Gallop Racer 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------- +++++ Version Information +++++ Last Updated: 03.21.07 Version: 1.55 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. -------------------------------------------------------------- +++++ Table of Contents +++++ 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 D. My Horses E. First Timers 4. Buildings A. Home B. Stables C. Info Office D. Academy E. Hall 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 of Fame A. Jockey Titles B. Horse Titles C. GI Races D. ??? E. Credits 3. Events A. WSJS B. Special G1 Races and Horses C. GWS D. Dream Races 4. Other Important Times A. Meeting New Rivals/Trainers B. Gift Horses C. Breeding D. Special Horses E. New Years Resolutions F. Other *NEW* 5. The Best Horses A. Vast Delight B. Desert Diver 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 V. Contact and Legal Junk -------------------------------------------------------------- =============== I. Starting Off =============== +++++ 0. Notes +++++ 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). +++++ 1. Racing Basics +++++ - In the Gate - 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). - Initial Position - 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. - During the Race - 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. - The Start of the End - 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). - The Stretch - "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! +++++ 2. Horse Types +++++ - Leg Choice - 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. - Life Graph - 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). - Rank - 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). - Dirt, Turf, and Distance - These are the main stats for determining what races you should enter. See section I.6 for more details on these three stats. - Secondary Abilities - 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. +++++ 3. Schedule +++++ - 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. - Rival Advice - 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. - Trainers/Rivals - 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. 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. - My Horses - 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. - First Timers - 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). +++++ 4. Buildings +++++ - 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). - 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. - 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). - 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. - 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. - Pasture - The second bought item is where breeding takes place. See II.3.G for more information. +++++ 5. Races +++++ 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. +++++ 6. Deciding which races to enter +++++ 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 of Fame +++++ 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?) HORSE TITLES: Horse of the Year: Win Horse of the Year (just have one horse win tons of G1s). Another World: Win nearly every race the horse was entered in (i.e. 6 of 8). 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) GI RACES: This is where you can see what GI races you have won; it is somewhat worthless. ???: I have yet to discover what this is (probably Dream Cup/Series things). 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. It takes a preset number of G1 wins in order to unlock them (I think the number was 8 wins). 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. +++++ 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. - 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). 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 +++++ 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. -------------------------------------------------------------- =================== 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: @BUGGING ME TO FINISH THIS GUIDE @TITLES I HAVE NOT FOUND YET @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