Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Are your yearlings ready for their maiden challenge on the 1 April 2012? Training is the first step to getting it right!

£2,646.00 Maiden Challenge Series 

RaceClubs.com’s second Maiden Challenge Finals are bigger and better than the first one with more sponsorships and more time to prepare your yearlings for the first day of their racing season. 

The Maiden Juvenile Challenge Finals kick starts the most exciting season ever with fast ‘n friendly qualifiers that will have your juvenile horses competing for £2,646.00 sponsorships within the first 12 days of the new season. They’re going to be fun because anyone can enter them. All you need is a maiden juvenile horse, and it doesn’t even need to be a champion! 

There are six Maiden Juvenile Challenge Finals, each sponsored with £189.00.
All 2Y maiden horses will be eligible to enter the Maiden Qualifiers, each sponsored with £31.50. 
There isn’t a win requirement but horses need to earn qualifier points. 
Horses will need a supplementary fee in order to enter the qualifiers. 
The top 14 horses will compete in the Maiden Juvenile Challenge Finals. 
All other horses will be entered into consolation races which could create unlimited instances. 
The Maiden Juvenile Challenge Finals will work in the same way as RaceClubs.com’s normal 4-monthly Challenge Series, except that it will last for only 12 days. 

Yearling Sales Is On

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Enter the Hong Kong WFA Derby today- with $400 added stakes!

Enter the Hong Kong WFA Derby Today! 

The Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby is one of the most prestigious races on the domestic racing calendar. It is also the most historic, dating back to 1873, and the most lucrative at HK$16m. It's no wonder that most owners, trainers and jockeys view the Derby trophy as the most coveted prize of all. 

Most major racing jurisdictions have their own Derby races. The name "Derby" originates from Great Britain in the 18th century when the race was named in honour of the 12th Earl of Derbyshire. With the exception of the war years, the race has been held every year in Hong Kong since its inception. 

Over the years, the Hong Kong Derby has seen its share of amendments, too. In 1981, the race became the battlefield for the top four-year-old horses. Since the 1999/2000 season, the distance of the Hong Kong Derby was increased from 1800m to its current range of 2000m. Only four-year-old horses can take part in the Derby. As such, the race represents a once-in-a-lifetime shot at fame, fortune and immortality as a Derby legend. Recent history also clearly illustrates the Derby is a race that crowns not just one local champion on the day, but also global champions of the future. 

In the 80's and 90's of the past century, the race produced several heroes subsequently crowned ‘Horse of the Year' such as Football, Co-Tack, Yuno When, River Verdon, Makarpura Star and Oriental Express. In the current decade, the race has demonstrably kept up with the rise of Hong Kong racing worldwide. Since 2002 four Derby winners have also triumphed at the highest international level: Olympic Express, Lucky Owners, Vengeance Of Rain and Viva Pataca - the latter pair were also voted ‘Horse of the Year'. But several others in this timeframe - such as Precision, River Dancer, The Duke, Able One and Good Ba Ba - have taken part in the Derby and used this experience as a springboard to achieving Gr.1 glory internationally. 

There has never been a race quite like the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby and its rich tradition and popularity will ensure there never will be. Apart from the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby, the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile and Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup have also been programmed as the 4-year-old Series. The Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile was originally a Hong Kong Group 3 event and traditional lead-up race for the Hong Kong Derby. This race was upgraded to domestic Group 1 status in the 1999/2000 season, and is now the first of the three major races for the Hong Kong classic generation. 

Formerly known as the Hong Kong Derby Trial, the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup is run over the distance of 1800 metres. It is the most important lead-up race to the Hong Kong Derby since the first three finishers of the Trial have priority to run in the Derby. Starting from the 2010/2011 season, the race will be upgraded to HKG1 status. To acknowledge the fact that the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup’s new status is on a par with that of the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile, and to establish its position in the four-year-old classic series, its prize money and that of the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile will be given equality at HK$6 million. Since the previous levels were HK$3 million and HK$8 million respectively this represents prize money for the series to be increased to HK$28 million, with the climax of the series, the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby remaining at HK$16 million. 

The race programmer is proud to announce that on 18 March 2012, the RaceClubs.com virtual horse racing community will have the opportunity to race in the Hong Kong WFA Derby races online! 

Hong Kong WFA Derby (Colts) 
Hong Kong WFA Derby (Fillies) 

Enter the Hong Kong WFA Derby Today! 

Information: hkjc.com
Sponsorships: RaceClubs.com

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ongratulations to everyone in the Track Tabloid races & lucky draw wnners- your accounts have just been credited!!

Track Tabloid Racing & Lucky Draw Winners!  

RaceClubs.com’s Track Tabloid sponsored this weekend’s racing with an extra £126.00 Bonus Credits and £252.00 Cash. All you had to do was race in any of the Track Tabloid races on Sunday, 4 March 2012. No strings attached. 

The Track Tabloid is RaceClubs.com’s newsletter which helps to keep the virtual horse racing community in touch. It also informs you of major developments, news highlights and the really big promotions. The Track Tabloid also sponsors the end of season Challenge Series Tipping Competition with £315.00.

The £315.00 Challenge Series Tipping Competition is kindly managed by Celtic F.C but since the selections are made offsite you will need a valid email address to receive the link to enter the Tipping Competition. Entry forms will be emailed to your registered email address but the rules are quite simple: One entry per player. Entry is free. Winner takes all. 

If you’ve never received the Track Tabloid before then you will need to ensure that RaceClubs.com has your correct email address under your email preferences: MY ACCOUNT > Email Preferences > Promotional Email. 

Please add the RaceClubs.com Member Support team’s email address to your list of contacts. 

If you still need to subscribe to the Track Tabloid, you can subscribe with your stable name (instead of first name) as it appears in your profile and your registered email address: SUBSCRIBE.

 

The Tipping Competition entry forms will only be emailed on Friday 23, March 2012 but, more importantly, this weekend was all about winning £126.00 in the Track Tabloid races. And those winners are: 

£75.60 G1 Winner. Tenth Peak (Southwest Stars)
£40.95 G2 Winner. Choco Jocko (On The Hill Stables)
£9.45 G3 Winner. File Under R (The Sands)

However you spent your weekend, we hope you have a great one and that you spend it with us! 

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Friday, March 9, 2012

RaceClubs.com’s Yearling Sale begins in the Sales Ring and ends with you in the winner’s circle!

Yearlings On Sale! 

Yearlings are the unfair advantage that every serious trainer wants to grow their stable. They’re the best financial investment any trainer can make before the new season begins. Yearlings get a head start on their training, so they’re ready to race from the first day of the new season, and they get their first stabling fee free! You can start training them today as a 1 year old so they’re ready to race as 2 year olds next month. 

You want your yearlings ready to race from the first day of the new season because the Race Programmer has created an ultra-exciting, twelve-day racing extravaganza worth £2,646.00 just for next season’s 2 year olds- they're also going to need a supplementary fee!

You also get to enjoy that extra month training your yearlings for free because their first stabling fee will only be due in May 2012, e.g. a yearling bought on 12 March 2012 won’t have a stabling fee due on 12 April 2011, then if still unraced thereafter it will have a £1.26 stabling fee due on 12 May 2012. 

Technically, this means you get to keep your yearlings for free: yearlings eat for free, train for free, and sleep for free on RaceClubs.com. That’s because you should spend as much time training your yearlings until they drop because next season they are going to be kept on their hooves running in some of the most competitive races ever seen on RaceClubs.com! 

RaceClubs.com’s Yearling Sale begins in the Sales Ring and ends with you in the winner’s circle! 

Yearling Sale Details: 
- Yearlings will be available from 00:01 GMT on 9 March 2012 until 23:59 GMT on 31 March 2012. 
- The sales ring defaults to 2Y horses, remember to select the 1Y horse. 
- Yearlings have the same ability that they will have as 2Y horses. 
ie. Ageing from 1 to 2 years has no effect on the horses’ ability. 
- Yearlings are trained against 2Y training horses to gauge their abilities as a 2Y horse. 
- Yearlings become 2Y horses on the first day of the new season. 
- Yearlings can only enter races as 2Y horses in the new season. 
- Racing, Claiming, and Auctions are only available for horses aged 2-7 years. 
- Yearlings can be bought with bonus credits or cash, but using cash can get you some extra free horses. 

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Yearlings Sales are definitely on! You want to get your yearlings today for the championships tomorrow!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

More horse auction highlights from Moletown's pen at Raceclubs.com.

It's Auction Time (26/02/12) - Classic & Stayer

The pick of the classic and stayers from the auction today found their way to, yes, you've guessed it, Shotgun Mike. I do hope some of you start outbidding this man sometime soon as I don't want to keep parping on about all the bargains he picks up, time and time again. If you want some advice, go see your bank manager, giving the reason, "I need some money please sir as I have seen some cartoon horses I want to outbid Shotgun on!" It worked for DerekW10, why not you. If I had a dollar, I would because nearly every horse I have on my shortlist, the maestro has on his. To make matters worse, he only went and named one in my honour, much to my distaste, gladly not for long. He called it Lee Loves Glee, like as if I am into "Glee", come on, I'm more of a "High School Musical" kinda guy. So, here's my review of that horse, "Nice stayer, should do well, hope the rain stays away, you paid too much.....nuff said!" Only joking! She is a nice sort who loves a yielding track and will certainly be finding her way to challenge race near you soon. She stays the extended trip of 3200m well enough and has the bonus of possessing a nice turn over 2400m also. I am glad to see Micke change her name now toNumero Uno Franko, he must have felt his ears burning. As for the rest of the bunch to make it into this review, Billie, a classic filly holds sound enough ability but by his own admission, this one would fall into the category of a bit on the steep side. Yes, she has points on the board for this season and will most likely contest a high consolation race but I can't help but agree with the man and suggest that the hammer price was a little on the high end. She has a 2lb penalty for hitting two wins this term, which adds to the burden. 


The emergence of the staying monster has all but decimated the value of the once sought after. John Holmes is a prime example of this. The auction price paid is not a lot for a horse who, not so many seasons ago, had a chance of winning a challenge final aged two. Nowadays, the struggle to glory is made an almost impossible task by horses that are so far ahead of the chasing pack, it's not funny! Still, it opens the door to pick up the ones that will win a qualifier or two in their time for almost next to nothing. I mean, when you factor that this horse has only to win twice in the challenge arena to make a profit to investment, something has to give. More horses of similar quality or more monsters? I know what side of the fence I stand. As for his ability, he is a steady boy who will show up well on yielding and in the trusty hands of the green, a steady profit will flow throughout his career. Similarly, Orki Des Norello, like John Holmes, is one who will not benefit from the new breed of horse that comes from the sales ring, which in turn, once again pushes the prices down on horses of his calibre. The new breed of classic horse will undoubtedly stump the earning potential of this one but the profit margin will be there. He is a touch off what is now considered top class but that will not stop him in his tracks. There will be a time during his career that the champion may need to overlook a race and bide his time, ensuring selective entries for maximum return. His benefit is on a good underfoot surface, something we see a lot of, so, during his career, the options will be plentiful. 


Mr Simon sits happily on the precipice of a finals berth. A few more runs will see him book a place amongst the elite juvenile stayers and fight for the prize. It is going to be a hard task with the infamous Dezza in the ranks but what G1 Racing's new addition has in his favour is the ability to act on a fast track. One would have to say that a muddy surface appearing on the night will not act to enhance this ones chance but such are the odds on the dirt, it's fifty-fifty. You couldn't lay blame on his new master if the aim was to consolidate his current position and run the consolation. He would stand a tremendous chance of doing so, however, such is the mentality of the yard, I doubt this thought has even surfaced and the target is the final. Many a monster have failed to land the spoils in the past and any slip up could see a horse of this type take full advantage. The cost for this animal was not astronomical by any stretch of the imagination and he will pay his way, whether he is future champion or not is more in the hands of others failing. Another horse that acted on fast ground, fresh from the ring, failing to find a new home was Dashing Wonder. It's not usual to big-up a horse that hasn't really wound up yet but I think by next auction, everything you need to know about this horse will be revealed. Looking at past history of horses, I liked the very low fitness trials this one had to offer but I agree, with the lack of bids down, the community were not quite ready to part with the reserve cost, on a whim. Personally, I think this one will turn out to be a very nice classic colt who acts on fast ground. Whether he will be worthy of the price tag slapped on his head, we will soon see. 


Murrumba Downs was back in the sales with their purchase of the four-year-old filly, Always Debus. She has five wins in her career and a supplement fee is imminent on this one for a shot in The Cesarewitch. She has the advantage of being to handle the marathon distance which always serves well and she has put in some tasty efforts of late. I think with a little bit of good race placement and patience, she should return a nice profit to investment. £93 isn't a lot of money to pay for her quality but you also have to take into account the supplementary fee won't come cheap. She is certainly capable of doing well in the challenge arena and even if she don't compete on that stage, I still think a healthy profit in her twilight years is on the cards. The last horse to sell in the auction is the last horse to get the Moletown treatment. Daddys Overdraft took an age to reach her auction reserve. It left the sales in the hands of North And South, the trainer paying £230 and completing the days sale. It's a good job she doesn't move as slow as the bidding on her but when all is said and done she is a fine example of a classic filly. She has a liking to a bit of cut in the ground but her main efforts should come on fast going. She probably didn't stay 2400m last term in the juvenile final but should put in a better effort this term. Her previous owner has done all the hard work, racking up the four required runs and she is guaranteed a consolation race at minimum. The final is out of reach in fairness but a first instance consolation win will more than cover the outlay on the horse and she may even snatch a qualifying win prior to the finale, with two of the remaining races on conditions that could suit. 



Member Submission: Moletown 

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Friday, March 2, 2012

How to market your horses through claimers and auctions on Raceclubs.com.

Buying & Selling in General

All horses originate from the Sales Ring, in addition to which you have the options of purchasing horses from fellow members via the Auctions or by Claiming a horse in Claiming races.

You can change your horse's name on its details page provided it does not have a race history. Please refer to the 'Naming Convention' section below.

All horses age on the 1st of April, August & December, ie. at the start of every season. Each racing season lasts 4 calendar months. Your horse's innate characteristics change as they mature between the ages of 2-3 & 3-4 but thereafter remain consistent until they turn 8. Gelded Colts are retired permanently when they turn 8yrs. Un-gelded colts & fillies remain in a 'limbo' status for possible breeding purposes. To avoid cluttering your stable, the details of your Retired / Limbo horses are not displayed through your stable or search functions.

Supplementary fees are once-off registration fees for your horse to compete in the lucrative Championship Series for the duration of its racing career. Your options include either an early £3.20 through the Sales Ring or a late supplementary fee £64.00 when nominating for the qualifiers. The star alongside a horses name indicates that the supplementary fee has been paid, adding value to the horse when selling it in Auctions or Claims.

The monthly stabling fee ensures your horse's upkeep and maintenance. Daily training sessions are included in its stabling. Stabling fees start at £1.28 and can be discounted down to £0.00, at a reduction of £0.32 for every race it partakes in within its stabling period. Stabling fees are automatically deducted when due. If there are insufficient funds available the horses status becomes 'pending' and will be rejected from all upcoming races. The 'Automatic Stabling Fee Deduction' setting can be changed on the horse details page. Total stabling fees for your stable are capped at £32.00 per calendar month.

The Naming Convention

 Some rules apply when deciding on a name for your horse/s:

Name can not be more than 17 characters.

All new words after a space start with a capital, followed by lower case. Names like GrandGrand will automatically be changed to Grandgrand.

All words must start with a capital and cannot start with a digit eg 2000 year needs to be Year 2000.

A letter following a space may not be in lower case and will automatically be changed.

No more than 4 digits are allowed.

Digits must be consecutive e.g. Grand Wizzard 2000 but not Grand20Wizzard00

No swear words including Raceclubs.com’s list of exclusion words and terms and conditions.

No special characters as per existing list: :;<=>?@[\]^_`{|}~!”#$%&*+,-./

No 2 consecutive spaces, the name will automatically be updated.

Names can’t start or end with a space, the name will automatically be updated.

If brackets are used, they must be used at the end of a name, must include an open and closed bracket and must contain no more than 4 letters, all upper case. An open bracket cannot be in the first 3 characters. No numbers in brackets.

Bulk horse purchases:

- A random colour option has been added.

- Allows up to 12 characters (long stable names may be cut off if need be) so that a space and 4 digits can be added.

- Naming convention checks and changes are not applied here.

Horses that have never raced will be checked when being entered into a race. The same applies when entering into auctions. Any horses not meeting the naming convention requirements will need to be changed.

Sales Ring

The sales ring is comprised of 100,000 unique horses in terms of characteristics, preferences and ability. The sales ring is also non-sequential, meaning that there is no order in what may be acquired from the sales ring of the 100,000 pool of horses, in this sense making it random. Therefore you may purchase 100 horses and not get a ‘challenge contender’ or purchase one horse and it puts your stable into the Challenge series. The sales ring is further indifferent to who is purchasing from it and cannot be influenced by a stable, their previous purchases or by the site.

Purpose of One Year Old sales (available in last 2 weeks of season only) are to enable you to prepare horses ahead of the new season.

Racing, Claiming and Auctions are only available for horses aged 2-7 years.

Horses may change ability when ageing from 2yrs to 3yrs, and from 3yrs to 4yrs only.

Throughout its racing career, a horses preferences or characteristics (distance, going) do not change.

Note: It is common for some trainers to discredit the quality of horses being purchased from the sales ring. The benefit to them in doing so is to lead one to believe that you have better chances in purchasing a good horse from Auctions or Claimers, thereby providing an outlet for them sell their unwanted horses and to return to the sales ring. Of course all horses, including those in Auctions & Claimers, have originally come from the sales ring.

Claiming

 

You can Claim a horse that has been entered in a Claiming Race or conditioned Claimer by accessing this facility under the MARKET. A list of horses to claim will only be displayed here when a Claiming Race has closed for entries.

Where more than one member claims any one particular horse, the successful claim will be determined through a lucky draw.

The stabling subscription fee date is adjusted when the horse is transferred so that it will only be payable again 30 days after transfer.

The entire horse details history record of a Claimed horse is transferred to the new owner with the horse.

Auctions

Owners looking to fetch the best price for their horses can sell them through the Auction Ring to the highest bidder. Potential buyers also have the opportunity to inspect a horse’s form before bidding against other trainers for a particular horse.

Auctions are held twice monthly.

A buyer may change his bid anytime during an auction provided it is not lower than the Current Bid. Bidding closes 24 hours after the Auction Entry has closed except when a bid is placed in the last 2 (two) minutes – it then extends for an additional 2 minutes until no further bids are placed within the last 2 minute extension.

All financial auction related transactions are conducted through your wallet. If you are bidding on a horse the money will be deducted from the funds available in your wallet. Always ensure you have sufficient funds in your wallet otherwise your bids will be rejected. Funds can be transferred between your account balance and auction wallet.

Bids cannot be withdrawn, but your bid can be rejected if another stable places a higher bid.

Each horse gets sold "as is", with all its applied products, supplementary fee, fitness levels and earnings. For statistical purposes, the horse’s earnings and wins prior to sale remain attributed to the seller.

To enter a horse/s into Auction, simply tick the horses you wish to enter then choose to enter them either individually or as a Group. Then set the Reserve Price and add notes. Confirm your selection and pay the small auction entry fee through your basket. Auction entry fees are refunded for all horses that are sold.

Note: A horse may not be entered into a race whilst it is in an auction. Similarly, a horse may not be entered into an auction if it is entered for an upcoming race.

A 15% administration fee is deducted from the selling price for all sold horses.

The reserve price can be changed anytime during an auction before bidding closes. Notes can be changed provided no bids have been placed against that horse. Horses may be withdrawn provided no bids have been placed against that horse.

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