Virtual Horse Racing News

Have you ever wanted to know what it's like to be a race horse owner and/or trainer?  Sport of Kings offers you the chance to do just that in an easy to learn and fun to play environment.  The thrill of owning and racing a digital horse is best summed up by one of our loyal players.

" Horse racing is the best game in the world. I have had the privilege of taking part in some of the greatest racing in America in the 22 years I have been soulfully attached to this great industry. So to find a game to match the excitement you have when you actually stand in that winners circle for the first or the last time it is the greatest feeling in the world, and if I get that feeling playing this simulation/game then you are doing your job. Well done guys. We just need to bring this simulated joy to all the other racing fans."

--Parks Racing 10/21/2013

We allow you to either buy an existing horse or breed your very own horse from existing bloodlines many of which will be familiar to modern day handicappers.  You are then responsible for the exciting process of discovering the horses ability and preferences.  Much like real life this can be a simple process or one that goes on for the life of the horse.  Our horses have a life of their own and evolve and mature in a very realistic manner which makes every horse a thrilling and unique adventure.  One key to making the game enjoyable is that we operate on a 3x timeline to real life, meaning that each season (1 year of game time) takes only 4 real life month.   This means far less wait time between races (the average layoff is 7-14 days) and an opportunity for a fresh crop of horses to hit the track every 4 months.

The races themselves are realistic simulations that allow horses to showcase their running style preferences and tendencies.  We have horses that simply need the lead to win while others will sit back off the pace and look to make one big run at the wire.  We provide detailed data that you as the owner are able to dig through to try and solve the puzzle that is each horse or you can simply use the training times to try and place your horse.  You are able to be as detailed and complex or as simple as you choose, it's all up to you.

Apart from racing we offer owners many other things to do including private sales, public auctions, and breeding.  Breeding is one of our most popular features that allows owners to continue on the bloodlines of their champion horses.  The unique horse development that we offer includes a sophisticated bloodline based breeding system that has no equal.  Breeding and our horse evolution are key features to our game and make us very unique in the online horse racing game industry.

Come join the over 16,000 registered players and take your spot in the starting stall for the thrill of a lifetime.

The 2016 Preakness is just hours away and there doesn't look to be much value from a wagering perspective for this race.  However, I am going to lay out a few brief reasons why you should bet it anyway and a prediction for the Belmont.

While Nyquist looks absolutely unbeatable in this spot on a fast track I am going to make a case for a wager that should generate some capital.  I also think there is scenario that gets Nyquist beat on Saturday and it involves rain, a lot of it.

 We don't really know how Nyquist will handle the rain and mud but we do know that Exaggarator took to it like a child, reveling in the joy of splashing through puddles and getting everyone else wet.  I've never heard a jockey so glowingly describe the way a horse handled the slop the way Kent Desormeux did.  He said "He was the fourth horse that I rode in the mud and the others felt like they had ice skates on. Exaggerator felt like he had track shoes on. He really liked the going and that was part of his incredible effort. He enjoyed the mud."  Yes, Exaggerator has never beaten Nyquist in 4 attempts.  He has also never faced him on the mud.  The pattern on Exaggator's speed ratings are superb and not only did he not bounce from the big effort in the Santa Anita Derby, he improved from it.  If he is going to bounce, this could be the spot, but I'm banking on another big effort as the horse continues to improve.  He should benefit from Stradivari being getting the outside post draw where he will almost certainly use some speed early and engage Nyquist up front.  

Preakness Prediction: 

Dry Track: Nyquist, Exaggerator, Stradivari in that order.

Wet Track: Exaggerator, Nyquist, Collected, Lani for a super.

Now the Belmont Stakes

I don't think there is any way Nyquist will be able to complete the triple crown this year and that's a shame for him as he's a great horse who hasn't gotten the respect he deserves because of the herculean efforts of California Chrome and American Pharoah before him.  He's going to face some fresh horses who are bred for the distance and will be sitting on monster efforts and I just don't think he has the pedigree to handle that.  There is a chance that Cupid shows back up for the Belmont fresh off throat surgery.  I've heard it's the same procedure Frosted went through and he hit a whole new level when he came back from it and I expect Cupid will as well.  Then you have Exaggerator who, if he doesn't do it Saturday, is certain to be able to put Nyquist away as they pass the 1/8 pole coming for home in the Belmont.  The old adage that closers don't win the Belmont is fine but one of these stamina laden horses is going to make a move on the sweeping turn of Belmont and draw level with Nyquist who simply doesn't have the stamina to sustain that kind of challenge for the length of that seemingly eternal stretch.

Breeding

This is a key element to the long term success and enjoyment of this game and therefore we have dedicated much of the last 30 days working on improvement the interface and user experience when it comes to breeding and breeding related items.  We know just how important this area is and want it to be an enjoyable and engaging experience.

The first thing of note is that we have added a totally unique feature in that owners can now sell breeding rights to their horses privately to other owners.  This means they do not have to make their breeding stock publicly available in order to allow other owners to breed to them.

Breeding Page

We have updated the breeding page to not only include user selectable filters such as distance or surface preferences but very useful description and explanations of the basics.  Allowing users to search by the distance of the sire or broodmare allows for much quicker discovery of the desired horse.


Sire / Mare Standings Page


This is probably one of the most important pages we have when it comes to identifying a sire (we have a similar page for mares) for your breeding pairing.  There are all kinds of ways to filter this data and we expect players to spend hours combing through the data as the pools grow and breeding becomes a prominent feature of the game.  Each of these columns could be considered important and therefore they are each sortable.  We realize there is even more data that could be put on this page but we had to stop somewhere and the other information is available on the individual horse details page.  One feature that is brand new is the display of the surface (if it's been flagged as a turf horse you will see the turf symbol) and / or the distance preference badges.

Breeding Evaluator

This is often the final step before confirming a breeding and is one of our most popular features.  It has seen a tremendous amount of work go into redesigning the interface.  We have also added a number of filter options that make identifying a horse significantly faster.



We are constantly striving to improve the game and your experience playing it.  We look forward to seeing what you do with the updated breeding features and hearing your feedback.

Until next time,
Admin

The season ending championships are finally here to mark the end of the 4th season at SportofKings.us.  We could not be happier with the way things have progressed as we are continuing to see new stables and virtual horses find their way to the winners circle in the top level of virtual racing along with fuller fields.  

The finals will be held on the 29th and 30th will be two action packed days which will see over 40 championship finals go off.  There will big massive amount of cash purses up for grabs.  The juvenile division, as always, will be the most anticipated battles as these horses are finally hitting their stride and looking to lock horns with the best of the best in their respective division.

View the Champions Cup Championships for Grade 1