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  • Ideas / Thoughts Thread - Open Discussion

    Good place to kick around some ideas and opinions. Don't assume these are changes that are being implemented!

    I'll start this off with a couple things. I have some concerns about the set up and if the set up is appealing enough to attract my initial goal of 100 stables. I don't want to make knee jerk decisions to appease few people. This has been done too often stripping the value of stables and horses. Examples of these moves would be breed limits, unretiring horses, 1 yo racing, dollar value club racing, creates and removal of race track fee and so on

    Is the season too short? Can we really accomplish an exciting race card and race career in 4 months when everything funnels towards the qualifying series? Where is the room for creativity in racing which is the absolute foundation of this game? In its current state the race options are not appealing enough. Is it realistic to run a horse every 3 days and wonder why the horse under performs? is it too time consuming to enter races? Has the unlimited training aspect generated an overall long term negative effect for instant gratification all to get horses to hit the track quicker.

    Before I share with you any changes i have considered long term i'd like to know what you all think can be built and not for instant gratification but rather built for staying power. Just remember please...this is a think tank thread not a thread for negativity or bashing other members ideas. Make no mistake...I am moving this site forward with or without your input but would love to hear from anyone.

    To those that have taken the time to speak with me by phone....thank you!
    Last edited by Administrator; 04-25-2019, 09:12 AM.

  • #2
    I think you might have to make a critical strategy decision early on regarding who you want the site to appeal to. As players you and I have always had very different styles, and very different goals. When I have talked about this to you in the past you have been openly critical of what I enjoy about the game. You weren't on board with that being a legitimate way to enjoy the site. In fact not long ago you told me to buzz off and go find another way to waste time. If you want to discuss this by phone, where there is less chance of a misunderstanding, I'd be happy to do that. If you only want 100 players that enjoy exactly the same things you do then that is a more focused strategy, but a smaller potential market. When the site was large and horses sold for hundreds, even >$1000 in at least one instance, we had a variety of players with a variety of styles. That may not be the only way to build a larger player pool, but we've seen it work before.

    It can be hard to make changes that don't make the game less interesting to new stables. Any restriction on how long something takes drags out their full participation in the site. The 5yo restriction on broodmares is one example. If a new player breeds a 2yo champ filly in Jan 2020 we have to keep him engaged until Jan 2021 before he can breed his mare. I understand what this is trying to accomplish, but it is a very different experience for a player that has broodstock than for a new joiner. Again, none of these restrictions were necessary when the site was sufficiently large, and deciding when to retire vs. race was part of the game. Some players were/are easily bored, and only want to race 2yo even though it is true most would improve with age. Some are just more into breeding horses than racing them, and in fact we had "breeding only" stables similar to what you have been doing recently.

    As you know, there are more than a dozen virtual horse racing sites, so there is a lot of competition just in this niche. Players that want to go after championships will need to invest substantial time and money, more than a lot of folks are willing to take away from their families, communities, and other activities. So we either need to find 100 big spenders that want to invest sufficient resources here, or we need a broader strategy and more ways to play. If we are going for the broader approach, then the site has to offer things for "time wasters" that are not making the same choices the champ crew would make. You have been very vocal about what you think of these other strategies and the players that employ them. Now that you are an owner and some of these are customers, will you still feel the same?

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    • #3
      my issues wouldn't be from the racing side as much as just site navigation. for example race filters . Can I please just search for a 6f race not 4-5-6? I know it's not a big thing! but it's annoying. I look at hrp... everything is on the home page I don't have to log in to go to the forum..it's a click away.

      I'm also sometimes frustrated by lack of race options. I have a filly claimer she needs 1m race...there are none ! either 7f or 1 1/8th. shouldn't be like that. why 1m then 1 1/8 where's 1 1/16th? 1 mile 70 yards?

      just little things like that my biggest pet peeves but I love the racing for the most part to be fair


      Midwest Racing

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      • #4
        Nut Brown

        I think there is a possibility you underestimate my business acumen

        What I would desire as a stable has no over riding influence on what the goals of the site should be. Fact of the matter is the last time I owned the site we generated the highest amount of race earnings and activity in the history of the game and we barely got started. Time to finish the job!

        I don't recall what styles I was critical of and frankly whatever I positioned for at that time would be from a trainer standpoint. This is an open discussion...share your thoughts. If i wanted to build something here for the long term around only how I would personally enjoy the site then I don't need any input at all. I clearly know how to Breed - Race - Win. Variety is needed and the long term health of the site relies on the middle tier of Stables...the guts...meat and potatoes! If you want to know...thats what I believe. Spenders won't control the direction and neither will non spenders. But lets not get it twisted...this site has never had someone as passionate as I am involved with it. That's not meant to be a knock on Fred either. He cared and he put a lot into it and partly made this decision based on the best interest of the site but we are not cut from the same cloth.

        You have been very vocal about what you think of these other strategies and the players that employ them.
        This I believe is unfair. As a player I may have my opinion on what is best for my stable but to suggest that I also judge you as a person based on your opinion about whats best for your stable is a reach.

        5 years for a mare - I am against this and would kill the notion on arrival
        Last edited by Administrator; 04-25-2019, 10:52 AM.

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        • #5
          I'm sorry just to add that filly is a 3claimer. a 12 claimer has 1m race but not for 3??

          I think alot of positive things here but room for upgrades.

          thanks for listening
          Midwest Racing

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          • #6
            No problem Midwest

            add $3 1Mile claim
            Look into 5yo Mare

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            • #7
              I don't see 5yo Mare requirements anywhere. Just 4yo with 12 races which should be moved back to 10

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              • #8
                I think Freddie posted at one time that there would be a couple extra breeds if you raced at least twice as a 5 yo but I would need to look for that post.

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                • #9
                  Can we get rid of the OFF TRACK TRAINING for yearlings? I have never seen the benefit of this. It is labor intensive for so little results.

                  Norm
                  "There's a fine line between winning and losing... it's called The Finish Line"

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Trunoble Lodge View Post
                    Can we get rid of the OFF TRACK TRAINING for yearlings? I have never seen the benefit of this. It is labor intensive for so little results.

                    Norm
                    I'm getting some really good results, and it is optional. Can you elaborate why we would eliminate? Asking because you usually have thought things through very well.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Trunoble Lodge View Post
                      Can we get rid of the OFF TRACK TRAINING for yearlings? I have never seen the benefit of this. It is labor intensive for so little results.

                      Norm
                      Here Here!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Admin, please look into entering races directly from the race card. This will leave me with more time for other aspect of the game.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Nut Brown Racing View Post

                          I'm getting some really good results, and it is optional. Can you elaborate why we would eliminate? Asking because you usually have thought things through very well.
                          I find I can get the same results by just adjusting the jockey instruction at different distances. The variances haven't been significant enough alter the ability when the horse turns 2yo. Yes it is optional but my thinking is by having it there, when stables join at the start or half-way thru the new season, they will feel that they are at a disadvantage by not being able to use it with their new 2yo stock. I had about a dozen that I used OTT with last season and except for a couple who are in the low claimers, the rest have had their ashes scattered across the ethernet despite good works.
                          "There's a fine line between winning and losing... it's called The Finish Line"

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                          • #14
                            Did the training tool come about after racing 1yo's or before? I am thinking about how to carefully address this.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Administrator View Post
                              Did the training tool come about after racing 1yo's or before? I am thinking about how to carefully address this.
                              Not 100% certain but I think before.

                              Norm
                              "There's a fine line between winning and losing... it's called The Finish Line"

                              Comment

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