But I want to keep it… WHY?
When to drop a horse in auction/claims?
I have a few things I look at when deciding if I should cut a horse. The better bred the horse, the harder it is to let it go, but given time you have to realize a horse just isn’t going to run well enough to earn its keep. When I enter races, I pick races with entrants that have similar speeds. So if my horse cannot win a MSW, I look at the speeds of different levels of claiming races. Some 50k claiming races are won with lower speeds than the 2k class because the 2k horses are bargains and the 50k is nicer breeds that their owners don’t want to lose.
I have been breeding a lot and I have a high rate of turnover. I breed a lot for local bred events because there are a lot more options for those horses. When deciding what level a horse can run at remember that there is more than only MC, MSW, AL, and Claim. There is also a local bred division. This race type may allow you to hang on to those slower horses longer. I had a local bred win by 5 with a 56 speed. You just have to watch the speed figures to determine competitiveness.
When to move a horse down a class rank
I see a lot of stakes horses that have not won in 2 years. That shocks me, how hard is it to drop to allowance ranks and pick up a win. I have seen allowance horses with the same problem. So here is my rule: if you don’t hit top 4 for 4 starts in a row, I consider a class drop. Look at the horse and see if it is not winning due to running at the wrong distance or on the wrong surface etc, or is he just not competitive at the class it is running in. If you try the surfaces and distances and the horse is not hitting the board, then he needs to drop class. Now again I have a Dynaformer X Blushing Groom that is 12 1-0-3 and still running in allowances and I need to take my own advice. But this is just a rule of thumb and it applies to every class.
If you drop a horse in class and you see no improvement in speed or finish position, your horse may just be not very good. I will sometimes just keep dropping until I get to a $5k tag and if/when they finish 7th by 7, I will drop them. There is no point in wasting the points or losing the potential of not earning BPs.
Local Breeds
Here is a mistake I see a lot of players making: putting local bred-eligible horses in open races. The horses don’t hit the board and the trainers drop class without every trying the local bred restriction. I have acquired horses at auction and in claims that are local bred-eligible and turned them around and won with them in the local bred races. Don’t toss a good horse out or drop him a class if he is local breed without exploring that condition. If you put him in local breed allowances and he still can’t succeed,, try local breed claiming. If that doesn’t work, dump him.
Auction Rule
My rule for dropping a horse in auction is once you have tried all conditions and distances, and at their best condition and distance you try a few claiming levels say 50k 15k 7.5k then 2k, and the horse still does not hit the board, auction that point-draining horse. 4 starts claiming with no hits equals a huge drain on resources. Do remember if they are local bred-eligible, run them in local bred races at least on both surfaces before dumping.
It is a judgment call on the owner’s part when to part with a horse. Some horses have good breeding or better names and may merit being “saved”. But no matter what the breeding, if the horse is not performing and you hang on to it, it brings down your winning percentage and you earn fewer breeding points. I used to be very bad at this; I just bred lots of cheaper but decent bred horses, so I figured when they were slow ok I don’t care if I lose them there not broodmare quality anyways. And some if they are not doing well in allowance races can do just fine in the 75K and up claims without too much threat. I need to do that with my very slow male Dynaformer. Like many players have experienced, he is one of my favored breedings and he has not worked out on the track.
It is sad to see a horse go, but you must to weigh the cost of putting keeping your slow horses that is not earning sufficient points versus replacing it with one that has greater potential. Also consider how many points you may miss out on earnings while waiting for this slow horse to turn 5 so I can use its breeding if you decide to continue using those bloodlines. Whatever you decide to do, remember that a horse that cannot place earns you few to no points and lowers win percentages. So develop your own standard such as “5 starts without a board hit means bye-bye” , but make a rule and stick to it and I promise it will help.