The field is getting ready to close on a contentious looking group of three year olds who will compete over a mile on the heavy turf at the Sport of Kings Track.

ML Favorite
#4 Mark Twain 
The most experienced horse in this race returns to the mile trip here and is coming of a lifetime high 100 SR over 6 furlongs.  I can't help but believe he is better suited to the slightly shorter trip but the fans seems to think that speed may hold this time as your short priced 6/5 favorite.

Threats
#6 Sussex Miller
The sidley stud barn has been hot lately and they will be looking to pick off a solid field here when this Danehill filly returns to the track after winning her last at this distance on February 17th.  She may not quite have the speed figures to compete with this group but we will see, expect her explosive turn of foot late.

#2 Ms Clean
Precious Stable brings this filly by Pure Prize to the qualifiers after placing 4th, only 5 lengths back in the last effort.  She has shown the ability to run 1:51 which will put her right there at the wire.  She should be fresh coming in for only her second race of the month and could be a factor, if she gets the setup, with her deep closing style.

#3 Chypmunk Dinner
The other horse from Anfield Road, this gelding out of Danzig has been ultra tough in his last 5 efforts, winning 3 of them and losing the other two by a combined 1.25 lengths.  His owner keeps him on the turf after a solid second last out on February 4th.

# 1 Knivsbjerg 
This gelding looks to carry the flag for Anfield Road and continue his three race wining streak.  The horse could only manage to get to the winners circle three times as a juvenile but has clearly started hitting his best stride after being gelded heading in the breeders cup which he won by two lengths. He will be looking for a stalking trip.

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Today we see a contentious field of 6 prepared to go the mile over soft turf.  The field of six all appears to have a legitimate chance at picking up a piece of this purse with the exception of the unknown Bladerunner.

ML Favorite
#6 Bonsun
This filly out of Monsun is looking to return to her best form that she found over this condition and distance back on January 27th.  She seems to need some pace to close into in order to be successful  and it appears that she will get it from the heavily raced Captain Obvious.  I would think that a repeat of her previous maiden form and a time of 1:51 would be good enough to find her in the winners circle yet again.  This is her third race this month which is taxing for any horse so we will see what kind of toughness she will display in this spot.


Threats
#3 Vital Discussion
This maiden filly by Singspiel looks to be a closing type that will be well positioned here at the back of the field with Bonsun.  West Coast Racing brings her in after a public work clocked at just under 1:54 so she will have to improve a bit off that which she has shown the ability to do with her debut race coming in at a time of 1:52.5.  I don't know if she's good enough to win this short of a race, this early in her career but she shouldn't be too far off at the end.

#1 School Holidays
I like this Halo colt a lot and he looks very well placed here at the mile distance.  He seems to have the ability to rate a bit and should get first jump on the deep closers.  He beat Bonsun in his most recent victory in a game effort on February 16th, 2015.  This should be an excellent rematch  between the two as there is not much to separate them.

#2 Captain Obvious
Ewing Farms enters this Singspiel colt into his 6th lifetime race, a heavy race load, only second to Anfield Road's The New One who will be seeing the track for the 7th time as a two year old.  Captain Obvious has yet to win in a qualifier but has won his two most recent efforts outside of that.  He appears to be a versatile front running sort but may just not have the class to win at the top level.

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This field is shaping up to be a large and good one that will likely help clear up the picture for favoritism in the finals which will be held over a mile and half on April 26, 2015

ML Favorite
#9 Sussex Montjeu
The early favorite appears to be a horse that is facing championship caliber opponents for the first time in sidley stud's Sussex Montjeu.  This colt took three tries to break his maiden but did so in a very impressive fashion at Lingfield.  He got loose on an early lead and kept a decent field at bay winning by an easy 5 lengths.  His score was at a mile and half and he will be stretching out to 1 3/4 for this race which he has tried twice before with no luck.  He draws a favorable post in the 9th spot and should have every chance to clear the field and take the lead early if he doesn't get into trouble at the gate.

Threats
#13 Blue Halo
I feel like the public must know something I don't here as in his only race Blue Halo beat the favorite by three lengths over the same distance but heavy turf.  She posted a wicked speed rating of 111 in that lone effort.  My one reservation is that while she is fast, she didn't improve much from her public work on Jan 8 to her race effort on the 19th, so you can expect the same here.  I believe you can look for her to post a time right around 3:25 and I don't think that's good enough for this group.  She is just a bit of an unknown but the most recent works indicate to me that she is dialed in and ready for this.

#4 Dyna Drill
This undefeated Dynaformer gelding is looking to win his third straight after beginning his career in dramatic fashion, beating the field of a $5 claiming race by 28 lengths.  He returned to the track February 13th to pickup another win in style against a tougher field over a mile and 3/4 of yielding turf.  He looms a threat but you have to say that with such humble beginnings this horse has already out performed expectations and finding himself in the money for this race would be a nice bonus.

#3 Crazee Syko
This Singspiel colt owned by Nemesis Stud and bred by Ember Racing is still looking for his maiden score.  Nemesis purchased the colt for $45 after seeing a public workout on January 8th.  There is no denying the talent this colt has but his running style isn't clear and I am not sure he's up to this level of competition just yet.

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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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