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Sunday, February 27, 2011

Simple system for horse travel?

Simple is an insidious word, because what sounds simple to me, may be a programming nightmare for Laurie.

I'm not sure how most people feel about instituting a travel rule into Photo Finish, but I have been in favor of it for ages.  My gut feeling is the only thing holding it up is a way to introduce it to the game without the Administrator having to spend 6 months at hard labor.

I was thinking it about it again and I would suggest a simplified approach.  How about this for a possibility?  Divide the world up into four quadrants with North America in the top left,  South America in the bottom left, Eurasia in the top right, and Australia in the lower right, with each race track getting assigned to a quadrant.

The system would have to remember the quadrant that the horse raced in last.  Then, when choosing future races from the drop down menu, the only races that will show up will be the ones that can be reached in the allotted time.  For instance:

Next race in same quadrant - Horse can run in races after 14 days.
Next race in adjacent quadrant - Horse can run in 28 days.
Next race in diagonal quadrant - Horse can run in 42 days.

This would approximate the logistics/difficulties of intercontinental travel.  It would require that owners be a little more on their toes, no question about that.  I for one would welcome it.  Perhaps a column could be added to the stable page that would identify the horses current quadrant location.  That would help immensely in planning.

Any input on this subject?

15 comments:

Rick said...

Brilliant

Anonymous said...

Are we walking the horses to their next race? In real life quarantine is the biggest time issue in intercontinental travel for the horses. The last I heard was for the Breeders Cup and the European horses had to be quarantined for 48 hours for testing. That was from several years ago, not sure what it is now. 3-4 days travel time to the US counting quarantine.

Anonymous said...

Last post was by Smokey.

Anonymous said...

Hated the idea of shipping from day 1 and hate it still




Foxie

Jim Webber said...

You hate the idea of travel restrictions Foxie? Why?

The amount of days can obviously be tinkered with. But I think this makes sense. I mean, how often do you see a horse run in Melbourne, then run again in New York in 14 days? Or even in 21 days? Does it ever happen?

Jim Webber said...

And...I'm no expert, but many countries have pre-export AND post-arrival quarantines. So I think these days would probably be fairly realistic.

Anonymous said...

Just dont like it because i dont want to fart around working out schedules for my horses etc

Remember Sir Jim its fantasy they can travel to wherever they want when they want

If it was brought in i wouldnt care i just dont like it



Foxie

Anonymous said...

mi sembra una buona idea!, anche perchè il trainer deve organizzare un piano strategico molto preciso per avere i propri cavalli sempre nelle corse giuste. I agree
Ettore

Jim Webber said...

Ettore's comment translated:

I think a good idea, partly because the trainer has to organize a strategic plan to be very precise in racing their horses always right. I agree.

Jim Webber said...

The term FANTASY should be stricken from our vocabularies as far as Photo Finish is concerned. Because it is referred to as FANTASY, everyone has a convenient crutch to lean on when talk of realism comes up.

I suggest we refer to our beloved pastime as Photo Finish Horse Racing SIMULATION from now on.

If we are trying to be a SIMULATION, we need travel restrictions. If we are content to be a FANTASY, why not instant 2yo's from breeding?

Pick your poison. Let's go one way or the other. No more fence sitting.

Anonymous said...

Im all for instant 2yo`s

Ok if we going to make it as real as possible then fine lets add shipping and then there will be no instant 2yo`s and we mite aswell add tax to winnings etc , give jockeys instructions , pay for vet bills , buy equipment bring in gelding , mares can die while giving birth i can go on forever ;)

If we bring in shipping to make it more "real" then we mite aswell add the rest



Foxie

Anonymous said...

If travel is going to be added in to the game I would like to see several parts to it.

Money. I think there should be costs when shipping.

Stamina. I think there should be a downward adjustment in the ESN for the horse since travel is strenuous on a horse.

More races on each track. This could minimize the need for travel if there are more suitable races at that track or near by rather than having to travel across the world looking for a race.

I also miss the scratch condition that allowed the horse be entered into a different race if the horse was scratched.

Smokey

Jim Webber said...

Foxie: I see your point, but you don't want to introduce the drudgery of realism into a game, do you? The trick is to make it realistic and yet simple.

Chris: All good and viable suggestions but perhaps going beyond the "simple" change I propose?

Anonymous said...

I guess it is but I would at least like the opportunity to enter a horse in the same week if it scratches out due to track conditions to keep it on schedule. If I ship a horse cross quadrants and wait 42 days to do that and it scratches it could completely throw off the extended schedule for that horse, since I will need to wait until the next scheduled weeks to enter again.


Smokey

Jim Webber said...

That is a tremendously good point, and I agree with you.