare from capitanio2 stable was in a bit of a groove there for a spell before getting cold LTO in a puzzler. Certainly facotrs into this group, but will the closer get some fair speed to run at up front?
And our 8/1 duo:
- K’s By The Way picked up a short field stakes sprint a few back. She’s been rounding into class well for vertigo2. The Forty Niner 5yo had a good ’07 win streak going before climbing the ladder to black type company. Has had a bit of a breather, so should be fresh. An honest threat from midpack or so. Well-spotted.
- The Supers check in with Fusaichi Fury, a 3-for-21 lifetime 4yo by FuPeg. Encouraging numbers of late from the filly see a test again around 7 panels. Honest type, but can go either way. Punching above her weight class?
Our sophomore fillies testing their elders:
- Satan’s Delight(KY) (10/1) already has a sweet 7-for-19 lifetime record. She’s a Distorted Humor gal who dominates her age group and can beat the boys too around one-turn. Great shot in this spot from behind what may be a slower pace. Spooky named filly is from starcon stable.
- Kensei’s Redoute’s World(AUS) (21/1) joins the pace hunt in just her 2nd lifetime dirt try. The Redoute’s Choice daughter was a stakes winner a couple times over the lawn and finally tried the main track LTO with a successful short field ALW score. Live sleeper if she can step forward after the effort. Bred for the green stuff but is she indeed better over dirt? Litmus test.
- Forty Dances(JPN) (24/1) from lawyerron stable has won half of her six lifetime starts so far. The Forty Niner royal bred gamely won a 99 SP# 7.5f stakes LTO versus her age group. As good a spot as any to test her elders. Possible from behind the pace.
The rest of the field:
- At 9/1, Personal Prayer leaps up after cracking the 100 sP# barrier LTO. Congie3 kept this vet Pulpit daughter under wraps in the ALW ranks most this season. The midpacker may be short on black type, but makes up for it with consistency. Should be in the hunt since she’s in form.
- At 7 years young, Prettyinpink (12/1) can still pick up her feet and sure does rail in the BP for mallard stable. The End Sweep grand dame has worked her way out of the claiming level and picked up a 102 SP# ALW score LTO. By all rights, she’s outclassed here at this level and at her age. But, ya never know! The midpacker could surprise as much as many!
Snowchief’s Picks:
It looks racetime fave Cheyenne Gold will face sophomroes Exbourne’s Globe and Redoute’s World for the early lead. I think Cheyenne Gold is pretty classy and much the best on paper in this field. Probably on the racetrack too at this point. So I’ll with her over K’s By The Way and Year of the Buda. Fu Fu Mascus might spoil my trifecta.
Win: Cheyenne Gold
Place: K’s By The Way
Show: Year of the Buda
Good luck and enjoy Simhistory Day!