Help Section

1. Register.

To sign up just click the "Register" button in the bottom left hand corner of the main page. During registration you will create your stable and login details. After registration you will be sent an email within moments to complete the process, for this reason only a valid email address must be used.

2. Verify Account.

You must verify your account to play this game. Verification costs nothing-just respond to the registration e-mail. This verification is simply a way to prevent existing players from manipulating the game and acquiring the benefits that come with new stable ownership.

3. Purchasing Credits.

To purchase credits login and click on "My Account" on the left hand Stable Menu. From there you will have the option to purchase credits. One U.S. dollar equals 1,000 game credits. You will need credits to purchase new horses, enter races and extend your subscription.

4. Starting The Game.

Getting started and learning the game is free. Upon registration, you will receive 3 free horses. You will also receive a free two-month membership, which will allow you to train and evaluate those horses and to learn the ropes. To race those horses, acquire additional horses, or to extend your stable beyond two months, you will need to purchase credits or use bonus credits.

Subscript Options
1 month for 8,950 game credits or $8.95 USD
3 months for 24,000 game credits or $24.00 USD
6 months for 45,000 game credits or $45.00 USD

During your free-trial period, be sure to introduce yourself in the forum and stop by the chatroom and pick up great quick tips.

5. Acquiring Additional Horses.

You have several options for acquiring additional horses. You can purchase additional horses directly from DigitalDowns, from the public-sales page, or from a live auction. You can also claim a horse from a claiming race or breed your own! These are the only methods allowed for acquiring horses. Selling a horse or a complete stable by any outside methods is strictly prohibited and cause for forfeit of said stable and assets.

5a. Purchasing a horse from DigitalDowns.

For 8,000 Credits ($8), you can purchase a randomly generated horse from Digital Downs. When you purchase this horse by clicking on the "Purchase Horse" button from your stable menu, you will select your horse's name, gender, color, and age (1, 2, or 3) if available. Your job is to train and evaluate your horse to bring out its best. These randomly generated horses come from unknown parents, and many champions have been purchased in this way.

5b. Using the Public- Sales Page.

The public-sales page allows owners to list their horses for public or private sale. There is no commission fee for listing or buying on the public-sales page. The seller will pay a post-sale commission of 15% of the sales price. Note, to prevent abuse, new stables are prohibited from using the public-sales page during their "free" period. Once a subscription is paid, the new stable can use the page. Violating this rule is grounds for deletion of account and forfeiture of any funds or horses involved in the violation.

5c. Purchasing/Selling A Horse - Via Auction.

You can also purchase or sell any race horse via the "Auction Page". The "Auction" begins at the listed time with a horse being auctioned off every 5 minutes until every horse is done. The horses will be listed by age with the 2yo's being auctioned first. If a reserve bid is listed the first bid must be at least equal to the reserve. The highest bidder at the time of close wins the horse. Bids can be raised by any increment but the credits must be available in your account as they will be deducted at time of bid. If your bid is not successful or has been outbid by another party the full amount of your bid will be instantly credited back to your account. Horses cannot be entered into the auction if they are either listed for sale on the "Sales Page" or entered in a race. The fee to sell a horse in the auction is 1000 credits(non-refundable) paid at time of entry or 12% of the final sales price whichever is higher.

6. Claiming A Horse.

Another option you have for obtaining a horse is by purchasing one from a claiming race. You may enter a claim on any horse from the time the nomination deadline for the race has past until one hour before the race. Once a claim has been entered on a horse that horse will not be allowed to scratched. The amount of the claim is based on the claiming amount listed for that race. Once the claiming race is finished anyone placing a claim on a horse will receive that horse for the claiming amount and the owner of the horse will receive the claiming amount minus 15%. You must have the available credits in your account to place a claim. If more than one person claims a horse a random drawing will be held to determine who receives the claim, all the losers of the drawing will be issued a complete refund.

7. Breeding.

A horse can be retired for breeding after its racing career ends, but to be eligible for breeding a horse must be at least 4 years old and must have started at least 10 races. Once retired, stallions can breed a maximum of 40 times. Mares can breed a maximum of 15 times. All horses can breed until the end of their lifespan, which is 20 game years. Breeding can be done in-stable by breeding an owner's mare to his own stallion, or can be done publicly by breeding a mare to a stallion listed on the public stallions page. Stallion owners may set and adjust their stud fees and may list the stallion publicly or reserve the stallion for particular stables. When stallions are listed publicly, they are available on a first-come first-served basis. While horses may be bred any time, all horses will age one year on the first day of each new season, namely on the 1st day of January, May, and September

8. Your Horse.

Each horse has been given 5 meters to use in preparing and evaluating their abilities for races. They are the speed, stamina, strength, endurance, and fitness meters. The fitness meter is the single most important meter for your horse. When just beginning with a new horse, it is good to focus on this meter first. The other four meters are meant to be used for fine tuning your horse's racing abilities. While you will not be able to dramatically change your horse's running style, by experimenting with the 4 meters in the green range, you can fine tune your horse for particular distances. For optimum racing performance the fitness meter should be at 100 and the other 4 meters should be in a range that gives your horse it best performance at the distance it is racing.

9. Your Horse's Characteristics.

Each horse has its own unique characteristics. The list below will give you an explanation of each and how you may maximize its' performance.

Fitness - The most important factor in deciding how close to optimum performance your horse will run. This meter should be at 100% for optimal race performance. NOTE:The first sign that you are over training or over racing your horse is that the fitness meter will begin to drop when you train the horse. Usually a days rest from work will stop the meter from dropping.

Speed - Some horses will like to race on or near the lead while others will take a while to get going. Try and use a jockey that suits your horses' running style.

Stamina -This factor determines how quickly horses will recover from hard training and how well its stats will hold up during a race.

Strength - Some horses are affected by the adversity factor more than others. Strength determines the amount of this effect.

Endurance - Some horses will perform best running longer races. Some will prefer to race in sprints. Endurance controls this factor by determining how far a horse can carry its speed.

Note: These meters will go down ater a race or workout and will come up with training. When these meters reach 95 they will not go up anymore.
The meters for these four characteristics are a reflection of your training regimen not the actual numbers for the horses abilities. These actual numbers are not viewable.



Age - All horses will age differently. Age is actually a combination of the horses age in years plus the amount of races it has had. Thus some horses racing careers will be shorter or longer than others. All horses are retired from the game after their 20th game year. Timed workouts do not affect the aging process.

Surface - Your horse may prefer Dirt or Turf it does matter.

Weight - Each horse has the ability to carry additional weight better or worse than others.

Heart - You may notice some horses seem to dig in when challenged while others could just give it up. Heart is your horses' inner determination to win.

9a. Your Horse's Additional Equipment.

Each one of these items can help or hinder your horses' performance. They will effect each horse in a different manner. Some horses will perform better when some of these items are used and others will not.

Blinkers - Blinkers are used to narrow a horse's line of sight so as to reduce his distractions.

Shadow Roll - A shadow roll is used to keep a horse from seeing his own shadow and also to help make him lower his head while running.

Tongue Tie - A tongue tie is used to keep a horses' tongue under the bit so he cant grab the bit and hinder the jockeys control. It also helps to keep the breathing passage open when the horse is tiring.

Bute - Bute is a medication used to help a horse with aching injurys.

Lasix - Lasix is a medication used to help bleeders.You may notice a horse is more consistent when on lasix and it has more desire in the stretch drive.

Vitamins - A horse might need vitamins to train, grow, and develop properly, which makes them extremely important in a horses' overall performance and consistancy.

HorseShoes - Adding Horses will help horse maintain its full ability longer . It will help with the horses lifetime race count .

For testing adds try to have the horses 5 meters as close as possible for each test using the same distance, instructions and jockey. The easiest way to do this is make them all 100's for testing.

10. Regular Training For Your Horse.

One option you have for keeping your horse in shape is using regular training method. There are 2 surface training options (Dirt or Turf), 10 distance options (from 2 furlongs up to 1 1/4 miles) and 4 methods (Lead Pony Gallop, Slow, Medium and Fast Rider Gallops) available for training your horse.

11. Timed Workouts For Your Horse.

Another option you have for keeping your horse in shape is using timed workouts. For timed workouts you have the options of selecting surface, distance, weight, jockey, and jockey instructions. A workout will time your horse with the additional equipment you have select. You can use this time to determine which adds your horse performs best with.

12. Resting Your Horse.

After every race your horse's fitness will go down. The amount will vary from horse to horse and is also affected by how rough the race was on him. By resting your horse for 2-3 days this number will come back up during daily maintenance.

13. Racing Your Horse.

To enter your horse in a race click on your horse from your main stable page and then click the "Nominate" button on the left menu. You will be taken to a racing calendar where you can click on a date and all the races available, on that date, for your horse will be listed. Choose a race that best suits your horse and you're ready to go racing. There are several different types of races to choose from. There are claiming races, allowance races, handicap races, stakes races, and special event races. The restrictions of the races will be listed on each race. The purse and nomination fee for the race will also be listed. Also there must be a minimum of 3 entries before any race will be carded. The purse will be made up of 90% of the total entry fees plus any added monies. After reviewing the player purse suggestions we have come up with a purse structure that will insure a profit for 2nd place in all races of 3 or more and with 3rd place showing a profit in races of 6 or more. The purse is divided between the top finishers of a race according to the following chart:

3 Horse Race Entries
1st = 60% of purse
2nd = 40% of purse
4 + Horse Race Entries
1st = 55% of purse
2nd = 25% of purse
3rd = 16% of purse
5+6 Horse Race Entries
1st = 55% of purse
2nd = 25% of purse
3rd = 16% of purse
7 + Horse Race Entries
1st = 55% of purse
2nd = 25% of purse
3rd = 16% of purse
4th = 4% of purse

Once posting of the final results takes place your earnings will automatically be deposited into your account. Final results are normally posted within seconds after a race has finished.

15. Selecting Jockeys.

When entering a race you will be given the option for selecting 3 jockeys you would like to ride your horse for the race. When the race is drawn each jockey will then select which horse he/she wants to ride. Jockey selection is based mainly on the racing record of a horse during the current race meet. The horse with the highest wins for the season will be awarded their first jockey choice. In the event of a tie in win totals, earnings for the season will be the deciding factor.

15a. Apprentice Jockeys.

They will have a 10lb weight allowance until they reach their 5th win then it drops to 7lbs until their 35th win then 5lbs to 50th win. After 50 wins they become journeymen riders. They may or may not improve enough to make journeymen status. Apprentice jockeys will be listed in the drop down box with a *10, *7, *5 after their name to denote as apprentice and their weight allowance. There is NO apprentice allowance given in any type of Stakes Race.

16. Types of Races.

Maiden Claiming Race - Only horses that have not won a race will be eligible for any maiden race. Every horse entering a maiden claiming race will be available for purchase at a set price to any owner at the end of the race. Any winnings will go to the owner who entered the horse in the race.

Maiden Special Weight Race - This is an allowance race for maidens and only horses that have not won a race will be eligible for these type of races.

Claiming Race - Every horse entered in this type of race will be available for purchase at a set price to any owner at the end of the race. Any winnings will go to the owner who entered the horse in the race.

Allowance Race - Horses entering this type of race are given weight allowances stated in the race description. Allowances may also have specific requirements for entering these races. This type of race is suited to higher caliber horses.

Stakes Race - This is a top level race for a greater amount of money and has fewer restrictions.Horses are drawn by money earned for these races.

Digital Downs Championship Series - This is a race series in which horses must earn enough points in the qualifying races to make it into the Finals. The Finals have an entry fee of 0(zero) credits and the field will be made up by the top 12 points earners in each division. Points can only be earned in a qualifying race if there is 6 or more starters.

Handicap Races - A Handicap race is a horse race where horses carry different weights assigned by the Track Handicapper, based on a horses class, earnings and recent form as compared to the other entrants in the race. A better horse will carry a heavier weight in order to make the race more competitive and exciting. The weights will be within a stated range so noted at time of entry with no horse carrying more or less than these stated weights. The weights for handicaps will be made available following the nomination deadline after the field is drawn. All Handicap nomination deadlines will be earlier than other races to allow for the handicapping process.

Triple Crown Series Races - This is a series for 3 year olds only consisting of 3 races for each sex with an added purse of 100,000 credits and a bonus of 200,000 credits for any horse that wins all 3 Triple Crown Races. The 3 races that make up the colts and gelding Triple Crown Series are 1) The Grade 1 Canadian Classic at 1 1/8 miles on dirt, 2) The Grade 1 Australia Cup at 1 1/4 miles on dirt and 3) The Grade 1 DigitalDowns Classic at 1 1/2 miles on dirt. The 3 races that make up the fillies Triple Crown Series are 1) The Grade 1 Matron Mile at Bel at mile on dirt, 2) The Grade 1 Lexington Plate at 1 1/8 miles on dirt and 3) The Grade 1 DigitalDowns Oaks at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt. The Triple Crown Series Races will begin with the first 2 races of each division being run in the second month of every season and the final race of each series going off in the third month. Their will be a two week span between each of the races. Entry into the triple crown races will be determined by horses earnings with the top 12 in earnings making the fields. None of the The Triple Crown Series Races will split under any conditions.

Split Added Money Races - Because some races split after 12 entries any split races involving added monies will have the added monies pro-rated for the split races. Ex; Split race has added credits of 10000 but only draws 6 horses for the split then added credits for the split race will be 5000.

Added money races with less than a full field may have the added monies reduced accordingly.

17. Your Winnings.

Your winnings will automatically be deposited into your account shortly after the finish of a race. This will occur once the final results for the race are posted. Results are normally posted within 2 minutes after a race.

18. Racing Season.

The racing season (1 virtual year) equals 4 actual months. At the end of every 4 month period during the nightly maintenance run all horses will age by 1. Your horses abilities can gradually go up/down over time as you race and train them. They do not suddenly change on this one day.

19. Game Costs in United States Dollars.

$1 USD = 1,000 Game Credits
Purchase Horse 7,000
Breed Mare With Stallion In Own Stable 6,000
Breed Mare With Public Stallion 6,000 + Stud Fee
Breeding From Public Page with Royalty Fee Option 6,000 + Offspring Race winnings % Royalty Fee is Posted 0%-10% of Foal Race Winnings
Register Foal for the DD Championship Series 2,000 or 10,000 after initial option is declined
Race Nomination Fee 750 - 100,000 per race
Scratch Fee - Before Closing Deadline 25% of Nomination Fee
Scratch Fee - After Closing Deadline 100% of Nomination Fee
Horse Sales 15% From Seller
Auction Sales 2,000 min or 12.5%
Claiming Race 15% From Seller
Stud Fee 15% From Stallion Owner
All transactions on DigitalDowns.us are made with game credits.
Game money, if needed, can be purchased separately for a nominal fee.

DigitalDowns.us reserves the right to confiscate funds and/or property (i.e. horses) from any user who obtained those funds/property by any improper means as decided by the Admin of said site.

Explanation of Horse Stats Page


1 = Horse Name 2 = Horse Picture
3 = Horse Owner 4 = Horse Color
5 = Horse Sex 6 = Horse Age
7 = Horse Status 8 = Races Column
9 = Wins Column 10 = Places Column
11 = Shows Column 12 = Money Earned
13 = Sire of Horse 14 = Dam of Horse
15 = Breeder of Horse 16 = Training Stamina Meter
17 = Training Strength Meter 18 = Training Speed Meter
19 = Training Fitness Meter 20 = Training Endurance Meter
21 = Race Date-Number 22 = Race Surface-Distance
25 = Race Finish Time 26 = Race Description
27 = Post-Running Positions 28 = Jockey
29 = Medications Used-B=Bute, L=Lasix, V=Vitamins
30 = Weight Carried  
31 = Equipment Used-b=blinkers, s=shadowroll, t=tongue tie
32 = Number of Horses in race-View race button

Virtual Horse Racing Game

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