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Horse Eligibility

Thu, 07/16/2009 - 16:22 — admin

The previous section cover trainer eligibility criteria for entering races.  This section covers horse eligibility.
 
In each league, there are many different types of races.  This include

  • Maiden races - open to horses that have not recorded a win in SOPL (it doesn't matter who many wins your superstar had in your game, it will always start life in SOPL as a maiden and remain a maiden until it wins a SOPL race)
  • Group races - the premier races for the top performing horses
  • Handicap races - horses' weight is based on performance in previous league races
  • Graded handicaps - handicaps with a minimum and maximum handicap entry criteria (eg horses with a handicap of less than 60 or greater than 90 are ineligible).  The criterea will change to suit each league, so make sure you check out the USRA, NHC and UKRA sections of this manual for any league specific rules and eligibility.
  • Age-based races eg 2yo only, 3yo only, 4yo + (ie horses 4 years and older)
  • Sex based races - fillies/mares only, colts/stallions and geldings only
  • etc

All horses start SOPL with a default handicap.  This rating increases or decreases depending on performance in league races.  The handicap is determined by the Construction Kit game engine.
 
Despite your horse been given a pre-rating, it is still required to run one SOPL league race before being eligible for any league handicap races.
 
Note that some Group races are run under handicap conditions (as happens in englightened parts of the racing world ;))  In European racing, Group races are run under set weights (including penalties in some cases).  In the US and Australasia, many of the top Group races are run under handicap conditions.
 
In some cases, the conditions in the game/league differ from actual real-life conditions.  That's just the way it is!
 
When entering a horse, you will normally have the option of selecting one horse from your stable and some thought may need to be given to your selection.  For Group races with set weights, you would normally select the horse which you consider is the best chance given the race conditions.  For handicap races, you will also need to consider what the likely handicap for each of your eligible horses will be and whether that will impact on your decision.
 
As with real life racing, trainers who experience the most success in SOPL are adept at ensuring their horses are best placed according to the conditions for each race.
 
Special Rules
The league races can accomodate at maximum field of 30 horses, but in some rare cases we've experience more entries than allowable.
 
Maiden Races - Should we get more than 30 nominations.  Horses that have not yet run a single SOPL league race are given preference, so they can attain a handicap rating.  Horses with the highest handicap ratings are balloted out, until the number of nominations is lowered.
 
Handicap Races - Should we get more than 30 nominations.  Horses that have highest current handicap rating are given preference.  Horses with the lowest handicap ratings are balloted out, until the number of nominations is lowered to 30.
 
Group Races - Should we get more than 30 nominations.  Horses that have highest current handicap rating are given preference.  Horses with the lowest handicap ratings are balloted out, until the number of nominations is lowered to 30.