We are in the middle of some exciting times here at Sport of Kings.  Our virtual horses are seeing their values sky rocket and many of our owners have already gotten their hands into breeding and training the yearlings for the next season which begins January 2015.

Season 3 will see the introduction of the new format for our Elite Series (Grade 1) championships!  We will be introducing the very popular qualifier series that culminates in a final invitational championship at the end of the season!  The series will be rolled out in phases that are detailed below:

The prizes will be structured:

• Quals - $15 entry with $40 added cash

• Finals - $150 added cash

Season 3

• 2yr old championship series is converted to the new format

• The two year olds will cease to have a monthly championship.

3yr,4yr+ will continue as normal for season 3 with their monthly championships.Season 4

• 2yr olds keep the new format

• 3yr old championship series is converted to the new format

• The three year olds will cease to have a monthly championship.

4yr+ will continue as normal for season 4 with their monthly championships.Season 5

• 2yr and 3yr olds keep the new format

• 4yr+ old championship series is converted to the new format

• The 4+ year olds will cease to have a monthly championship.

At this point all monthly championships will be replaced with the new format.Each season we will evaluate the number of entries and nominations and adjust our prizes accordingly.

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The grade 3 series (previously known as the Blackman Stud Championship Series) will be renamed to the Tenderfoot Series.  The purses for this series along with some aggressive new owners are what has driven the value of the grade 3 horses through the roof during the 2nd season.  We have seen a number of grade 3 horses sell for $150 or more which is remarkable considering they can be purchased from the sales ring at a mere $4.

At the 3/4 season mark the Grade 3 Championship series has seen 83 qualifiers be run for nearly $8,000 in purse money!  There has never been a better time to get involved in virtual horse racing with the prize pools growing and the community still learning together.

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Other Changes

• Championship races will now close 18 hours in advance - second instances will be created on demand (with bonus credits if applicable)
• All other races will now close 30 minutes in advance.
• Races will have the minimum number of unique stables raised from 2 to 3.
• We will be reducing the genetic certification price to $25.
• Triple Crown Races will now follow the championship payout schedule.

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The second leg of the inaugural Virtual Triple Crown at Sport of Kings is set to go off November 16th with the big favorite Blessings looking to continue her quest to sweep the series and claim the jackpot prize.

She has been a dominant force since she came onto the scene winning her debut at Hollywood Park by a solid 4 lengths in a field of 7.  Since then she has only tasted defeat three times over 14 races against some incredibly classy competition.  She is currently riding a 6 race win streak including her most recent romp in the Churchill Derby where she pulled away from Scouse Pride to an easy five length victory.  She looks much the favorite here in the second leg of the triple crown that will be contested over 1 1/8m (1800m) but the shorter distance and large prize pool of nearly $400 will certainly pose a threat and should bring in some new shooters like Liverpool Legend and Ozark Pete who will aim to disrupt her bid for the complete Virtual Triple Crown.

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Grade 3 Championships

Qualifiers week 1-2 review

We will focus on the dirt horses for this newsletter but we had a large number of highly competitive races to choose from from the first round of qualifiers.

Dirt Classic

Parks Racing has found themselves a nice horse in the form of Harley who caught the favored Double Stars' Double Trouble just on the line to win by a head.  The breeders cup juvenile classic winner Shandy owned by Ewing Farms turned up a disappointing third, perhaps a bit too far for this front runner to carry her speed.

Dirt Sprint

True Blue Stable took home the victory in this 6 furlong sprint over a slow track.  His horse Wizard sat just off the pace and then pounced on Strawberry Fields' Hollywood Nights who pressed the pace the entire way before getting the lead and the third pole.  The winner was chased home gamely by Shiraz who made a late charge but couldn't close the distance in time on this day.

Dirt Super Sprint

Dynamic Boy lived up to his name and put in a truly dynamic performance for West Coast Racing in a front running score that kept him 2 clear of the competition.  This was only the second race for this juvenile colt out of Mr. Greeley and he seems to have figured it out quickly.  We can look for this fine colt to be a major player in the super sprint series for seasons to come.

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Horse Development / Evaluation / Progression 

This is probably the most talked about area on Sport of Kings so we thought that we should do a write up for our players (new and experienced) to help guide you on your journey as virtual trainers.

Horse Development

The virtual horses at Sport of Kings are made to be realistic from day 1 and follow growth patterns that you would see in real life.  All horses purchased from the sales ring use sires that are historically based and will, almost always, offer some insight into the type of horse that you have on your hands.  

An example of this would be a horse that is a progeny of El Prado (IRE) they will almost certainly prefer turf to dirt and you would expect them to like the longer distances.  This is not a hard and fast rule but it certainly provides a great starting point for our trainers.

Horse Progression

The next thing that trainers need to understand is that horses are constantly improving and evolving.  This means that every game day, training run, or race a horse could possibly improve, not simply once a season as some of you may be familiar with.  

Horse Evolution

We have a creation system that allows our horses to be born as precocious (horses that will be almost fully mature as young two year olds and race ready) all the way to late blooming horses that may not fully mature until their four year old season (or maybe even later in rare circumstances).  This is a very hard concept to grasp, even for some of our most experienced trainers, and it means that you should rarely be willing to give up on a horse until you get a full understanding of just how good a horse can possibly be (it's potential).  

How do I judge a horses potential?

Every trainer wants to know from day 1 what kind of horse they have on their hands but we aren't just going to hand you that information, it is something you will have to decipher for yourself.  The system does offer some insight on a rare occasion through site mail when the jockeys and trainers give you feedback on your horse, it's current ability or it's future potential. (Note that jockeys give you current ability information while trainers are able to better judge the potential of a horse).  We also provide some visual tools on each horse page (or in the premium section) that give you meters which show the growth (or progression) of a horse as it ages.

Growth Meter Explained

The growth meter is a visual tool that allows our trainers to see how much their horse is progressing in it's training.  It is vitally important that our trainers recognize that this is not an indication of ability or talent, but merely shows how much growth a horse has had since it was born.  A longer meter simply means that the horse has improved a significant amount but it does NOT indicate a preference or ability level.

This is part one of a series of informative articles that our staff will be preparing for our players.  Look for part two coming soon.

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The inaugural season at Sport of Kings is rolling along and building up momentum as we approach the half way mark.  There are a lot of happening and events worth discussing but we will focus on some of the most interesting ones.

Anfield Road has certainly shown his willingness to engage anyone at anytime and the depth of his stable through these first two months.  He has already accumulated 85 victories and 41 maiden winners!  His top horse is Kiki Dee, which he purchased in auction for $60 from West Weston Westoner, and has earned over $160 in prize money.  Kiki Dee was narrowly edged out in her last start, her first attempt at turf and will likely look to rebound on a return to dirt.

Ritchie Racing is another hot stable who has a horse that is proving to be a really tough campaigner.  Honeybunny is a two year old colt that has already seen the track 8 times and has accumulated a record of 5-3-0 with $35.44 in earnings.  His most recent race was a two length victory in the Hong Kong Sprint at Happy Valley where he posted a top speed rating of 106.  This colt out of Unusual Heat looks to be a real prospect that will take some beating.

In future news the second round of Championships will be held this weekend and already features purses in excess of $1,250.  We can expect to see some much anticipated rematches and some new faces that lurk just in the shadows, ready to pounce for a victory.  Remember, it is never too late to get into the game and get a horse in the race, and with over $1,200 up for grab almost every month in the championships there has never been a better time to try and grab your piece of the pie.

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The May Championships are in the books and saw over $1,300 in prize money paid out in a single day. The races were almost all competitive and very few stables walked away losers thanks to the large amount of added money that was available in the purses. The eight different races saw five different stables in the winners circle.  This was a great start to the season and we expect to see many of the horses competing again next month.




Juvenile Sprint Championship
One of the best races of the day was a 6 furlong sprint over a slow main track.  This race saw Kiki Dee, sent out by West Weston Westoner, stalk a fast pace set by Anfield Road's LFC Combat all the way to the stretch and then surge in front to win by a solid 2 lengths.  Those two were 3 clear of the rest of the field all of whom put in solid efforts chasing the top two around the track.  

The winner took home a cool $95.50 for her efforts and will look to build on what is now a two race winning streak.

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Our player base has gotten our inaugural season off to a flying start with over 300 races in the first 20 days and counting.  The grade 3 monthly championships just concluded and saw 6 different owners send their horses to victory!

May 31st will see the first Grade 1 championships that have nearly $1000 in purse money up for grabs.  Many of the prep races have yielded some very competitive results and you can expect more than a  few unexpected winners coming out of the first championships.  Anfield Road is off to a site leading 21 maiden wins with over $400 in earnings leading into this weekend.

With over 24,000 registered users we are consistently growing and improving and there has never been a better time to get in on the action!

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There are only 7 days left until the grand opening and the racing begins!

This means that you only have 7 days to make your cumulative deposit of $50 or more in order to be eligible for our $1000 Giveaway which will occur on May 2nd, 2014.  Remember, the winner gets $500 while 2nd place gets $300 and $100 each to third and fourth.

We have introduced a number of upgrades over the past few weeks, including giving sires to our sales ring horses which gives them some historical reference and provides the owners with some grounding in terms of the horse's potential running style.

As a reminder, we offer rewards to our owners who refer new stables to the site and make an initial deposit.  Please see your account page for the specific URL that you should distribute to potential players to sign up.

We look forward to seeing you at the races and wish you the best of luck in the inaugural season.

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We are thrilled to announce the opening of the live site on March 1, 2014.  We are running a number of promotions and bonus contests to go along with this grand opening.  The opening month will offer race cards with over $600 in added money.

The first promotion is a $1000 Giveaway!  Entry to this contest will be open until the grand opening day.  Details and rules for the $1000 giveaway can be found here.

The second promotion that is going on is a buy 2 get 1 free sale on horses from the sales ring.  This promotion automatically adds horses to your purchase but only horses purchased with your cash balance.

Finally, we have added some guaranteed purse races that have a 0 entry fee.  This will give new owners a chance to try and wins some money without risking a stake.

Card a Race Feature

One important feature that we have added to the site is the ability for our users to now card their own races.  This will give those looking for a specific criteria a chance to create such a race.

We look forward to seeing you at the track!

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