Gallop Racer 2004
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Version Information
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Last Updated: 11.26.2011
Version: 2.01
Version History:
0.25: Started with a few areas done: Up to I.1.2, up to
II.1.C, and finished V.
0.28: Added leg types and supercheats.com as a host site.
0.30: Added I.2.B and I.2.C.
0.40: Finish I.2 and started/finished I.3 and I.6
0.50: Finished the entire first section (I).
0.54: Added II.1.C and II.1.D.
0.72: Finished II.1 and started on II.2, updating a few others
0.73: Added a frontrunner strategy to I.1.D
1.00: Technically, it is finished as a first draft. However, I
am only in the third year, so the information is incomplete.
1.50: HUGE updates, all over the map. Finished the third in-
game year, which gave me tons of new information. Most of the
guide has been updated, including adding two full new sections
(III & IV).
1.55: Updated with my new whipping strategies and added
II.4.F.
2.00: With all of the additions from my continuing playing and
from raela, this has easily passed version 2.
2.01: Added titles thanks to Itzapapalotl.
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Table of Contents
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I. Starting Off
0. Notes (READ FIRST)
1. Racing Basics
A. In the Gate
B. Initial Position
C. During the Race
D. The Start of the End
E. The Stretch *UPDATED*
2. Horse Types
A. Leg Choice
B. Life Graph
C. Rank
D. Dirt/Turf/Distance
E. Secondary Abilities
3. Schedule
A. Requests, etc.
B. Rival advice
C. Trainers/Rivals *UPDATED*
D. My Horses
E. First Timers
4. Buildings
A. Home
B. Stables
C. Info Office
D. Academy
E. Hall *UPDATED*
F. Pasture
5. Races
A. Open
B. GIII
C. GII
D. G1
E. Special GI
6. Deciding which races to enter
II. Sprinting On
1. More Race Info
A. The Slot Machine
B. "Rough"
C. Wild/Over-Eager/Uninterested/Contact
D. Blocked In
E. Inclines
F. Race Speeds
G. Traversing
H. Jockey Points
2. Hall
A. Jockey Titles *UPDATED*
B. Horse Titles *UPDATED*
C. GI Races
D. Hall of Fame *UPDATED*
E. Credits
3. Events
A. WSJS
B. Special G1 Races and Horses *UPDATED*
C. GWS
D. Dream Races *UPDATED*
4. Other Important Times
A. Meeting New Rivals/Trainers
B. Gift Horses
C. Breeding *UPDATED*
D. Special Horses
E. New Years Resolutions
F. Other *NEW*
5. The Best Horses *UPDATED*
6. VS. Mode
III. Scenarios on My Methods *EACH UPDATED*
1. Front Runner
A. Good Run
B. Recovering From a Bad Run
2. Preceder
A. Good Run
B. Recovering From a Bad Run
3. Mid Runner
A. Good Run
B. Recovering From a Bad Run
4. Closer
A. Good Run
B. Recovering From a Bad Run
5. Summary
IV. Contributions
1. Tips
2. FAQs
3. Contributors *UPDATED*
V. Contact and Legal Junk
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I. Starting Off
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0. Notes
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1. "F" stands for Furlongs (the unit of measure for races)
2. Numbers in version history refer to the table of contents
3. Please realize that Gallop Racer 2004 is a package deal. My
splitting it up into sections is to help organize the guide.
However, it does cause for some interconnected areas to be
separated; I have tried to minimize this effect, but it still
may be noticeable.
4. Read the scenarios sections for general race info if the
first two sections don't help (I might just start in the
scenarios section).
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1. Racing Basics
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In the Gate
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There is only one button press in the gate, but it might be
the most important one in the game. With a front
runner/preceder horse, really aim for the music note
(perfect), but at least get OK. For the pack runner, go for
the OK with perfect/angry being backups. For the back runner,
aim for an OK or an angry (be a little off); either of the
other two (furious or perfect) will give you a bad start.
NEVER get furious. At least try to hit the two together (I
have only gotten furious for not hitting it at all).
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Initial Position
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A good gate burst will generally put you in a relatively good
position. Use gentle double (or single) up (or down) taps to
guide your horse. Either hold down a side or do many single
taps to move your horse sideways (a quick double-tap will pull
you over faster, but allows for easy Contact).
For the front runner, try to be about 1-2 horselengths ahead
(just enough so a horse could squeeze between you and second)
and hug the side (see Rough note).
For a preceder, aim for being in 2nd or 3rd. You want to be in
the front of the pack, but not up to a front runner. Depending
on how far back you are, try not to go all the way to the
side, allowing for a quick pass of the leader (who will hug
the side); however, the decision is yours if you want to hug
the side as it doesn't fully matter.
For a middle horse, stay with the pack. I generally would be
in around 10th in a 14-horse race. Also, it is imperative that
you do not hug the side, for you WILL be blocked in. Do a race
with rough, for where the rough fully ends is about where you
will want to be (not far enough for course loss, but enough so
you are on the outside).
A closer is similar to the pack runner, except you want to be
just slightly behind the second-to-last runner. Again, be far
enough over to do passing, but not too much to get course
loss.
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During the Race
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The taps are the same as at the start ("Use gentle double (or
single) up (or down) taps to guide your horse. Either hold
down a side or do many single taps to move your horse sideways
(a quick double-tap will pull you over faster, but allows for
easy Contact")).
The entire point of this section is to keep your horse in
about the same place he was in the initial position while
other horses jockey for places. Simple taps are generally all
you need (see II.1 for much more info in this area).
Keep your eyes in four places (multi-looking is a must). The
first is your stamina (blue) meter, which should be slowly
filling up. The second is your horse face, which should be
blue. If it is yellow, either speed up or slow down (look at
the speed meter directly above the horse (the arrows should be
pointing in the general upwards direction)(red will be dealt
with in II.1.C). The third is the main screen: make sure
you're not about to hit any horse and get a good feel of your
position. The final place is the right race screen, which will
tell you if there is safe distance to move around a horse
(circles will be slightly touching or have a gap) and also get
a feel for your position.
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The Start of the End
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You know where the announcer says "this is where the race is
won" at the 4 furlongs mark. This is when you will be wanting
to start to position yourself. For non-special races (if you
don't know what they are, you don't have to worry about them
for you have not gotten them yet), these are the approximate
distances you will want to start maneuvering yourself into a
good spurt position (explained shortly).
Front: 2.3F
Preceder: 2.6F
Middle: 3.6F
Closer: 3.8F
You are trying to set yourself up for the final spurt. This
means advancing forward and moving over if necessary. This
section is a MUST if you do not want to be blocked in (VERY
annoying, believe me). At about 2.1F, you want to be in one of
the front five positions with no one in front of you (or will
be moving in front of you (even more annoying). You will also
want a speed equal to or slightly greater than the other
horses.
For normal GI races, add about .1F
For special GI races, add about .5F
An alternate strategy for front and preceder horses (as I race
them similarly): First of all, make sure no one is going to be
blocking you. Then simply watch the side map for the back/pack
runners to start their sprint (their circles will speed up)
and start moving forward then. This is the strategy I
generally use for the more-front runners. However, of course
it does not work for further back runners.
Frontrunner help: As soon as you get into the home stretch (if
not before), you want the pack to be nearly neck-and-neck with
you. After they nearly catch up with you, then is when I
start my final stretch. Also, personally, I rarely go out very
far in front; for most of the race I am only a horselength or
two in front of second (assuming my stamina is increasing at a
reasonable pace).
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The Stretch
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"Stretch" refers to the final 2.0F. At about 2.0F, start
tapping up repeatedly (which you should not stop until the
race ends). Wait a second or two after the initial tapping to
use the whip. Once you use it, do it a few times, until the
gauge is about 1/2 to 2/3 gone. Then, switch hands and wait.
Watch your speed gauge. It does absolutely no good to whip
when the horse is at max speed. However, as soon as the speed
begins to decrease, whip down to almost empty (not fully
though), switch hands, wait for a bit, and whip again. Keep
switching and whipping until the end. This strategy can
literally trim up to a second off your time!
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2. Horse Types
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Leg Choice
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There are 4+ leg types:
Front (>>>o)
Preceder (>>o>)
Middle (>o>>)
Closer (o>>>)
Front Runners like to run in the front, however this can mean
anything from being third (in a race full of front runners) to
being a few horselengths ahead. Cautions include lower stamina
during the final stretch and getting too far ahead during the
race. Place them close to the rail
Preceders also like to be in the front, generally in second or
third. Try to stay before the main cluster but after the front
horse(s). Problems include a middle-of-the-race burst of speed
by middle horses trying to move closer to the rail (only in
longer races). With that said, preceders have very few
cautions, which is why they are my favorite style. Place them
one horsewidth from the rail.
Middle horses might be the toughest to race (although I race
them often). I try to stay further back, being about third to
last to try to miss being caught in the middle group. Horses
do like being back there (in fact, I get more triple 7s
from middle horses than any other leg type). The main (and
deadly) caution is blocking. Blocking is actually the worst
for middle horses, making positioning around the third final
furlong is very important. Also, this leg choice is the
easiest to accidentally traverse other horses (see II.1.F).
Place them two (long race) or three (short race) horsewidths
from the rail.
Closers have to stay in the back, but not too far. The maximum
behind you should be is about one horselength (as well as
maximum forward being about one horselength ahead of last).
However, as you are staying away from the pack with time and
room to spread out before the pack does, being blocked in
generally happens less than with a middle horse, but it is
still an issue, as your timing (for the setup of the stretch)
would need to be relatively accurate. Stay 3 to 5 horsewidths
from the rail, depending on the situation.
For racing positions, remember this general rule: the position
of the bright triangle is about the position your horse should
be (side-to-side) in.
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Life Graph
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There are four types: Fast, Normal, Susta(ined), and Slow.
Unlike 2001, horses can go far past their peak before needing
to retire, but don't count on over a year of continued winning
with horses with steeper drops.
Fast horses have a peak at the end of two years/start of the
third year and then decrease fast. Fast horses are ONLY good
for winning the 2-year GI races (and there are only a few of
them), so don't buy many if any of them.
Normal will make up the majority (over 50%) of the horses you
will race, with varying peaks from 3 years to 5 years.
Generally, they have quick buildups and quick drops, but some
(which are the ones you want to find) have a rather long peak
time (even having 2-3 years that are high is very good).
Susta is the most favored horse. These horses are
characterized by later peaks (generally between 4-6 years
old), but peak areas that are very long (over 3 years of good
racing). If you find one, chances are that you will want to
buy it.
Slow (could be Long, not sure) are the second-worst horse.
Unlike fast horses that you can retire when they're low, these
have to keep racing in lower races for years until their peak.
With that said, don't count them out too quickly. I have had a
fair share of good late-risers, especially those (this is my
favorite type of life graph) who have a quick up during the
first year to get them up to 80%, then very slowly rising to
their peak (at about age 6) and slowly drop. A perfect example
is Baylivia (an A horse you can get by riding enough times).
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Rank
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Believe it or not, rank might be the third most important, not
the first. The rank is simply the letter grade (E to SS) for
the horse overall. A "D" horse can beat a "SS" horse if the
"D" is at his peak and the "SS" is far below his peak. A good
way to differentiate between the ranks is this: For a letter
grade up (ie. A to S), imagine two horses at their peaks. In
the same race, the "A" horse will perform identically to the
"S" horse if the "A" horse is in blue and the "S" horse is in
yellow. That is the rough comparison between horses of
different ranks (or just add about 5.0 to the odds for going
down a rank).
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Dirt, Turf, and Distance
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These are the main stats for determining what races you should
enter. See section I.6 for more details on these three stats.
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Secondary Abilities
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These are the abilities ranked 0-99 on the upper half of a
horse stat screen.
SPD: Speed
Importance: 9/10
Notes: The maximum speed is extremely important, as it decides
how fast your horse can sprint in the last stretch, among
other factors.
STY: Staying
Importance: 7/10
Notes: Staying is relatively important, more just to know
before hand. A low staying horse will slow down quickly in the
final stretch. I think this also affects how quickly your
horse's stamina wears out.
STM: Stamina
Importance: 6/10
Notes: Stamina is actually not as important as I originally
thought. I have had large stamina horses loose while horses
with only 2/3 of their stamina bar win. Nevertheless, the
greater the stamina, the better the horse will probably be in
the final stretch.
PWR: Power
Importance: 4-7/10
Notes: This one varies based on the course type. With that
said, many courses have either rough or slopes, so power can
play a role, but good handling by the jockey (you) can help
overcome power problems.
BRK: Breaking
Importance: 4/10
Notes: How quickly a horse reaches its maximum speed is not
nearly as important as the speed. A low break horse can even
be beneficial for an early final spurt or for a backrunner
(the only two times this stat matters are the start and end of
the race).
FEL: Feeling
Importance: 5/10
Notes: This is very important for players who are just
starting out, but in the end, it looses some importance as
better jockey handling can make up for lack of feeling. Still,
it is a nice bonus, especially on races that are not in the
horse's range of length (so you need to run slower/faster than
normal).
TMP: Temper
Importance: 7/10
Notes: Even I (a seasoned veteran if you include previous
Gallop Racer games) still highly enjoy a horse with good
temperament. Over-eagerness is very, very easily to
accidentally cause, especially on uneven tracks, so a high
temperament is very handy to control your horse.
HRT: Heart
Importance: 8/10
Notes: Heart is one of the most important characteristics, as
a strong-hearted horse will really run well in the final
stretch. I also think this helps on ending one-to-one races
(running alongside another horse).
RSP: Response
Importance: 2/10
Notes: Yes, I know that is a very low rating. The reason is
that responsiveness is not that helpful at all. The game
already magnifies all of your taps, so a horse with a high
response can easily respond too much to your tappings.
TGH: Toughness
Importance: 3-7/10
Notes: This is the other truly variable stat. For a front
runner/preceder, toughness is not highly required, but for a
pack runner or a back runner, it is a very nice stat to have
as its main feature is for the horse not to get angry when
bumped.
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3. Schedule
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Requests, etc.
-
There are several types of ways to enter a race: Major
Requests, Requests, Rival, and Test Negotiation.
Major requests will become prominent further into the game.
These are for your "my horses". Either your trainer will enter
your horse into a race or you can decide which race to enter
each horse. If you decide, then you will automatically be the
jockey for that horse in the race. You can change the horse,
but I advise against it. Almost always fulfill major requests
first; otherwise, you can loose your horse (although if you
ride poorly, you can also loose it).
Requests are also very important for two reasons. One is that
fulfilling requests helps improve trainer relations. The
second is the chance that a trainer will give you a free horse
for riding it will. You can know that this is happening if
they talk about making you the main jockey for that horse. Try
to remember which request horses you liked to race, as the
more often you race them, the better your chances of receiving
them as a "My Horse". This is how I received Fast Navy (like
that dappled gray) and Baylivia (one of the longest peak times
in the game, good enough to win GII/GI races).
Rival and Test Negotiations are very similar. You will not be
able to accomplish many of them at the beginning, but once you
have played through a year, most of the time you will pass the
tests (especially for A or below horses). Both will cost you
points and are a last resort for entering a race (however,
entering a race in any way is better than skipping one). Also,
I would do a test negotiation before a rival (assuming both
had good horses) for the chance of a rival race.
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Rival Advice
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These are the times that a rival will suggest a horse to ride.
Unless I have one of my horses racing, I almost always take
them up on the advice. The reason is that the horses are
requests anyways and the horses they suggest have a high
probability of becoming a "My Horse" (I think Atomic Mark was
my first horse, as I constantly rode it from Turner asking me
to do so). The unfortunate thing is that most of these only
happen at the start of the campaign. I would have liked to see
them continue on (perhaps once a month), as it is just plain
fun to see how well my rivals know the horses I like.
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Trainers/Rivals
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There are eight trainers and eight rivals (I see that last
slot, but I have yet to meet the eighth). Each has their own
personality. Also, Duncan Collins and Pink/Franc/Silver only
show up after you have unlocked the special races (I don't
have any information on Chris Nielsen as he is my character).
As for the rivals themselves:
Natalie Thompson is an average jockey, mainly staying in the
10-30 range on the charts and has low stats.
Austin Turner really likes to suggest horses that are long
shots, but he is somewhat good at racing them himself,
generally doing about 3 places better than expected, keeping
him in the 10-20 chart range even though he also has low
stats.
Although Kate Dean wants to make money, she is quite bad at
it, staying mainly in the 20-30 chart range with below-average
stats.
Max Newman must have gotten some good research as he is a
decent jockey. Still, he only has average stats, but he stays
in the 5-20 chart range.
Dedrick Jones will be one of the last rivals you will beat out
in a rival stat comparison. Yet, even with his high stats, he
is normally a below average jockey who fluctuates a lot,
ranging from 5-40 in the charts.
Duncan Collins also has higher stats coupled with enough wins
that generally keep him in the 10-25 range on the charts.
Yoshio Tanaka is perhaps the quietist jockey in the game, only
talking to me a few times, hardly entering any races and thus
staying closer to the 25-45 range on the charts.
*Submitted by raela*: Gonzo Ohmura is the best rival, earned
by entering the DC/DS. His stats are in the 80s/90s.
Note that all of the rivals become better through the years in
both rankings and stats.
Does anyone have information on Chris Nielsen?
As for the trainers:
Nozawa is one of the three truly nice trainers. I picked him
as my starting trainer and I am rarely let down by either him
or his horses.
Shiba could hardly be considered nice, but his horses are
decent enough. I tend to stay away from him.
I wish I could stay away from Cook. I loose the greatest
portion of races with her horses, and she is never nice about
it, even revoking "My Horses" because I was blocked in once.
The problem is that she seems to know what races I do not have
a horse entering. Also, I have yet to hear her speak in a
different language.
Riviera is the third trainer I dislike simply because I do not
understand him. The good news is that he hardly has a good
horse in races I don't already have a horse entered.
Parks, on the other hand, is one of my favorites, as well as
being one of the three "nice" trainers. I still do not
understand all of his comments, but they are still funnier
than anything Duncan Collins has said. Also, I seem to never
loose with his horses (receive a place lower than expected).
Pink is the third of the nicer trainers. She has very good
horses (only A or above), and I am rarely disappointed by her
or her horses. I pick her whenever possible (in GI races).
Franc is an oddball. I don't race his horses often, but they
are all pretty good (only A or above) and can hold their own
in most races. He just doesn't seem to have horses when I can
ride them.
Silver is perhaps the most average of the trainers. You can
easily tell where he stands, and he is decent about results.
He is my second pick for the A or above horse category.
I have more information about the characters in part 3E.
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My Horses
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First of all, contrary to what it may seem, you cannot easily
have infinite horses. At least, for me I could not buy any
more horses after about 30, but you can still get some in from
gifts and requests that result in you being the horse's main
jockey.
There is not much to cover here that is not covered in other
sections. With that said, if you see information that I need
to include, please let me know.
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First Timers
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This is where you can "buy" horses using your jockey points.
There are two categories: normal (the first five jockeys) and
special (Pink/Franc/Silver, only A or above horses). Main
things to look for include dirt/turf abilities, distance, and
most importantly the life graph. The longer the horse's peak
time the better (and the more costly, but they're worth the
cost).
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4. Buildings
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Home
-
This is where you can get detailed information about your
stats, rival statistics, etc. You can also change your
jockey's racing uniform and view the catalogue. The catalogue
will be the main reason for checking your home, as that is
where you can use your gold to buy items to place on the map
(many also expand your abilities).
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Stables
-
This is where you can view detailed information about the
eight trainers. Beyond learning about the trainers (and
unmeetable characters by checking horse stats), the stables
have very little usefulness. Also, note that the stats on the
bottom of the data screen (found by pressing square) are your
stats; the top ones are for all racers combined.
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Info Office
-
This is my most visited map location. You can check on five
areas. The first is the order of races in order to obtain
basic horse awards (by basic, I mean the common ones). You can
also see the descriptions of tracks and whether or not you
have won a race on them. Another thing to check is the leaders
board and horse classification. The other main thing to check
is the GWS information (the third leaders board type). The
final information is the race schedule (but you cannot
schedule horses to race, so it is of little use).
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Academy
-
Use this a lot the first year to learn the ropes as well as
some more advanced techniques. Over time, however, its
usefulness decreases.
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Hall
-
The hall is one of the two buildings you need to buy to place
on the map. Here you can check jockey titles, horse titles, GI
race information, etc.
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Pasture
-
The second bought item is where breeding takes place. See
II.4.C for more information.
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5. Races
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As a note, I break races up into three time categories:
normal, semi-special or more special, and special. If a
category is not mentioned, I am writing about a normal race.
Normal races are the ones that occur early on in the week and
are unlocked right from the start. Somewhat special races are
quickly unlocked and are generally found on the last days of
the week with empty space between them and normal races.
Special races take a good amount of time to be unlocked. They
are listed on a separate screen entirely and are composed of
only GI races (including all of the GWS races).
Open races are the most basic races. However, they are not
always the easiest. Sometimes an open race can have some good
horses entered, increasing the difficulty, but this only
happens a few times each month. As such, these races generally
have the lowest payoffs. Generally use E through A horses in
open races.
GIII races actually have just about the difficulty of open
races. However, the reward money is slightly increased. Also,
there are a few more special GIII races (most are during the
summer) that might be needed for some of the most complex
awards or as trial races for GI races. Most of the time, use D
through A horses in these races.
GII races are a large step from GIII race in general, both in
difficulty and in winner's money. Some are trial races and a
few are probably needed for awards (especially some of the
dirt GII semi-special races). Use only B or better horses.
GI races used to be the cream of the crop. They are still
highly important (only second to GWS races). The difficulty
and rewards greatly increase in these races, especially
standard ones, such as Cherry, Azalea, Prince, Princess,
Golden Oaks, Golden Derby, etc. Many of these GI races will be
a part of horse titles. Only use your best horses (S or SS).
Special GI races are generally the toughest of all races. With
that said, I am not sure about the amount of titles that need
a special GI win, but it is probably low. Also, while these
races are the toughest (besides Dream races), the payoffs are
generally comparable to GII or even GIII races. Still, the
more GI races you have, the better off you will be. Also, some
of these are included for the GWS (you will see a red oval
behind the GI symbol to signify a GWS race), which are perhaps
the last races you will unlock. Only use peak S or SS horses
in these races.
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6. Deciding which races to enter
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First of all, if you are looking for racing awards, see 2C.
This section is for how to decide if a horse is up to a race
or not.
The first thing to check when scheduling a horse for a race is
the condition of the horse. You want to race a horse when it
is in the blue. This generally means between 3 weeks after a
race to about 3 months after the last race.
The other thing I HIGHLY suggest doing is that at the start of
a year, you plan out major races. This means figuring out who
are your best horses for tackling each racing award. Beware
because some necessary GI races (such as the one dirt GI race)
come out right at the start of the year. In doing this (and
writing it down on a piece of scrap paper), you will keep from
accidentally entering a main horse in a different race and
effectively stop yourself from being able to go for an award.
I have done this (entering the wrong horse) several times, so
I know it can be very annoying.
There are many factors in choosing a proper race and unlike
2001, there is no button to only highlight good races for your
horse (perhaps the #1 thing I miss in this version). Thus,
look at just a few major stats.
The main stats I am talking about is turf/distance ability and
distance range (found in the middle section of the horse's
info). You really want to stay within both: remain in the
distance range and only enter races that have either good or
great as the type stat (turf/dirt).
Two other major stats are the life graph and ranking. If you
have a good horse (A or above, near the peak), then feel freer
to enter GII/GI races. Otherwise, I would suggest sticking to
GIII and open races (perhaps a few GIIs just to see how well
the horse does). And only use a peak A or S/SS in special
races; only peak S/near-peak SS in GWS races.
An alternative method is to go to the Info Office to look up
your horse's classification on the charts (the other ranking).
Once your know your horse's impost, you can search the
schedule of races for an impost that is near your horses
(listed both in the upper right corner while flipping through
and in the middle of the detailed race screen). Even with this
strategy, try to remain in your horse's distance range and
turf/dirt abilities.
--------------------------------------------------------------
==============
II. Sprinting On
==============
+++++
1. More Race Info
+++++
-
The Slot Machine
-
While it might seem random at first, the slot machine is
actually not based on luck, rather on technique. If you
receive approximately an S for consistency (doing well in your
overall racing thus far), you will receive the first two 7s,
one at about the halfway point and the other at about 3F. If
you receive the first two 7s, start whipping your horse at
about 2.1F (more like 1.9F for a fast race and 2.3F for a slow
race). This will give you triple 7s about 70% of the time
(assuming you have received the first two). Triple sevens
gives you the explosion (see the screenshot on the back of
the box), giving you an excellent speed boost. If you get
triple 7s, CONSTANTLY whip your horse. You whip gauge will not
decrease, causing you to do well no matter the odds against
you. As a sidenote: other triples are possible (instead of an
explosion, they use a zoom in/out feature similar to SSX3
(another great game)), however the others will not give you
the same consistent burst (although the bursts are still very
good; there are slight variations based on the triple you
land, but they all speed you up to some extent), so you will
still have to watch the whip gauge. Also, it is not always
that the 2.0F mark will get you the speed boost; I have
received them anywhere from 2.4F to just 1.5F left. The trick
is to whip when your horse is already almost to max (ex.
Almost parallel to the bottom of the screen).
-
"Rough"
-
This was a subject that confused me for a long time. Rough is
the brown area near the rail on some (about 1/3) of the
tracks. Rough somewhatly hurts you during the race, but it is
not that bad, especially with a "tough" horse (see I.2.D).
With that said, it is nasty during the final stretch. Also,
you will see the rough running into the grass. Where this
mixing ends (and the grass begins) is about how far over you
want to be with a back horse.
-
Horse Troubles on the Track
-
There are plenty of ways to get into trouble in Gallop Racer
2004. Your horse can become wild, over-eager, or uninterested.
All three stem from similar problems. Contact is another
issue. Many of the problems can be minimized, but every once
in a while, you will probably have one of the problems come
up.
Problems come mainly from two opposite yet identical sources:
slowing down too quickly and speeding up too fast. Wild horses
also come from two other sources: contact and moving towards
the rail coming out of a turn (which is only in theory; I have
never had a problem from moving in closer). Contact is a nasty
one, but the good news is that about 80-90% of the horses will
not become wild after a contact. Slowing down/speeding up are
the nastier ones, occurring often on sloping tracks.
The solution for the contact is just to avoid other horses.
This includes only doing a single tap instead of the double
tap when moving sideways. In fact, I rarely use the double tap
as 75% of the time I contact, it is from a DISTANT horse that
I jab that elbow into. ONLY use it in the case of being very
far away and thus having much room to move.
Speeding/Slowing too fast is tough to master. The trick is to
sense an incline right when you are moving onto it. As soon as
you are on an incline, gently tapping either up or down
(depending on a slope down or up, respectively). More on this
in II.1.E (right below).
The solution to wild horses (red horse circle) is to move the
horse behind another horse (this is the same for over-eager
horses). If you are unable to move behind another horse (such
as already being in first/second), then tap down repeatedly,
not quickly, but not too slowly either: an average speed,
until the horse calms down.
Uninterested horses (gray color) are a separate problem,
usually happening in the final spurt. If you do not spurt
early enough so other horses are passing you, the horse can
easily become discouraged. The solution? Speed 'em up! Use the
whip and a constant up-tap and don't worry. Uninterested
horses regain interest rather quickly and thus I have had a
number of times where an uninterested horse even wins the
race. An uninterested horse earlier on just needs some
average-speed up tapping in order to get moving again.
-
Being Blocked In
-
What is the number one cause for throwing the controller on
the floor? Alright, that goes to traversing (which you don't
even see until you get a strange replay and hits right before
the third of a horse title (which all happened to me)).
Back to the point... the second most frustrating thing that
happens is having a back horse that is supposed to get first
and you are blocked in. Not only that, but you WERE clear to
move through and another horse traversed on you (but of course
receives no penalty!). How do you fix this problem?
I have come up with two solutions. One is rather simple: over
80% of the horses I ride at least somewhat like either being
in front or a preceder. If you already are in the front, then
you are doing the blocking, not the other way around.
If you have tendencies to being a backrunner, then this
strategy will not work as well. Also, sometimes the only
horses to race are backrunners/mid horses (also think of the
WSJS). Thus, a second strategy is needed. Here it is: about 4F
left in the race, tap a good three or four times to seriously
speed up but keep the horse in the blue speed range (blue
horse circle thing). You want the horse to be in the front
area when the other horses begin to spread out
(but not necessarily in first). One thing to help this
strategy is to NOT hug the rail when you are riding further
back so that you only have to move up, not sideways and
forward. Both of these things I also do with preceders as they
work so well.
If you are blocked in, I have two suggestions. The first is
know that the CPU horses WILL in all probability continue to
move, so do not move to get around them unless they are really
going at top speed. The other thing is to try to find a horse
that is slightly ahead of the rest and to move up right behind
him. This way when the other horses move, you will be stopping
horizontal movement from the left horse (counterclockwise
track) and be able to fill the space and break through the
blockade. While this certainly does not work every time, using
all of my methods combined causes for losses due to blockades
only happen every once in a while. With that said, if you have
a strategy to add, please let me know.
-
Inclines
-
I don't know how many inclines there are in real life tracks,
but a good portion of these races (about 60%) have some sort
of incline in them. Some are worse than others, but all can be
broken into two main categories: Turn and Stretch.
Turn inclines don't necessarily happen on turns (but about 80%
do). These are inclines during the main section of the race.
Use gentle double taps in the opposite direction of the
incline to keep your horse in control. If necessary to a
triple or quadruple tap, but try very hard to avoid tapping
hard or holding down a direction as they are relatively likely
(about 35% chance) to cause your horse to become mad at you
(see above "Horse Troubles" for more info on mad horses).
Stretch inclines are all upwards slopes. These happen usually
about halfway into a final spurt (about 1.0F left). These
inclines are relatively tricky as they will sometimes double
stamina depletion rates. The thing to do if your stamina is
decreasing too fast is to only use up-taps and forget about
using the whip for the time being, using the whip only in the
last 0.3F.
-
Race Speeds
-
This section just gets an honorary mention as it is well
explained at the academy. Basically, if you feel like you are
moving fast throughout the race, stall your final spurt a bit
(like 0.2F) and vice-versa (slow = add 0.2 F). I actually
hardly use speeds and instead base mine on the 2.0F mark and
other horses' speeding up (if others speed up soon, seriously
consider speeding up yourself).
-
Traversing
-
OUCH! Who else cannot stand traversing? I know I don't like
it. Traversing is when you accidentally move in front of a
faster horse who is speeding up for their final sprint. This
happens most often with mid horses as they can get blocked in
(so you have to maneuver some) and still have a few horses
behind them (to block someone else's spurt). See the above
section, "Being Blocked In" as well as "The Start of the End"
(in the first section) for more information on how to avoid
this nasty result). The only thing good about it is that it
unlocks the final training in the Academy.
+++++
2. Hall
+++++
JOCKEY TITLES:
Best Jockey Races Won: Have the most wins at the end of the
year. This is one of the three chart titles (see "Info
Office").
Top Winning Average: Have the highest win rate (wins/entries)
at the end of the year. This is on of the three chart titles.
Best Gold Earned: Earn the most money by the end of the year.
This is the third chart title.
Grand Prize Jockey: Win all three chart titles (above) in the
same year.
WSJS: Win the World Super Jockey Series (see below section
"WSJS").
GWS Jockey: Win the jockey section of the GWS.
GWS Ruler: Win all four sections of the GWS in one year.
Dream Cup: ??? (Win DC?)
Dream Series: ??? (Win DS?)
Total DS Victory: ??? (Win both DC and DS?)
*Submitted by reala*: Win every race in the Dream Series.
HORSE TITLES:
Horse of the Year:
Win Horse of the Year (just have one horse win tons of G1s).
Another World:
*Updated by raela*: Win a special G1 race by over 10F.
GWS Sprint:
Win the GWS Sprint section.
GWS Turf:
Win the GWS Turf section.
GWS Dirt:
Win the GWS Dirt section.
King of Kings:
This is the ultimate win (opening up the credits). The way to
win it is to have ONE horse win all 3 GWS in the same year. I
accomplished this by using Vast Delight, with over 7 other
horses winning about one race each (to stop a single computer
horse from winning too many to outdo Vast Delight). This is
very hard to do as many races are stacked up, which is why I
use the blocking technique of using other good horses to cut
down on competition
More on their way... (some very soon)
*Submitted by raela*:For a listing of all horse titles, go to:
http://p083.ezboard.com/fgallopracerseriesfrm135.showMessage?t
opicID=6.topic
(Once I have permission to put the info directly on this
guide, I will do so, but I am having trouble asking
permission, so for now the link is the best I can do).
Updated by Itzapapalotl:
Speed Prince - Win the Royal Cup, Spring Mile, Sprinter's Cup and Mile Cup
Desert Prince - Win the Kyoto S, February S, Caesar Cup, Osaka Classic C,
Independence C and Tokyo C.
Turf Prince - Win the King Cup Spring, Summer GP, King Cup Autumn, Continental
Cup and Winter GP.
Sprint Champ - Win 5 G1 ranked races no more than 7 furlongs in length.
Mile Champ - Win 6 G1 ranked races at 8 furlongs. (8 furlongs being 1 mile :D )
Mid Champ - Win 5 G1 ranked races between 9 - 11.5 furlongs in length.
Long Champ - Win 5 G1 ranked races of 12 furlongs or more in length.
Dirt Champ - Win 6 G1 ranked races on the "Dirt" terrain type.
Horse Of The Year - Given at the end of the year, I'm not sure of the exact
requirements for receiving it. Still researching that one. :)
All Rounder - Win a G1 turf race of 8 Furlongs or less, a G1 turf race of 8.5 -
11.5 furlongs in length, a G1 ranked race of 12 furlongs or more and a G1
ranked dirt race.
International - Win G1 ranked races in all countries
Every Year - Win 1 or more G1 ranked race every year from 2 yrs to 8 yrs of
age. (Age of horse)
Turf Emperor - Win the Paris Cup 3 times ( I believe it has to be consecutive,
but I haven't confirmed this)
Dirt Emperor - Win the Universal Cup 3 times (again, I believe it's consecutive)
Gallop Racer - Win the Univeral Cup and the Paris Cup (I believe in the same
year)
Generalist - Win several turf and dirt races at similar or the same distances.
(Not sure what the cut-off is)
Iron Horse - Win 12 G1 races in one season.
Monster - Win G1 ranked races 3 weeks consecutively.
Another World - Win a GWS race by more than 10 lengths.
Wonderhorse - Win a total of 30 G1 ranked races
GWS Sprint - Win the all of the GWS Sprint Series
GWS Turf - Win all of the GWS Turf Series
GWS Dirt - Win all of the GWS Dirt Series
*King of Kings* - Win all three GWS Titles with the same horse (GWS Sprint,
Turf and Dirt)
GI RACES:
This is where you can see what GI races you have won; it is
somewhat worthless.
Hall of Fame:
This is where you can see retired horses who have won a GWS
section (or perhaps just other horse titles, unconfirmed).
*submitted by raela*: It tells you their name, sex, leg type,
total mounts, total wins, and G1 wins).
Credits:
Earn King of Kings to unlock the credits (or some other GWS
win, can someone confirm which it is?). The credits have three
things going on at once: the names of those who worked on the
game, a continuous video of many horse races from different
camera angles, and each main character making a cameo
appearance.
+++++
3. Events
+++++
-
WSJS
-
WSJS stands for World Super Jockey Series. It happens at the
end of the year. The only requirement for entrance is being
one of the top 3 jockeys. The series is made up of four races;
in each one you will receive a random horse to race. At the
end of each race you receive points based on how well you did
(i.e. 20 for first, 15 for second, and so on). I think you
receive a bonus $10,000 for winning first as well as the
title. This series can be extremely easy, impossibly hard, or
anywhere in between, depending on what horses you receive.
-
Special G1 Races (and Horses)(and Trainers)
-
These will start to show up after you have gotten a foothold
into the game. UPDATE *Submitted by raela*: It is unlocked by
beating the Golden Derby They open up in sets, with each
requiring a different number of wins. However, as soon as the
first opens up, your opportunities for winning G1 races
increases dramatically, so there is not that much time between
them. These races will give you various amounts of money,
ranging from a couple thousand to over $20,000. The main thing
to do in these races is to beat the best times. Sometimes the
best times have not been set yet, others it is just lower than
normal races.
Getting into these races will also unlock the final three
trainers and allow you to buy special horses (go to First
Timers and hit R1 to switch to the special horses. Special
horses are only owned by the three special trainers and those
are the only horses they own. Special horses only have ranks
of A through SS.
-
GWS
-
A little while after opening the special G1 races, the GWS
will be unlocked. It is after a set amount of special G1 wins
that they open up. These are the ultimate races. Only bring
your best for they will be up against the AI's best. This
opens up further things, such as the DC/DS (possibly).
-
Dream Races
-
I hope to have more information on these soon. In the original
Gallop Racer, Dream Races were unlocked and only playable by
the Horse of the Year. The other way they might be unlocked is
by the winners of the GWS segments (both would assume the
horse(s) are top-notch).
While I still do not have full information on the DC/DS, I
have more than I had before. One needs to complete their goal
for the year in order to enter (perhaps also win GWS). It
occurs once every four years.
*Submitted by raela (all 3 paragraphs)*:
The Dream Cup/Series are two sequences of races that alternate
every 2 years - the Dream Cup occurs in the summer (in between
June and July I believe) and the Dream Series is at the end of
the year. Both races use horses in your Hall of Fame.
The Dream Cup is a bunch of races against Happy Plane, the
best filly in the game (5-20F distance I believe, turf or
dirt, and I think she runs anywhere). You can use the same
horse over and over again, or choose a different horse. Losing
at any time results in an overall loss and the DC is over. I
believe winning all the races with one original horse results
in a gift horse, whereas winning all the races with any number
of horses unlocks Happy Plane and earns the DC title.
The Dream Series is a sequence of races somewhat like the WSJS
where you choose different horses to run in I believe 8
different races. Each race features the 'best' of each horse
type, like Endless Libra for sprinting. You can enter a horse
in one race, I believe, so you need at least 8 horses, and I
believe you have to have one mare. Winning a race in the DS
unlocks whichever horse the race 'features,' which will then
appear in the 2 year old up coming horses randomly. You do not
have to win every race to win the DS.
+++++
4. Other Important Events
+++++
-
Meeting New Rivals/Trainers
-
This will occur early on. Most of the rivals will introduce
themselves to you during the first year. New trainers will
appear as you win races (or at least surpass the odds). Only
the last rival and three trainers will wait until you have the
special G1 races.
UPDATE: The rival stats (and their position on the leader
board) will increase over time.
-
Gift Horses
-
Every once in a while a trainer or rival will give you a
horse. Here are the ones I remember:
Tanaka: Becoming friendly with all trainers
Duncan Collins: Putting up a strong fight in special G1
Races
Deidrick Jones: Winning the GWS (what section, I am not sure).
For some reason, the game called him "Goro." Has this happened
to anyone else?
Sorry, those are the only ones I remember currently. Please
let me know if you know about others.
-
Breeding
-
This will probably receive its own section when I learn more
about it. For now, know that it automatically asks you if you
want to breed during the first week of April (assuming you
have a sire and broadmare). Just retire any horses you want
breed (you can retire a horse by clicking the option on their
information after he/she has reached his/her peak).
*Submitted by raela*:
Breeding is an important part of unlocking things in the
catelogue. However, I have only had good luck with breeding
winners when I use at least a SS and a S horse, if not two SS
horses. It took me several seasons to obtain some decent
horses. I recommend trying to expand the paddocks as soon as
possible so that you can keep decent studs that you collect as
you race.
More info on breeding coming sometime...
-
Special Horses
-
I have encountered two special horses thus far. These are NOT
the same as gift horses. You must buy them like any other
first timer. The events listed will simply unlock them for
purchasing.
GWS (Something, perhaps King of Kings): Polish Beat
Horse of the Year: Bright Jungle
Anyone else know any more?
-
New Year Resolutions
-
These are finally put in. They are the key to getting into the
DC/DS. Ones I have encountered (that I remember):
Win 1 Race Every Week: Self-explanatory
Win Golden Derby 3 Times Consecutively: Self-explanatory
Conquer Every Normal G1 Race: Win all 30 normal G1 races.
1 Week 11: Win 11 races in one week.
-
Other
-
Here is a miscellaneous category for everything else that
occurs:
For me, at the start of my 4th year, Kate Dean rampaged about
my stealing her winning money and that she will make me pay
for it (which she has yet to do, considering I have a win rate
of over 85%).
+++++
5. Best Horses
+++++
This is the category for any must-have horses either I or
contributors have found. There are strict criteria for a "best
horse": they must have something extremely special about them
and be able to win GI races with ease (limiting this to SS or
very, very good S horses). As a note, there are only two
options for "Acquire Method": Buy (a First-Timer) and Request
(race it enough times until it becomes your horse).
Vast Delight (SS)
Found By: Me
Year Found: Year 3
Horse Age At Finding: Horse, 5 years old
Acquire Method: Request
Special Ability: Able to win any GWS race (all three types)
(Second Special Ability): Highest speed rating in the game(99)
Classification: Over 130 in dirt AND turf
Leg Type: Preceder
Horse Titles: Horse of the Year, GWS Turf, GWS Dirt, GWS
Sprint, King of Kings (the ULTIMATE award)
Desert Diver (SS)
Found By: Me
Year Found: Year 2 (added for year 3)
Horse Age At Finding: Horse, 2 years old
Acquire Method: Gift horse from Tucker (I think)
Special Ability: Can win most GI races with ease. The only
other really special thing about him is that he won my very
first horse title when I wasn't even going for one with him.
Classification: Over 120 for turf
Leg Type: Front Runner/Preceder
Horse Titles: Another World, GWS Turf
Tender Value (SS)
Found By: raela
Year Found: don't remember, not important as years are random
Horse Age At Finding: 2
Acquire Method: Buy
Special Ability: awesome sprint horse, sired my first G1
winners (and first
hall of fame original) - bred to Rai Babe, constantly passes
on Instant
Response and Tough to my horses
(Second Special Ability): 90+ spd, sty, tmp, rsp, fel
Classification: Over 130 in dirt AND turf
Leg Type: Preceder
Horse Titles: Mile Champ, GWS Sprint
Rai Babe (S)
Found By: raela
Year Found: don't remember, not important as years are random
Horse Age At Finding: 2
Acquire Method: Buy
Special Ability: able to constantly win special G1 races, was
the dam of my
first G1 original (and first hall of fame) - sired by Tender
Value,
resulting filly ended up winning the sprint race in the Dream
Series
(Second Special Ability): solo runner and fast pace OK - she
will go to the
front, stay there, then have such an amazing lead that no
horse will catch
her
Classification: don't have
Leg Type: Frontrunner
Horse Titles: don't have
Obvious Gourmet (SS)
Found By: raela
Year Found: don't remember, not important as years are random
Horse Age At Finding: 2
Acquire Method: Buy (special horse)
Special Ability: wonderful dirt filly, breeds many winners
(Second Special Ability): solo runner, second wind, gate
rocket, and
dominator - consistantly passes on dominator to my lines
Classification: 134 in dirt (4yo+)
Leg Type: Frontrunner
Horse Titles: Dirt Champ, Horse of the Year, Another World,
GWS Dirt
Wonder Whale (SS)
Found By: raela
Year Found: don't remember, not important as years are random
Horse Age At Finding: 2
Acquire Method: Buy (special horse)
Special Ability: can race on dirt or turf, great sire - passed
on speed
demon ability to one filly with Obvious Gourmet
(Second Special Ability): front runner ability, 90+ spd, sty,
brk
Classification: 140 (3yo turf), 136 (3yo dirt), 144 (4yo+
turf), 141 (4yo+
dirt)
Leg Type: Frontrunner
Horse Titles: Mile Champ, Mid Champ, Dirt Champ, All Rounder,
International,
Horse of the Year, GWS Dirt, GWS Turf, GWS Sprint, King of
Kings, Dirt
Emperor, Gallopracer, Generalist, Wonderhorse, Another World
+++++
6. Vs Mode
+++++
I have yet to play this mode. Again, more info coming
sometime...
--------------------------------------------------------------
==============
III. Scenarios
==============
This is a section to explain my tactics during the race. I
have raced with all types of horses, so I have strategies for
each. This section sets up two mock races for each type, one
with everything going right, the other with basically
everything possible going wrong. For horses with more than one
good leg choice, use a combined strategy or simply use the one
for whichever is brighter. I know I have bad grammar in this
section: thoughts rarely come in complete sentences. I hope
this helps.
+++++
1. Front Runner
+++++
-
Good Run
-
Yes! I got a great start (exactly lined up arrows), and I am
starting in one of the top four positions. I give the horse a
few quick up taps to make sure he stays in first. Alright. Now
there is about one horselength between him and second. Time to
pull back and bring him back closer to the pack. If necessary,
I will gently ram my horse's tail into the behind one's head.
I want to stay just one horselength ahead so my horse doesn't
become tired at the end, loosing stamina early. Okay, the 3F
mark just passed; time to give him a quick nudge or two
forward. Am I in the rough; scoot over. Watch the other horses
on the side screen. As soon as the other horses, especially
the pack horses (like 5th), start to move forward, push him
into high gear, tapping up constantly. Once his speed arrow is
at the max for him (when it stop moving clockwise), windmill
(or normal if I don't have windmill) whip almost all the way
down. If I got 777s, keep whipping, otherwise switch hands and
wait for the speed to start decreasing. Once the speed starts
going down, do a pattern of whipping and switching hands until
the end (by now you should only have less than 1F left).
-
Bad Run
-
Arrgh. I am beyond position 10 AND I got a somewhat bad start.
My arrows could hardly be considered matched. Alright. Tap up
like crazy ASAP to get his speed up to pass before he becomes
blocked in. He doesn't like it one bit. Too bad. As soon as he
has passed the lead horses, smash right/down to slow him down
and bring him to the edge. Watch out for other horses' heads.
What now? Is that another front runner? Trying to get ahead to
slow down in front of him. Now we are far ahead of the pack.
Bummer. Slow down there boy. Pretend that third place is
really second. If the other horse stays that far ahead, he is
bound to get last. Whoa. The 3F already? That was a short
race. Alright. Are the other horses starting to pick up speed?
Need to get off this large rough. Just don't do any
traversing. Now speed up hard. Whip him as soon as he has
reached max. Put him next to another horse if possible. He'll
need the one-on-one competition to pull of a win here. Whip is
recharged, the other horses are slipping away. Wait for the
speed to start decreasing. Once the speed starts going down,
do a pattern of whipping and switching hands until the end (by
now you should only have less than 1F left).
+++++
2. Preceder
+++++
-
Good Run
-
Good, I got the arrows nearly or exactly lined up and I am in
the 2-5 starting position. Do one or two up taps to make sure
he gets into second/third, but quickly tap down if necessary.
Scoot over to about one horsewidth from the rail, more if
there are a few front runners. If there are multiple front
runners, position him between horses or directly behind if in
the middle is not possible. If a single or two front runners
stay about halfway between him and third or stay close to
second, whichever seems to be about 1/5 - 1/4 from the lead
horse. If everyone is bunched up, stay closer to first. Here
comes the 3F. Is anyone moving yet. Check for rough. Tap up a
time or two to reach first and either take it slow until the
rest come up or go for it if the rest are coming. If triple
7s, use the whip a lot, otherwise hit one side at max horse
speed and wait for the speed to start decreasing. Once the
speed starts going down, do a pattern of whipping and
switching hands until the end (by now you should only have
less than 1F left).
-
Bad Run
-
Oh no! I am in position 1 and I got a bad start. The other
horses are going to scoot over if I don't tap up crazily.
Phew, I almost got knocked as I made it up. Now to slow down.
I said SLOW DOWN. Over-eager. Where's first? On the left of
course. I guess I just have to wait it out. Keep tapping down
so the moment I regain control, he slows down. The 3F already?
Man is this ever a short race! I haven't had any time in the
correct position. He's come back closer to first. Now, get
into position and keep slowing down anyway. Wait for the wave
to start before speeding up. Here they come. Up, Up, UP. Whip
as soon as the arrow stops moving clockwise. Switch hands, hit
him a couple more times ASAP. Use the pack to my advantage:
one-on-one competition. Let the competition angle keep him
forward. Let the whip gauge fill up while I wait for the speed
to start decreasing. Once the speed starts going down, do a
pattern of whipping and switching hands until the end (by now
you should only have less than 1F left). At least second is
not that bad, even for a favorite horse.
+++++
3. Mid Runner
+++++
-
Good Run
-
"Beautiful Start." The arrows are slightly aligned, but not
perfectly. I started in somewhere between 4-8. I rush up with
the rest of the pack, if necessary tapping up or down to stay
with them. Try to move closer to a preceder position to start
with and then back down to the pack in order to not get
blocked in. Either way, stay a few horsewidths from the
railing. Now just wait for the 4F, weaving front and back as
little as possible and if it is safe, moving toward the rail
some. Staying with the majority of the pack, probably about
3/5 of the way down the side screen. If using a preceder/mid
combo, staying more about 1/2 down the side screen or other
distances, depending on the situation. There's the 4F finally.
Starting to move up slightly, tapping up about 3 times. No one
else is moving yet. At the 3F, be about in third position to
slow down maybe one tap but keep moving up to first. A second
after the rest begin to move, put on the pressure, using the
whip on one side about 2/3 of the way down. Switch hands and
wait for the speed to start decreasing. Once the speed starts
going down, do a pattern of whipping and switching hands until
the end (by now you should only have less than 1F left).
-
Bad Run
-
Starting in first position with a horrible start. This is not
my race. Slow down a bit, move left as much as possible,
whenever possible. If necessary, go around from the back to
get into position (but only if it is a long race). Arrgh.
Cannot get over. I am blocked in from all sides. Take ANY
opportunity to leave the side, unless there is a lot of rough.
If there is a lot of rough, it might be easier to make it
through the pack near the railing and attempt to move over. If
there's a good opportunity, I will still take it. So there was
only one opportunity. I am now surrounded on all four sides
and we just passed the 3F. Start tapping up gently. The horse
will become yellow, but keep him up there to take advantage of
any spreading out. If still blocked in, use contact to get
out. It will make the horse mad, but hopefully he will move
faster then. Take any opportunity. At the very least, get
behind a front horse to move forward or use contact to get as
good a place as possible. If the situation looks hopeless,
don't use any contact or other measures. Simply count this as
a loss and hope your horse recovers quickly for another race.
Also, only use the whip when you're clear in front of you.
Speeding up to hit a horse's tail accomplishes nothing. At
least fifth place still receives some money...
+++++
4. Closer
+++++
-
Good Run
-
Good, I am about in the 7 - 10 starting positions and I got a
pretty bad start, not horrible, just okay. Tap down once or
twice if it is needed and basically stay in position until the
other horses settle down, then move over as far as no horses
will be in one's way for the 4F sprint. Position myself with
the current last place horse, trying to stay somewhat up with
the pack while staying in last. Wait for the 4F to come
around. Once it does, do a few up taps and try to move into
about third place, moving around the other horses before they
spread out. Now, really start pouring on the speed at about
2.5F as the other races will probably be coming soon as well.
If no one else is reacting, travel with first for a bit as
there will be an incline at the end. Now, put on the speed,
whipping to max speed; then, wait for the speed to start
decreasing. Once the speed starts going down, do a pattern of
whipping and switching hands until the end (by now you should
only have less than 1F left). The win was not astounding, but
3 horselengths ahead is still doing very good.
-
Bad Run
-
First position and a great start. Good for a front runner.
Terrible for me. Slam on the brakes, but not too hard. Simply
stop anyone from sliding in behind you. As soon as I am back
in the pack, sped up a nudge to stop any over-eagerness. But
now I am blocked in. Too bad for them. He-he. Simply slow down
some. No mid-horse will want to stay behind for long. Even if
he stays behind, eventually I can move to the side and move
into the standard about-last position. Here comes the 3F. I
wasted too much time slowing down. Need to speed up fast. Tap
up like crazy while pulling to the outside. Keep it up to
about 3/4 speed. Get around quickly before major spreading
occurs. Pour on the rest of the speed. Stamina is down, so use
one-on-one for now, whipping a few times whenever the gauge is
full. Use the full gauge at about the 0.7F mark to receive the
final burst of speed. Wow! I cannot believe I pulled off a
first, even if it was just by a nose.
+++++
5. Summary
+++++
- Beware of short races, they accentuate any mistakes.
- Use one-on-one if possible in a sour race.
- For the two fronts, use front passing, for the back two,
pass from behind, sliding between horses if necessary.
- Mid runners are the worst to have a bad run with (in
general).
- Whip only if it will not make you run into a horse ahead.
- Never ever fully deplete the whip gauge. 3rd is better than
6th place.
- Alternate whipping sides for maximum effectiveness.
- Whip as much as possible if one's horse turns gray.
- Whip only when your horse is not at HIS max speed.
--------------------------------------------------------------
=================
IV. Contributions
=================
+++++
1. Tips
+++++
Shy:
1) When your in the middle of the pack make sure that your on
the outside, now this is to be only done on a stretch and your
horse must be able to move up to the head more find somewhere
toward the head of the pack before getting into the corner, I
usual use this on long races like 14s.
2) If at the head of the pack with horse trying to get around
you keep your horses head up around the other horse back leg
so that it can't scoot over and complete the total block...
this works about 60% to 70% of the time. I use this on short
races.
3) If I do happen to be blocked in I move up and over so that
I'm in the corner of the 'block' then once they start to
spread out get your butt out of there....I sometimes get mad
and just force myself out....or use to...hehehe
+++++
2. FAQs
+++++
What about the DC/DS?
Hopefully the info is in the DC/DS section. Otherwise you will
have to wait until someone tells me the info or I finish my
fourth year.
What about the Hall of Fame?
Still don't know exactly what it is. Again, hopefully this
will be answered as I continue to play.
What about Breeding?
I am only on the first pasture, I do not even have an original
horse yet. I hope to continue to work on this section, but it
will take a while to go through the years.
What book do you refer to?
The instruction manual that hopefully came with your game.
+++++
3. Contributors
+++++
Shy: 3 tips.
Sandy: Correction on DC/DS.
Raela: Too many to count. Thanks a bundle.
--------------------------------------------------------------
===================
V. Contact & Legal
===================
The ONLY sites to use this guide are gamespot.com,
supercheats.com, www.mogelgott.de, and gamefaqs.com. If you
see this guide on any other site, please notify me.
My email address is:
[email protected]
Reasons to email me:
@Confirming the questions posed throughout the guide
@Information on Chris Nielsen
@Your own "best horses"
@Questions
@Comments
@For permission to use this guide
@Seeing this guide on sites not mentioned above
@Knowing information that I do not know
I do not open up attachments, so please do not send me any.
Also, please keep the emails clean. Thank you.
My Other Guides:
Monopoly Tycoon
Galactic Civilizations
Cossacks 1
Mario Tennis: Power Tour
Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
