Thursday, March 29, 2012

Digiturf.com's 33rd Championship Series review covers all of last night's virtual horse racing highlights and more!

Digiturf.com’s 33rd Championship Week

 

Day 1 – The Sprinters

 

It’s known as the quickest day on digiturf.com as over thirty different owners filled the gates with eighty-four of the speediest horses with hopes and dreams of bringing home a sprint distance championship.  Day one of Championship Week did not disappoint as we saw plenty of new owners earn their way into the finals for the first time and, of course, they found plenty of familiar foes that would try to maintain their dominance here on Digiturf.   

 

The Championships got underway with the Juvenile Sprint Championship ran by the two year old colts covering the distance of 1200 meters.  Rival owners Tockyocky Racing and Chrisman dominated the entries in this race placing seven of the fourteen finalist colts in the gates.  No surprise in the first race as Tockyocky Racing’s favored entry Toc Black Mamba took first place and prize money of $1,000 by less than a half length over Chrisman’s Jaime Lannister who earned a game $500 cash.  Fourstardave didn’t let the unlucky 13th post slow him down as he finished in third for Evil Racing Ltd.  Rounding out the prize winners was the $500 auction purchase of Tr Returns out of the Gebb barn.  Fourth year owner Tockyocky Racing has over fifty Championship starts and this win gives him his seventh overall Championship trophy bringing his career earnings to a grand total just shy of $120,000.  Winning horse Toc Black Mamba has now earned over $3,000 in just his first season of competitive racing.  The soft spoken Tockyocky Racing located in the winner’s circle humbly commented, “It felt great to come out swinging. So much anticipation and emotions flowing that winning the first champ race really relaxed me and took off some self imposed pressure. I was able to sit back and just enjoy the rest of the day. We all want to win but I didn't want to get shut out. Very happy and there was a nice crowd at Traxide to share it with.”

 

The young two year old fillies were up next for their version of the Juvenile Sprint Championship.  With the distance also covering 1200 meters, the fillies would have to deal with a muddy track which was sure to wreck havoc for those not accustomed to the tricky surface.  Nine different owners were hopeful to bring home the gold in this race and the result would not disappoint.  A major upset crossed the finish line first as The Manor House’s Tmh Said It What was the first to pass and grab the gold.  Barely earning $500 during the season there were zero tipsters in the official Tipping Contest that picked this filly to win.  For the second time in two races, the most dominating owner currently on Digiturf, Chrisman had the second place winner as the sister of the colt runner up Cersei Lannister took second place.  Tr Phoenix owned by Tockyocky Racing took third and Flock made owner Cobarn happy by earning the last payday of the race. Championship winning owner, The Manor House, was unable to speak at the winner’s press conference but it was indeed announced that it was his first ever Championship win in just his seventh career Championship start.  The win brings The Manor House’s total career earnings to over $57,000.

 

Next up were the three year old sprinters as they would do battle to see who would reign supreme in the Triple Crown Sprint Championship.  The colts were up first and they found that same tricky muddy track as this final took place in the United States.  With the distance covering 1200 meters, which horses would this surface help and which horses would it hinder?  For the second straight Championship race we found ourselves congratulating a first time Championship winner as owner Horse Heaven Hills  celebrated the victory and the $1000 winner’s check once the underestimated mudder Spill Wine crossed the finish line first.  Only one tipster in the official Tipping Contest chose Spill Wine but that just thrills the winning owner better known by fellow owners as HHH who shouted out in joy, “This was my seventeenth Championship race, not even a place in the first sixteen. The win feels absolutely wonderful!”  Tockyocky Racing continues a great Championship week when Toc Road Wreck came in a game second less than a half length behind the winner.  Veteran owner Black Lotus watched auction purchase AP Devils Bag finish third and excited owner Xstud had the fourth place entry, the self-named Xstuds Darknight.

 

Owner Black Lotus was apparently just getting warmed up with his placing in the three year old colt’s race, as he was hopeful for an even better finish with the fillies version of the Triple Crown Sprint Championship.  This run would be yet another off track surface, this time held in England on the turf.  Coming out of the twelfth post it was indeed First Up upsetting the pack and taking the trophy as Black Lotus celebrated the victory over a very strong field.  Two entries in this field have earned over $5,000 in career earnings and five others including the winner entered the contest with over $1,000 in career earnings before they turned four.  Just missing the exacta sweep, owner Tockyocky Racing had the second and third place finishers with entries Toc Mo Money and Toc Kill At Will.  Owner Maple Leaf Farms got on the Championship board when Center Ice Loonie passed the rest of the field to finish fourth.  The win gives Black Lotus his fifteenth Championship in over 150 career Championship starts.  As is beginning to become a trend in the official Tipping Contest, there were again zero official tips on winning horse First Up.

 

Though we move up into the next level of age groups it was déjà vu all over again when the Saratoga Sprint Championship for colts came to its conclusion.   Ran once again on the upset providing muddy track in the U.S., the winner of this race was no upset at all.  Things returned to order as the career earner of over $13,000 and smart auction purchase Toc Black Magic crossed the finish line first in dominating fashion.  Owner, purchaser, and now back to back Championship owner, Black Lotus celebrated his now sixteenth golden trophy bringing his career earnings to well over $300,000.  Owner Colwells End was seen smiling and happy when colt Ritchies Titanic crossed the finish second for a $500 pay day.  It was one of the famed Ap horses placing third as Ap Silver Striker finished in the money for Master stable owner Mudflaps.  Race favorite and $11,000 career earner, Toc Genghis Khan finished a disappointing fourth.

 

In the final Championship race of the day, it was the fillies turn to give their shot at the Saratoga Sprint Championship.  Would the Black Lotus winning streak continue or would another veteran owner take charge of the day’s last trophy?  Or would it be a third first time winner of the day?  Silent Reward would do just that and reward owner Myrtle’s Knackery to a first ever Championship win.  Nobody saw this twenty two time stakes winner coming as the winning horse only received two tips from the days official Tipping Contest.  In only the sixth career Championship start, Myrtle’s Knackery celebrated all night and watched the career earnings grow to over $13,000 with Silent Reward earning almost half of that amount over her career.  Chrisman watched his entry Roosters Flute finish a close second and probably the most upset horse of the day, the living legend herself, Rusty’s Princess, a career earner of over $20,000 and 136 victories finished third on this frustrating day.  Overheard on the chat portal called Traxide, owner of Rusty’s Princess, Maple Leaf Farms was very gracious in defeat and very happy for the first time winning owner.  Finishing off the check haulers was fourth place finisher Miss Independence owned by McKinleys.

 

Well indeed a great day of racing was seen during day one of Championship Week.  We had major upset victories, as well as, dominating wins by dominating horses and owners.  Day two has a lot to live up to as the Classic distance runners prepare for battle.

 

Reviewed by The Mad Russian

The future of horse racing is online at Digiturf.com
horses, racing, championships, sponsorships, entertainment 

Posted via email from Digiturf.com

Congratulations to last night’s Championship Series Winners (Sprint Distances) on Digiturf.com

Congratulations to last night’s Championship Series Winners (Sprint Distances) Last night’s Championship Series winners deserve a generous round of applause following their victorious races. Digiturf.com’s 33nd Championship Series races saw Black Lotus winning his 15th and 16th Championship Series titles on the same day, which is no mean feat. But the relationship between winning trainings and horses got a little close as it emerged that Black Lotus’ winning colt, Toc Black Magic, was previously one of Tockyocky Racing’s former steed. Tockyocky also won the Juvenile Sprint Championship C with Toc Black Mamba. If nothing else it was a double celebration for both trainers who could share and celebrate each other’s victories as if they were their own. They’re virtual veterans in the horse racing community but we don’t think any Championship Series victory is less exciting than the first, second or third title. These trainers have invested an entire season, in some instances even more, training their horses and perfecting their placement strategy. Last night, all that blood, sweat and tears paid off handsomely as their horses sprinted into the winner’s circle to collect the most prestigious Championship Series titles. The Manor House, Horse Heaven Hills and Myrtle's Knackery probably celebrated the hardest they all won their first Championship Series last night as their virtual thoroughbreds proved to be the fastest sprinters in the world of virtual horse racing on Digiturf.com. They can feel especially proud of their accomplishments because there isn’t a trainer on Digiturf.com who has been through the Sales Ring who can’t say they envy them. Digiturf.com would like to thank all of last night’s Championship Series runners because great victories are only possible when the competition is equally great in stature. We would also like to congratulate all the winners in last night’s Championship Series races for all horses over the 1200m sprints. Well done on making all of us proud and envious at the same time!

Trainer

 

Horse

 

Championship Series

 

Tockyocky Racing

 

Toc Black Mamba

 

Juvenile Sprint Championship C

 

The Manor House

 

Tmh Said It What

 

Juvenile Sprint Championship F

 

Horse Heaven Hills

 

Spill Wine

 

Triple Crown Sprint Championship 3Y C

 

Black Lotus

 

First Up

 

Triple Crown Sprint Championship 3Y F

 

Black Lotus

 

Toc Black Magic

 

Saratoga Sprint Championship 4-7Y C

 

Myrtle's Knackery

 

Silent Reward

 

Saratoga Sprint Championship 4-7Y F

 

The Digiturf.com Team 

The future of horse racing is online at Digiturf.com
horses, racing, championships, sponsorships, entertainment 

Posted via email from Digiturf.com

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Here's a sneak peek for Track Tabloid subscribers ... next week's Tipping Competition email!


Next Week's Tipping Competition Preview 

Here’s a sneak peek of what to expect in your inbox next week if you’ve registered to receive the Track Tabloid… 

The US$500.00 Challenge Series Tipping Competition is kindly managed by Mckinleys but since the selections are made offsite you will need a valid email address to receive the link to enter the Tipping Competition. Entry forms will be emailed to your registered email address but the rules are quite simple: One entry per player. Entry is free. Winner takes all. 

If you’ve never received the Track Tabloid before then you will need to ensure that Digiturf.com has your correct email address under your email preferences: MY ACCOUNT > Email Preferences > Promotional Email

Please add the Digiturf.com Member Support team’s email address to your list of contacts. 

If you still need to subscribe to the Track Tabloid, you can subscribe with your stable name (instead of first name) as it appears in your profile and your registered email address: SUBSCRIBE.

 

The Digiturf.com Team

Posted via email from Digiturf.com

Do you have the luck of the Irish to win $400 cash in the St Patricks C Division Prive races?

Enter the St Patricks C Division Prive 

St Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) commemorates the life of the great apostle and patron saint of Ireland, who is credited with having brought Christianity to Ireland. He explained the Holy Trinity to the pagans using a shamrock, a three-leaved plant, which has now become a part of the symbolic 'green' theme for celebrations on the day. 

St Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated worldwide on 17 March by the Irish and Irish at Heart - Digiturf.com included! Parades, music, dance, food, drinks, activities... and virtual horse racing all form part of the fun! 

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig! For those who don't understand Gaelic, this is an expression to wish that you have all the blessings of St Patrick's Day and the "Luck of the Irish" to go with it. One of the humorous explanations for this expression comes from the legend of the Little People of the land, known as leprechauns, which reveal hidden treasures when caught. 

Since trainers will find their treasure in the St Patricks C Division Prive 4-7Y on Saturday, 17 May 2012. 

Entry is US$50.00 with an extra US$200.00 cash sponsorships. 

St Patricks C Division Prive 4-7Y C
St Patricks C Division Prive 4-7Y F
 

May you have the luck of the Irish in the St Patricks C Division Prive! 

The Digiturf.com Team

Posted via email from Digiturf.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

$1,200.00 must be won in the Cheltenham Festival. Saddle up to start racing virtual horses today!

Win US$1,200.00 in the Cheltenham Festival on Digiturf.com!

The Cheltenham Festival is a significant National Hunt racing meeting, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National. It is an event where many of the best British and Irish trained horses race against each other, the extent of which is relatively rare during the rest of the season. 

The festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Racecourse. The meeting is often very popular with Irish visitors, mostly because of that nation's affinity with horse racing, but also because it usually coincides with St. Patrick's Day, a national holiday in celebration of the patron saint of Ireland. Large amounts of money are bet during festival week, with hundreds of millions of pounds being gambled over the four days. Cheltenham is often noted for its atmosphere, most notably the "Cheltenham roar", which refers to the enormous amount of noise that the crowd generates as the starter raises the tape for the first race of the festival. 

Horseracing, dining and hospitality at Cheltenham are natural partners. Whether you fancy a simple meal with friends or you’re planning a successful corporate event, the welcome will be warm and the memories will be rich. It’s as though a day’s racing was made for the purpose, mixing peaks of thrilling sporting action with great opportunities to socialise, talk racing and share in all the pageantry, colour and custom. Simply spectating the spectators could be a sport all of its own. 

Cheltenham is the jewel in the Jump racing crown, playing host to the best Jumping action in the world from 350 spectacular acres in the lee of the beautiful Cotswold Hills. Being a part of the crowd as the thunder of hooves is drowned by a growing crescendo of 65,000 passionate voices, is to experience one of the true highs in world sport. 

Even on a cold, crisp day in December or a balmy evening in May, the magic remains and so does the essence of a great day out – the first class racing, the joy of a win, the thoughts of what might have been, the fine food, the air of history and the shared sense of enjoyment experienced by everyone from novice to racing expert. 

Digiturf.com is proud to pay homage to the Cheltenham Festival with six great WFA races sponsored with US$200.00 each for the virtual horse racing community. 

Date-Time Race Name
Wed, Mar 14, 2012 - 19:28 Cheltenham Festival WFA 2-7Y C - Gr1
Wed, Mar 14, 2012 - 19:28 Cheltenham Festival WFA 2-7Y C - Gr1
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 - 19:25 Cheltenham Festival WFA 2-7Y C - Gr1
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 - 19:40 Cheltenham Festival WFA 2-7Y F - Gr1
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 - 11:04 Cheltenham Festival WFA 2-7Y C - Gr1
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 - 11:06 Cheltenham Festival WFA 2-7Y F - Gr1
   
   

Enter the Cheltenham Festival races today! 

The Digiturf.com Team 
Sponsorships: Raceclubs.com
Information: Cheltenham.co.uk & Wikipedia.com

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Congratulations to the winners in the "Races With No Name" Lucky Draw. You've just been paid!


"No Name" Races Lucky Draw Winners

It’s not as though we don’t have any promotional races this weekend– just that we have (promotion with no name, so we’re called them the “No Name” races. All runners entered into any graded race this last Sunday was also entered to win one of the following prizes into (lucky draw. And they are: 

US$60.00 G1 Winner: Candy Beau (Reddave) 
US$25.00 G2 Winner: Gesture (The Barbs)
US$15.00 G3 Winner: Sonoskeeter (Settled Orphan Farm)
 

Prizes will be paid on the Tuesday, 13 March 2012. 

And don’t forget to take advantage of the US$400.00 cash in Sunday’s Prive races! 

The Digiturf.com Team

Posted via email from Digiturf.com

Enter the Hong Kong WFA Derby today and stand a chance to win up to $400 in sponsorships!

Enter the Hong Kong WFA Derby Today! 

The Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby is one of the most prestigious races on the domestic racing calendar. It is also the most historic, dating back to 1873, and the most lucrative at HK$16m. It's no wonder that most owners, trainers and jockeys view the Derby trophy as the most coveted prize of all. 

Most major racing jurisdictions have their own Derby races. The name "Derby" originates from Great Britain in the 18th century when the race was named in honour of the 12th Earl of Derbyshire. With the exception of the war years, the race has been held every year in Hong Kong since its inception. 

Over the years, the Hong Kong Derby has seen its share of amendments, too. In 1981, the race became the battlefield for the top four-year-old horses. Since the 1999/2000 season, the distance of the Hong Kong Derby was increased from 1800m to its current range of 2000m. Only four-year-old horses can take part in the Derby. As such, the race represents a once-in-a-lifetime shot at fame, fortune and immortality as a Derby legend. Recent history also clearly illustrates the Derby is a race that crowns not just one local champion on the day, but also global champions of the future. 

In the 80's and 90's of the past century, the race produced several heroes subsequently crowned ‘Horse of the Year' such as Football, Co-Tack, Yuno When, River Verdon, Makarpura Star and Oriental Express. In the current decade, the race has demonstrably kept up with the rise of Hong Kong racing worldwide. Since 2002 four Derby winners have also triumphed at the highest international level: Olympic Express, Lucky Owners, Vengeance Of Rain and Viva Pataca - the latter pair were also voted ‘Horse of the Year'. But several others in this timeframe - such as Precision, River Dancer, The Duke, Able One and Good Ba Ba - have taken part in the Derby and used this experience as a springboard to achieving Gr.1 glory internationally. 

There has never been a race quite like the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby and its rich tradition and popularity will ensure there never will be. Apart from the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby, the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile and Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup have also been programmed as the 4-year-old Series. The Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile was originally a Hong Kong Group 3 event and traditional lead-up race for the Hong Kong Derby. This race was upgraded to domestic Group 1 status in the 1999/2000 season, and is now the first of the three major races for the Hong Kong classic generation. 

Formerly known as the Hong Kong Derby Trial, the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup is run over the distance of 1800 metres. It is the most important lead-up race to the Hong Kong Derby since the first three finishers of the Trial have priority to run in the Derby. Starting from the 2010/2011 season, the race will be upgraded to HKG1 status. To acknowledge the fact that the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup’s new status is on a par with that of the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile, and to establish its position in the four-year-old classic series, its prize money and that of the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile will be given equality at HK$6 million. Since the previous levels were HK$3 million and HK$8 million respectively this represents prize money for the series to be increased to HK$28 million, with the climax of the series, the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby remaining at HK$16 million. 

The race programmer is proud to announce that on 18 March 2012, the Digiturf.com virtual horse racing community will have the opportunity to race in the Hong Kong WFA Derby races online! 

Hong Kong WFA Derby (Colts) 
Hong Kong WFA Derby (Fillies) 

Enter the Hong Kong WFA Derby Today! 

Information: hkjc.com
Sponsorships: Digiturf.com

Posted via email from Digiturf.com

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Why yearlings are the unfair advantage on Digiturf.com- and why you want that advantage for your stable!

Yearlings On Sale! 

Yearlings are the unfair advantage that every serious trainer wants to grow their stable. They’re the best financial investment any trainer can make before the new season begins. Yearlings get a head start on their training, so they’re ready to race from the first day of the new season, and they get their first stabling fee free! You can start training them today as a 1 year old so they’re ready to race as 2 year olds next month. 

You want your yearlings ready to race from the first day of the new season because the Race Programmer has created an ultra-exciting, twelve-day racing extravaganza worth US$4,200.00 Maiden Championship Series just for next season’s 2 year olds- they're also going to need a supplementary fee!

You also get to enjoy that extra month training your yearlings for free because their first stabling fee will only be due in May 2012, e.g. a yearling bought on 12 March 2012 won’t have a stabling fee due on 12 April 2011, then if still unraced thereafter it will have a US$2.00 stabling fee due on 12 may 2012. 

Technically, this means you get to keep your yearlings for free: yearlings eat for free, train for free, and sleep for free on Digiturf.com. That’s because you should spend as much time training your yearlings until they drop because next season they are going to be kept on their hooves running in some of the most competitive races ever seen on Digiturf.com! 

Digiturf.com’s Yearling Sale begins in the Sales Ring and ends with you in the winner’s circle! 

Yearling Sale Details: 
- Yearlings will be available from 00:01 GMT on 9 March 2012 until 23:59 GMT on 31 March 2012. 
- The sales ring defaults to 2Y horses, remember to select the 1Y horse. 
- Yearlings have the same ability that they will have as 2Y horses. 
ie. Ageing from 1 to 2 years has no effect on the horses’ ability. 
- Yearlings are trained against 2Y training horses to gauge their abilities as a 2Y horse. 
- Yearlings become 2Y horses on the first day of the new season. 
- Yearlings can only enter races as 2Y horses in the new season. 
- Racing, Claiming, and Auctions are only available for horses aged 2-7 years. 
- Yearlings can be bought with bonus credits or cash, but using cash can get you some extra free horses. 

Posted via email from Digiturf.com

Monday, March 5, 2012

How to watch the best virtual horses races online- and for free!

 

To watch races from the general schedule, select a race to view under the ‘Races’ or ‘Track’ sections located in the main navigation.

For races particular to your stable or horses, select the race you want to view from ‘My Race Results’ or find the race under your horses ‘Racing History’. You can also choose to view races live as they run from the ‘Upcoming Races’ section.

A small initial download of 7MB-11MB is required the first time you view a race. It’s quick, just follow the automatic prompts.

Use the toggle buttons on the viewer to customise your camera angle, information displayed, and for selecting the usual fast forward, pause/play options.

Alternative Viewers (older versions)

If you are encountering any difficulties viewing races using the Embedded Viewer we suggest adjusting your viewer settings to ‘Low’ or ‘Off’ (click the SETTINGS button on the viewer). Selecting ‘Immediate Mode’ may help in some cases. Thereafter, if still no success, refer to the ‘Troubleshooting Guide’ below or contact the Support Desk.

We recommend using the Embedded Viewer (referred to above) before trying any of the older viewers:

Click here to open the Enhanced Viewer (version 2)

Click here to open the Standard Viewer (version 1)

The Embedded race viewer is more precise than the Standard or Enhanced race viewers. Although the starting and finishing positions of the horses are identical across the older viewers, the way in which the horses run is different due to a more accurate dimensional scale being used in the Embedded viewer.

Troubleshooting Guide

Whilst we strive to be completely compatible with all browser types, systems and formats, there are many combinations which can be used. Race viewer issues are usually due to the user having out-dated pc software/drivers, the pc requiring some minor setting tweaks or the less likely issue being due to the pc not meeting the minimum specifications.

The site and its race viewers have been designed to optimally work with Internet Explorer 7, or newer. Any version of IE should prompt you to update as new versions become available unless you have turned off this feature. You can get the latest update to IE7 here.

The viewers do also work with Firefox and Google Chrome.

To obtain your system information and a record of the previous race run in the Embedded viewer, click the  icon in the viewer, followed by the ‘Copy Log’ button. This is handy to include in emails when corresponding with the Support Desk regarding any difficulties encountered viewing races.

Setting the display color depth on your machine to 16 bit may help if you have difficulties using the viewers. To set the color depth, right click on your desktop, then click Properties, then Settings

Should you wish to uninstall the Enhanced race viewer, go to Settings - control panel.Select the "Java" option on the control panel. On the General tab, click to view the Temporary Internet Files.Select the Race Viewer application and press the Delete key.

To uninstall the Embedded race viewer, locate and delete the folder called KironRaceViewer in your home folder. 

The Standard race viewer is not installed directly on your machine.

Making a Race Video

Use this feature of the Embedded Race Viewer to process your favourite races into a format you can either nostalgically save to your computer for later viewing, or upload to other sites on the Net.

To make a race video, navigate to the selected race and press the  button. Note that this button will only appear for races that have already been run.

A window will open where you can specify the type and quality of video file to create.

 

Basic Settings

On the basic settings screen you can select to create a video in either Standard Definition or High Definition. The size and quality of the video saved with these settings will be sufficient for most uses.

Press the “Create Video” button to save the race as a video file. By default, the race video will be saved as an AVI file on your desktop, using the name of the race as the file name.

To cancel the video while it is being saved, press the Esc key. Otherwise, simply let the race run to completion. The race may appear to run a lot slower than normal, as a large amount of data is being saved to disk.

Advanced Settings

Press the “Advanced” button for more advanced settings – especially if you intend manipulating the video in your own video editing software later.

Select the required dimensions of your video. Note that the larger the dimensions, the more disk space the video will require, and the longer it will take to produce. Also, the final video may be cropped if you choose a size larger than your current screen resolution.

Select the AVI Frame Compression type:

The default will be JPG, which uses the least disk space.

RAW will use the most disk space but will result in videos of the highest possible quality.

PNG will use less disk space than RAW but more than JPG while still giving the best quality, but the resulting videos will probably not be compatible with Microsoft Windows Media Player or Microsoft Movie Maker.

Select the Audio Format, which can be either PCM (i.e. uncompressed) or None. You may choose the None option if you intend adding your own soundtrack later.

Select the JPG Quality, if you have chosen the JPG compression type. Obviously, the higher the quality, the more disk space will be required for the video.

You should select RAW, PNG or JPG with 100% quality if you intend manipulating and saving the video with your own video editing tools later.

Show Progress Slider – If checked, the video will include the progress indicator along the bottom edge of the video.

Show Horse Order – If checked, the video will include the list of horses in current running order in the top left of the screen. Note that you can click on a horse name in this list while the video is being generated, in order to highlight that horse in the video.

Include Pre-race – If checked, the scene prior to the starting gate will be included in the video.

Include Commentary – un-check this if you intend adding your own commentary.

Select one of the camera angles. These are the same cameras that appear in the normal Embedded viewer

By default, the race video will be saved as an AVI file on your desktop, using the name of the race as the file name. Press the Browse button to select another location to save videos to.

Press the “Create Video” button to save the race as a video file.

Uploading Your Own Race Video

First, create the race video as described in ‘Making a Race Video’ above.

To upload your video to sites such as YouTube, Dailymotion, MetaCafe, or Y!, go to the respective site and simply follow their prompts to add your own video. The video file to upload will be located in the folder you preselected or, if you did not specify where to save it to, the desktop.

If you are having trouble locating the file, either do a search on your computer’s hard drive for the name of the race you saved (eg. Maiden Allowance 2Y CF) or for ‘avi’ which will be the file type.

Once uploaded, share your racing success with friends on Facebook and other such social communities.

 

Posted via email from Digiturf.com

Sunday, March 4, 2012

How to train your horses to get the best racing results at Digiturf.com.

The Purpose of Training

Training increases fitness and helps you identify racing preferences.

The more you train your horse, the more training data you will have to assess its ability and racing preferences.

Your monthly stabling fee includes three free daily training runs.

Training Results

Training results are measured in horse lengths by which your horse beats or loses against the training horse. The training horse is a consistent benchmark against which all horses can be measured and thus allows you to compare horses.

Training Results are confidential.

How to Train

Click the TRAIN button either on your stable section or on the horse section. You can train over various conditions using the drop down options aligned with the horse.

You can chose the track, distance and going over which you would like to train your horse. Be sure to select a training horse of the same age and sex of your horse to achieve an appropriate performance benchmark.

For more info on training and using this to improve the performance of your horse see, the Quick Start Guide and Improving Horses Performance under the Help menu.

Fortunately, inactivity does not affect fitness and training just before a race does not adversely affect performance.

Be careful when training before an important race though as you can easily over train such that the fitness of your horse flips past 100% back to 50%.

Training sessions can be run one horse at a time, or for up to 20 horses simultaneously if you have more than one horse in your stable.

How to use the Auto Trainer

This tool helps you keep your horses racing fit by training them according to your settings.

You can set default training conditions for your stable. The default options at the top of this section include track, distance and going. A specific selection can be made for each of these or you can choose all in which case the conditions will rotate for each successive training gallop. You also need to set the default fitness level below which a horse will be automatically trained.

You can set these same settings for each individual horse in your stable or simply select your default settings to apply to each horse. This is easily done for a large stable by using the “Apply to All” tool above your stable listing.

Be sure to enable auto train for your horse by selecting the tick box at the end of the row, then click the update button at the bottom of the section.

The ‘All’ Option Sequence for Training

The sequence for distance is 1000, 1200, 1400, 1600, 1800, 2200, 2400, 2850, 3200.

The sequence for track and going is:

Australia (turf) Firm

Canada (dirt) Fast

Hong Kong (turf) Soft

Australia (turf) Good

Dubai (dirt) Muddy

England (turf) Yielding

Hong Kong (turf) Firm

America (dirt) Fast

England (turf) Soft

Hong Kong (turf) Good

Canada (dirt) Muddy

Australia (turf) Yielding

England (turf) Firm

Dubai (dirt) Fast

Australia (turf) Soft

England (turf) Good

America (dirt) Muddy

Hong Kong (turf) Yielding

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Get into virtual horse racing today. Its the most fun you can have online without having to clean the barn!

QUICK START GUIDE TO VIRTUAL RACING

 

You are the owner and trainer of a horse. You enter it into a race and it is ridden by a jockey allocated by the game system. You do not have to be online at the time of the race, but it is fun to watch it race live and cheer it home.

 

Train

You can select training run options which include track, distance and going (track condition). For now just choose the All default option. This will ensure that each successive run progresses through the distances for you to compare later.

Click the TRAIN button in line with your horse.
Train snapshot

You can select training run options which include track, distance and going (track condition). For now just choose the All default option. This will ensure that each successive run progresses through the distances for you to compare later.

Filter

 

The results will display in this format:

Grid Results

 

Your primary aim is to just get the horse fit. You want your horse to reach at least 90% to race optimally.

Performance is measured in lengths, being lengths ahead (LA) or behind (LB) the training horse (TH). As you develop your training skills, you will find that you are better able to interpret your training results and lengths. The general rule is that the further your horse beats the training horse by, the better. It is important to note however that the longer the training distance, the greater the lengths margin over the training horse. With time you will learn what length margin to adjust by to narrow down the optimal race distances for each horse.

Your first horse is already fit to race, unless you have already trained it “over the top” - when you train past 100%, its fitness reverts to 50% to start the cycle again.

Horses can be run up to 3 times a day in training runs. However, on the first day of purchasing a new horse from the Sales Ring you will be able to train it to at least 90%.

Equip

From the horse details page (click on your horse name to get here), click on the check box next to each product. Alternatively click on the + symbol below the required product on the Stable page.

Horse

You will be directed to the Apply Equipment page where the following selections are offered:

Filter

 

Most products enhance a horse’s performance. Blinkers can have a negative impact on some horses. Ignore blinkers for now.

Make sure these are applied:

  • AlumitesAlumites (aluminium racing shoes) expire so you need to make sure that they are on when racing. You can use the multi apply option to automatically replace old shoes. Just make sure you always keep stock though.
  • GeldingGelding (neutering colts). A painful snip but necessary to improve performance. Ouch!
  • Fillies FuelFillies Fuel (performance stimulant). A nice virtual touch that gives some fillies a big boost.
  • VitaminsVitamins boost fitness, not speed. They are a great tool to get a horse fit quickly and have no training gallops left. Be careful though as they increase fitness by 5% to 10% and can push fitness over the top.

 

Race

Click Enter in line with your horse.

Only races for which your horse is eligible to race in will then display.

Races are displayed according to their start times.

Races also vary by category, distance, track, going and entry fee (if not FREE). Races with entry fees start at 50c and carry prize money.

Maiden races are the starting point in graded racing – it means none of the runners have won a race, denoted “W0” under Conditions.

You can filter the race list or just scroll down the list and select one that you like. If you are racing for FREE, there is no need to be fussy, just pick a race and have some fun. You will learn how to pick races to win.

Race filter

Remember to process your race entry through the basket Basket , even if it is a FREE race. The star denotes that something is in your basket.

Fitness increases by 0% to 4% in each race run.

Watch

Your race entry will remain pending until the race closes to entry, either 20 minutes before it runs or when the race has a full field of 14 runners. The entry will then be confirmed and your horse will show in the list of runners.

The race will count down to the start.

You can enjoy watching the race at the time it runs at the Race Track. You can also find your races run under either;

  • My Race Results and click on the race name. Watch the race at your convenience by just clicking the View Race Icon button associated with the race detail, or
  • The race history tab on the horse details page – just click on the horse name to get there.

 

The race viewer runs on Java as used by thousands of websites and mobile phones. If by chance you do not already have this, you will be prompted to download Java from Sun Microsystems.

Sales Ring

Your first virtual horse is free – it is a 2 year-old male (colt). You can buy more though to establish a rounded stable. The objective is to find good horses capable of winning races over a variety of distances. Each horse has a unique pedigree and preferences. It is your job to assess the caliber of each horse through training and racing.

In the Sales Ring, you choose the horse colour, its name, sex and age; none of which will impact its race performance. For the latter you have choice between a 2 and a3 year old. Newbie stables are best advised to stick with 2 year olds to start with.

Select Horse

You can also claim horses from other owners or buy horses from other owners in auctions. Be careful of sales hype around auctions and claims, but there may be some good deals to be found. Remember though, the next champion would probably not be sold by another owner.

Download the Quick Start Guide PDF

Posted via email from Digiturf.com

The ABCs and 123s of Digiturf.com. Read all about it in the first three pages of our glossary.

A B I L I T Y

Your horse is created with a unique racing pedigree which determines its abilities and preferences.  This ability may improve with age.

 

There are numerous variables that affect your horse's racing performance; however, through training your horse you will identify where your horse’s abilities lie. For example, does your horse prefer dirt / turf? Is it a sprinter, classic or stayer? Do blinkers or alumites enhance its racing performance etc?

 

A D D E D   M O N E Y

Additional sponsorship by DigiTurf.com to increase the stakes for a race.

 

A D M I N I S T R A T I V E   C H A R G E

Digiturf.com has no vested interest in the outcome of any of its races. Digiturf.com's has no vested interest in the outcome of races much like a real-world racecourse operator. Digiturf.com's members compete against each other, and Digiturf.com merely acts as a facilitator, or service provider, for that competition. There is an administrative charge, or service fee, for every stakes race which further guarantees that you are competing against other members, and not against Digiturf.com. This fee will never exceed 15% of the total nomination fees received for that stakes race, and this is one more guarantee to you that all Digiturf.com races are fair.

 

A G E

All horses celebrate their birthdays on the 1st of April, August & December. Each racing season lasts 4 calendar months; therefore your horse ages 3 years in a calendar year.

 

All horses are automatically retired from racing when they turn 8.

 

A L L O W A N C E S

The converse of penalties allows weaker horses to carry less weight than stronger rivals. Allowances and penalties can be combined in a race.

 

Eg: A horse with more wins in a final field would be penalized with the heaviest weight. However, allowances can be made for poor form so the final weight reflects a horse’s overall form.

 

A L U M I T E S

Aluminium shoes available from the tack shop are lighter than the generic, steel-based shoes included with your stabling fee. Alumites will improve racing performance.

 

B A R R I E R   R A C E

Barrier Runs are training sessions to ascertain your horse’s preference for specific tracks, distances & goings. The results are compared as lengths against the Barrier horse; which in turn reflects the overall average of other horse’s results against which trainers can measure their own horse’s competitiveness.

 

Three runs daily are included with your monthly stabling fee. Run them individually or simultaneously by selecting the number of runs. Barrier results are confidential.

 

B A S K E T

All purchases that are made are placed in a "basket". These include purchasing a Digiturf.com horse, products for that Digiturf.com horse and entering the Digiturf.com horse in a race. Any transaction on the site that involves spending your credits will be placed in the "basket". You can view your basket throughout the website. Furthermore, if you end a session with items still in your basket that have not yet been paid for, when you log back in to the site, the basket with your items will still be visible.

 

B L I N K E R S

A fabric hood that may remove potential visual distractions during a race by focusing your horse’s attention straight ahead towards the finish line. 

Available from the tack shop.

 

B O N U S   C R E D I T S

These are promotional credits awarded as an incentive from time to time and may not be cashed in. These credits may be used for the purchase of horses (other than in Claiming races) and products. These credits may not be used for Nominations or Claiming.

 

C A T E G O R I E S

The 100 categories within your stable allows you to distinguish between your different types of horses.

 

C H A M P I O N S H I P   P O I N T S

Digiturf.com horses that participate in qualifying stakes races earn championship points based on their final positions in those races. The Digiturf.com horses with the most championship points are invited to take part in the championship races. There is a maximum of 14 invitations into a particular championship race.

 

C H A M P I O N S H I P   R A C E S

Digiturf.com's season-ending championship day is held three times a calendar year. The Digiturf.com championship day consists of six championship races for two-year olds, three year-olds, and four-year olds. These include championship races specifically for colts and corresponding events for fillies. These races will take place over a variety of distances, tracks and goings. All Digiturf.com championship races are by invitation only, and will all carry added money to the purse. Invitations are made to 14 Digiturf.com horses per championship race, that have earned the most points by participating in the qualifying stakes races. All Digiturf.com horses that wish to qualify for a championship race must have won at least one race on the site and be championship candidates. This simply entails a one-time payment of the supplementary fee.

 

C L O S E   O F   N O M I N A T I O N S

Nominations close one hour before the off time for stakes races.

 

Claiming & Championship races close 24 hours in advance.

 

C O L O R  (of horses)

Owners can choose the color of their horses; bay, black, chestnut or grey.

 

C O L T

An ungelded male horse under the age of 5 years.

From 5 onwards a colt becomes a stallion.

 

C R E D I T S

Each Digiturf.com credit equals 1 US Dollar.

 

All transactions are conducted with credits which can be converted to $US and cashed anytime. Purchase your credits with credit or debit cards, NETeller or FirePay accounts.

 

 

Posted via email from Digiturf.com

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Meet the jockeys racing virtual horses online at Digiturf.com.

The Jockey riding your horse in every race is selected by the system rather than being determined by the owner of the horse.

As in live racing there is an unpredictable element in every race where a horse (& even the jockey) doesn’t run perfectly to form. This is represented by the Random Factor.

In Virtual Racing the Jockey simply represents the order/rank of the Random Factor in relation to the other horses in the race and is not an indication of the ‘weight’ of each Random Factor received. The best Jockey in the race represents the best Random Factor received whilst the worst Jockey indicates the worst Random received by a horse in the race, ie. each jockey does not represent a specific random factor. So an average jockey can represent a very good random in one race a very poor one in the next race.

The Random Factor number that is generated for each horse in a race is determined irrespective of who the horse is, its recent race results or who owns it, ie. completely random. This means, for example, that the closeness or gap between the best and second best Random Factors in races will differ in every race.

Jockeys are determined in the following way:

The race generator determines an outcome of the race based on each horses innate abilities, preferences for the race spec, the horses preparation for the race and a random factor. The race generator allocates a random factor to each horse in the race, without considering a horses ability, prep and preferences or race history – it is random and without any bias.

The race generator randomly selects Jockeys per the number of horses in the race.

The race generator allocates the best Jockey in the selected list to the best already determined RF, the next best Jockey to the next best RF and so forth, the poorest selected Jockey receiving the poorest RF.

Where horses are closely matched in terms of their abilities, such as Championship race series, it was found necessary to reduce the Random Factor element in relation to all other elements/factors such as horse fitness, weight, draw, ability over distance, ability over going, etc. This lower Random Factor is represented by the game only utilizing the top 17 of the 34 Jockeys in the Championship Finals and Qualifiers.

 

Capture

 

Win $320,000 This Season
$38,000 Championship Series

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Congratulations to the Hong Kong Gold Cup lucky draw winners on Digiturf.com!

Hong Kong Gold Cup Lucky Draw Winners

Some trainers from Digiturf.com saddled up to experience the East and its colourful traditions in the Hong Kong Gold races. They were in line to win over US$100.00 and the opportunity to compete against some of the best horses in the virtual horseracing community. You know it must have been a top drawer race for the Race Programmer to have scheduled an entire day in its honour and sponsored a lucky draw with US$100.00. Regardless if you choose to race your horses or just watch the horses run by the stands you were guaranteed to experience one of the most exciting races on the international racing calendar. 

We would like to thank all the particpants who ran in the Hong Kong Gold Cup and congratulate the following winners in the lucky draw: 

US$60.00 G1 Winner: Silver Wings (Horse Heaven Hills)
US$25.00 G2 Winner: Onoonoannie (Onoonoflyers)
US$15.00 G3 Winner: Toc Master Remix (Tropical Race Farm)


And double congratulations to Chrisman for winning both the Hong Kong Gold Prive! 


The Digiturf.com Team

Posted via email from Digiturf.com