{"id":8323,"date":"2010-08-16T21:04:46","date_gmt":"2010-08-16T21:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=8323"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=8323","title":{"rendered":"How To Do Well In The Sim (written by Taffy)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/xhtml1\/DTD\/xhtml1-transitional.dtd\"><html xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xhtml\"><head><title>Untitled Document<\/title><meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=iso-8859-1\" \/><\/head><body><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tips and tricks to doing your best <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I have seen a lot of people expressing frustration on the sim game. So I will  let you know about me. I started playing in august of 1998 long time ago now  12 years.  I sucked. I mean bad, 5% win maybe in my best stable. I didn&#8217;t  get a win for a long time. It was not unusual to break 100 starts without a  win. I had around 30 stables. I was bad at claiming and there was no breeding.  What changed the game around for me was the breeding. I bred lots of bargain  horses, and ended up with stakes winners. Now before you go all postal on me  I realize that is a shocker today. I can&#8217;t breed half as nice of horses for  that cheap. But you can breed and get decent claimers. <\/p>\n<p><strong>CLAIMS <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of my first best horses one was a claim for $2k. Summer Gene ended  up ranked as a 2-year-old and graded placed. The Gourmet was a $2.5k claim  that earned two grade 2 wins. Again, hard to do these days but not impossible,  you just have to get lucky. <\/p>\n<p>So today in the sim what does it take to win? Do I have to buy credits, do  I have to spend hours on the game? The nice thing about this game is time in  it does pay off. The more time you spend looking at horses and searching claims  the more you see what you might have missed. This horse has Theatrical in it  and has only ever started on dirt. I should claim him and try turf. \u00a0 You  get the horse and it wins next time out in an allowance. It is not always so  simple. But it happens. Auction is another way to get some horses. If you have  cash at all you can pick up decent claimers or horses with only one surfaced  tried for cheap. <\/p>\n<p><strong>BARGAINS <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Breeding doesn&#8217;t have to be expensive. You can breed bargain breeds and fill  the stables with them. Figure if one wins first time out you get up to 50 points  back. That covers what you paid and maybe more. Toss the crap after you try  both surfaces, and have realistic expectations if it&#8217;s a 25 breeding point  horse, run it in a claimer first time out. Put it where it belongs. <\/p>\n<p>I have increased my weekly win percentage. I have been tracking it for almost  20 weeks. I wanted to keep track of my win percentage as I started hunting  for races not just putting a horse in.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tr>\n<td width=\"57\">\n<div align=\"center\">week <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"58\">\n<div align=\"center\">runners <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"45\">\n<div align=\"center\">wins <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"46\">\n<div align=\"center\">2nds <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"42\">\n<div align=\"center\">3rds <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"41\">\n<div align=\"center\">4ths <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"61\">\n<div align=\"center\">win % <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"69\">\n<div align=\"center\">itm % <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\">\n<div align=\"center\">Stakes wins <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"98\">\n<div align=\"center\">Graded wins <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4267 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">33 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">9 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">6 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">27.27% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">66.66% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4274 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">38 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">6 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">13.15% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">65.78% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">1 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4281 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">24 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">6 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">6 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">1 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">16.66% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">70.83% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4288 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">47 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">6 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">1 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">12.76% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">44.68% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4295 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">36 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">6 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">2 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">16.66% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">55.55% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4302 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">33 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">3 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">3 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">2 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">9.09% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">45.45% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4309 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">39 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">9 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">10.25% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">56.41% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4316 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">26 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">3 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">3 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">12.50% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">58.33% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">1 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4323 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">36 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">8 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">1 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">13.80% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">58.33% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">1 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4330 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">42 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">10 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">11.90% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">59.52% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4337 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">37 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">9 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">2 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">13.50% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">56.75% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4344 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">43 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">11 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">15 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">3 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">25.58% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">79.06% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">1 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4351 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">29 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">8 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">27.58% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">68.69% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4358 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">34 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">6 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">6 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">2 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">17.60% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">55.88% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4365 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">39 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">3 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">10.25% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">48.71% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4372 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">35 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">8 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">6 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl25\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">20% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">71.42% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4379 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">49 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">17 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">3 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">34.69% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">59.10% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4386 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">57 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">14 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">13 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">11 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">24.56% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">75.43% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">1 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4393 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">49 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">8 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">7 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">9 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">9 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">16.32% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">67.34% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4400 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">27 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">5 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">6 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">14.80% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl24\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">70.37% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4407 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">32 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">8 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">10 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">2 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">4 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl25\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">25% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"xl25\" align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">75% <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<div align=\"center\">0 <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>LOOK FOR EASY RACES <\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now you can see I started looking for races to put my horse on week 4344. \u00a0 I  used RAFI (see below for instructions) and opened every race that met the distance  and surface and age qualifications. Sometimes the easiest race is actually  an open allowance race or a stakes race. I would have to say of those 4 stakes  wins, two were by the same horse that I ran the first time because it was an  easy 4 horse stake I lucked out in finding. He won it. I figured he would get  third. Then he won the next one. I was shocked but suddenly I had a stakes  horse. The third win was from a horse who I knew liked longer and had not really  shown much I again found an easy stakes race and entered. \u00a0 Pick weeks  with lots of stakes races, generally that means fewer horses in each race.  On Wednesday before entries close, I spend time looking to see if there  are easy races. That was what caused the jump in win and ITM percentages. \u00a0 The  last stakes win was an allowance horse I liked and showed off in the chat room.  Desperado took one look and said try stakes; I had considered but did not think  it was good enough. The horse won easy. <\/p>\n<p>Look ahead, plan for which race you want to put your horse in, or a week with  lots of races that meet his qualifications. If you do this you&#8217;re not aiming  for a week and compromising by running in the wrong race. If you get the right  race but there is only one it will be loaded with horses. Lots of races often  equal a smaller fields and easy pickings if you want to go through and look  for easy spots. This does take time. I look for races with no horses or small  fields with \u201ccrappier than my horse\u201d fields. Match your horse&#8217;s speeds to the  competition. Do not run a horse running 70&#8217;s in a field with horses running  80&#8217;s not likely to win. Unless he has only  a few starts, place your horse  where it has a chance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>FIND YOUR HOT SIRES <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The graded win I have is from a Graeme Hall baby. Now if you go look at that  horses stats, he produces claimers, but I for some reason have lots of luck  with him. \u00a0 Finding  out what sires get along with you can help. High Chaparral and Indian Charlie  are hot sires for me. I created a list in Excel. I go through my horses on  a regular basis when a sire pops up a lot I add him to my hot sire list. If  I want to breed a horse I look there. You still have to branch out and try  new sires but the old fall backs are good too. <\/p>\n<p><strong>LOCAL BREDS ARE YOUR FRIEND <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Take advantage of local bred races, they are there. If you have a crappy stakes  horse with a (NE) tag, look for the local bred races. <\/p>\n<p><strong>RAFI <\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>Click    on the stable page click rafi. You give it your selections and it will show    all races matching your horse&#8217;s restrictions. Say your horse has 2 wins.  It will only show 3l allowances and up. So you know the horse is qualified.  As you look you can search ahead 4 weeks and pick a week when there is a LB  race you want to run in. set that horses training for that week. I like to  search ahead for all my horses but for local breeds because there are so few  races it is important. <\/p>\n<p>The cool thing about local breeds is a lot of time people do not want to bother.  I would try to stay with 3 year old and up but if you search claims and auctions  for horses that have unusual Local Bred tags and are struggling against non  local breeds they may do very well. Look at the local bred races running and  compare I have 3 year olds hitting the board frequently in LB claiming races  with 60-70 speeds. They are getting tougher as there are not a lot of races  and people are figuring out that there a good way to keep a crap horse running  and profitable. <\/p>\n<p><strong>WEEKS BETWEEN RACES <\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>2 year olds need about 5-7 weeks between starts; some people say longer, some  shorter. Also, I specifically used to have lots of nicer two year olds and  would run them 8 times at 2. First, they were cheap and unlikely to be better  during their 2nd year. Second, they were likely to be peaking as 2yos. Now  I have started after 5 starts the baby gets 8-10 week break. This I find keeps  the horse from getting burned out too fast. Remember there is a wear on your  horse for every start. Pushing horses leads to injuries. <\/p>\n<p>3 year olds I run about every 4-5 weeks. If he comes back needs rest he gets  7. Lay off 8-10. Injured gets 10 weeks rest. Don&#8217;t over run your horses; it  never bodes well for them lasting. <\/p>\n<p><strong>BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY <\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The last trick I have is being a part of the community. Going in to the chat  room and asking for help, and commenting on the message board, can  be  helpful. People post all the time asking for breeding advice and help. We like  to help, and answer questions. This is a good way to gain knowledge from players  who have been playing for years. \u00a0 We are around and if you are really  suffering ask for a stable review on the new player or main board forums. We  offer the help to those that need it, if you are embarrassed to ask buck up  and realize we all started out knowing nothing and getting no wins. I had no  clue not to run my claimer in an allowance because I didn&#8217;t know. I gave away  horses with no starts on one surface because I didn&#8217;t know the breeding suggested  otherwise. I have had horses claimed because they ran like crap only to go  to a new trainer who tried a different distance or surface and they started  winning. It happens a lot even now, but after 12 years of playing it happens  less frequently. I ask advice and I get help; the best players do. It&#8217;s how  they learn enough to start doing it on their own. And even then people say;  hey have you tried that one on turf. <\/p>\n<p>Advice does not always work, but it tells you something. It is worth claiming  the horse because there is a chance he could do better with different conditions.  Chance he could bomb but then you dump and auction and cut the loss. See what  others claim, there are players out there with years of experience, the help  is there if you ask <\/p>\n<p>Also by sitting in the chat people post their horses they claimed and won  first time out for them or a new horse they bred and how it ran. This experience  of watching actually gives you so much more because you can see what others  are doing to succeed. <\/p>\n<p>Join a residency, lots of residencies are smaller communities and they want  to help their members do well. There are tons of options and if you want to  learn more about a residency ask on the message board or in the chat. Again  there are people in there who can help. <\/p>\n<p>Now I am not guaranteeing graded wins, I am still working on getting that  myself. I do buy credits, I write articles, and use them to buy credits. I  breed decent horses by claiming crap horses with nice bloodlines and using  cheap HOT sires and I get good horses. There are ways to spend less and still  do well. But the game takes time you need to learn the sire&#8217;s stats so that  you can make good decisions on the breeding. (See my other articles). <\/p>\n<p><strong>TIPS <\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Get advice from other players, fresh eyes always see better <\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Plan ahead for weeks where your horse has lots of options or the specific        local bred race you want is <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Breeding cheap does work initially; eventually you can save and spend        a bit more. \u00a0 Just remember to run at the level you think the horse        is at breeding wise. If you do not know or are not sure ask. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Residencies are there to help their players who need it. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Credits are very helpful but not necessary for stakes winners. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Those elite graded races, they are elite for a reason there are those        people who are at the top and repeat. Get their advice, they obviously have        some trick <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Realize if you work hard and the stable still sucks, some stables&#8217;        horses run better than others. Dump the crap stables. \u00a0 Look at        my RASH stable: 7% win and everything, almost everything I put in there        sucks. \u00a0 I        will dump it soon. And they can change year to year I have noticed. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>I spend a lot of time on this game, unemployed currently. I know others        don&#8217;t have that much time to spend. There are tricks, people e-mail claiming        files that have that week&#8217;s claims and you can sort them easier than by looking        through by hand. Or looking for empty races on Yoss&#8217;s site though updated        infrequently does show what races have less horses. \u00a0 There are lots        of tools and tricks ask other players what they do. The more effort you put        in to learning about the game and learning how to use it the better you will        do. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simulated Secrets of a Simulated Veteran<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8323\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}