It seems like a lifetime ago when I first became familiar, via a Google search, with the world of online horse racing sims during a quiet night at work over 6 years ago. I investigated a few sites; quickly determining most were geared towards players with large bankrolls and deep pockets.

I settled in with a site (which will remain nameless here) that seemed to cater to all budgets. The years passed by and while I enjoyed some success, I started to become increasingly frustrated with the changes in this game that seemed to become more and more random as time passed. I became tired of vaguely answered questions by the Support Team and tired of wasting upwards of 20 dollars on a single entry fee only to watch my horse strangely finish last, get horribly blocked in or ridden badly by the computer jockey. Being a player on a fixed budget, finishing last in a stakes race is a huge dent into my bankroll. I started to look for a way out and figured my virtual racing days were ending soon.

One day I received an email from a virtual acquaintance who wanted me to try out a new site called Newturf. He sent me a link to a promotional YouTube video they had out. I watched the video and was impressed with the graphics of the game. Of course, I’ve been around long enough to know graphics are sometimes just eye-candy and what matters most in a virtual horse racing game is how intelligent the algorithms are that run the program. Therefore, I decided to set up an account.

I must admit at first glance, it was almost overwhelming. Being a Canadian with no exposure to European racing, confusion abounded in the beginning. Newturf offers three types of racing to enthusiasts: Flat Racing, Trotter Racing and Hurdle Racing. I was familiar with the first two, known as thoroughbred and standardbred racing on this side of the pond, but the hurdles were a new thing. The other daunting challenge was the racing classes. I had no idea what a Listed race or Golden race was. On the equine side of things, training and programming your horse’s ride were all new to me as well. My head felt like it was going to explode with all the new things I needed to learn. Thankfully, at Newturf, there are plenty of people to help you process all this information and help you with your stable workload.

The great thing about Newturf is that you are encouraged to join one of the roughly 40 teams in residence (or create your own). The advantage to this is that you have a group of people working together with the same goal….success on the track. You might have one teammate that has a good eye for talent, while another excels at training or another that handles long races better than most. When you have people like this working together, it gives you a wonderful and diverse pool of knowledge to draw from.

Entry fees at Newturf start at .10 and range up to about 5 Euros. I think what sets this game apart from all the rest is its set up for the average player, not the high roller. If you have $10,000 as a yearly budget for your horse racing sim, this is probably not the place for you. Newturf is an affordable game for all players and they strive to reach the common punter. Let’s face it, if you’re learning a complex game, would you want to throw away 20 bucks a race learning the ropes or 60 cents? For most, the answer would be the latter.

Delegating the work in horse racing sims is a very new concept that Newturf has developed. At my previous sim, you hired a virtual jockey and did all the training yourself. Here at Newturf, you can hire another player to train your horses and/or program your ride for a percentage fee. This really draws off real life and gives the player a feel of what it’s like in real life to be a racehorse owner. Of course, you can also dive right in and do it all yourself.

I joined Newturf on December 5th 2010 and began claiming a few horses. The claiming races are quite different from what they do here in North America. At Newturf, you have a 10 minute window after the race to put in a claim. It’s an interesting and advantageous concept, as you already know how the horse has performed on that day. You need to make your bid wisely, as you only have one bid to use, either the listed claim price or a higher bid that will beat any other bids that come in. As the owner of the claimer, you can also ‘block’ the claim with a higher one of your own, if you guess right.

I purchased about 10 horses (costing between 40 cents to €2 each) on day 1 and quickly turned them over to a trainer and jockey that were highly recommended. It didn’t take long for me to turn them around and I picked up my first win within five races. Newturf also has a fixed sales ring and ongoing auctions where horses are available on a daily basis. Before too long, I found my groove and was picking up several wins on a daily basis. After 3 weeks of playing, I was approaching 40 wins and striking at over a 20% win rate.

At this point now (week 4), I have learned to drive and train my own horses. I even train and ride other player’s horses and make a small commission on their success. The Newturf community is very vibrant and approachable. I’ve received numerous site mail from many long time players welcoming me to the game and offering their help if needed. These people really want to see their game grow and succeed. Newturf also has a very solid Support team that answer any questions promptly and they actually give you a straight answer! I come from a game where all questions (if answered at all) are answered in cryptic fashion. I’ve interacted with Jack and Eva at Newturf Support and both are an asset to the game and give you the answers you need.

Yesterday, my barn welcomed its first new foal born on site. The first of each month is always an exciting time at Newturf because it’s the beginning of a ‘new year’. Horses age 1 year and the new yearlings are introduced into the game. Breeding appears to be on par with real life match ups and it’s definitely not random results. The breeding aspects of Newturf should challenge and please anyone who engages in this side of the game.

I am in my fourth week of playing and I must admit this is by far the greatest horse racing sim on the internet. Newturf is a great place for any horse racing enthusiast. This game is perfectly suited to the average player with the average budget. You don’t need thousands of dollars to rise to the top in Newturf. All you need is patience, time and the willingness to learn different sides of the game. There will be plenty of people there that will help you on your way.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to be a jockey but at 6 foot 2 and 210 pounds, it was not meant to be. Well here at Newturf, you can be the jockey and actually earn a little money for doing so. Newturf lets you be totally hands on or to pick and choose what you want to do when it comes to everything that needs to be done with your racehorse. No other site gives you as many options.

Well, I better get back and tend to my virtual stable. I’ve got a Listed race running in 10 minutes. Wish me luck!

Hope to see you at Newturf soon!

Mike

Ontario Racing