Fantasy Racing Rules

Game Overview

Welcome to Fantasy Racing! This game lets you test your horse racing knowledge by picking winners across major horse racing festivals throughout the year. Compete against friends in leagues, climb the leaderboards, and showcase your racing expertise.

Note: The game operates during major horse racing festivals throughout the year (approximately 15 festivals). Registration opens a few weeks before each festival, allowing players to create accounts, form leagues, and view participating horses.

Selection Rules

Making Your Picks

  • Two Selections Per Race: For each race, you must select two horses:
    • Main Pick: Your primary selection that you believe will win the race.
    • Backup: A secondary horse that will be used if your main pick becomes a non-runner.
  • Non-Runners: If your main pick is declared a non-runner, your backup pick will automatically be used. If both your main and backup picks are non-runners, you will not receive any points for that race.
  • Selection Deadlines: All selections must be finalized at least 15 minutes before the start of each race. Selections cannot be changed after this deadline.
  • Editing Existing Picks: You can revisit a meeting and adjust your selections while races are still open. Once a race enters its 15-minute cutoff window, both the Main/Backup buttons and any locked wildcards become read-only for that race, though you may continue editing other races that remain open.

Wildcard System

  • Meeting Wildcards: You can use one Wildcard per meeting per day, which doubles the points earned by your selection for that race.
  • Wildcard Selection: When submitting your selections for a meeting, you'll have the option to designate one race as your Wildcard race.
  • One Wildcard Per Day: Each meeting day only allows a single active Wildcard. You must pick exactly one race before saving. If you already used your Wildcard on an earlier submission, saving again without a Wildcard is allowed only if the original Wildcard race is unchanged.
  • Wildcard on Non-Runner: If you apply your Wildcard to a horse that becomes a non-runner, you'll receive a notification. You must log in and select another horse at least 15 minutes before the race starts, or you'll receive no points for that Wildcard.
  • Wildcard Locking: Once the race you marked as the Wildcard reaches the 15-minute cutoff, that Wildcard is locked in place. You can still update Main/Backup selections for other races, but the Wildcard toggle is disabled until the next meeting day.
  • Strategic Use: Choose your Wildcard races carefully to maximize your points!

Scoring System

Price-Based Points Calculation

Points are awarded based on a combination of your horse's odds and finishing position. This system rewards skillful picks of well-priced horses. The scoring formula is:

Base Score = (Fractional Price ÷ Finishing Position) + Place Bonus

Fractional Price (F): The numerator divided by denominator from fractional odds
(e.g., 3/1 = 3.0, 1/2 = 0.5, 10/1 = 10.0)

Place Bonus: 1st = +1.0 | 2nd = +0.5 | 3rd = +0.25 | 4th+ = 0

Scoring Examples

Here are some examples showing how different scenarios are scored:

Horse Odds Finish Position Calculation Points Awarded
3/1 (favorite) 1st place (3.0 ÷ 1) + 1.0 = 4.0 4.0 points
10/1 (outsider) 2nd place (10.0 ÷ 2) + 0.5 = 5.5 5.5 points
1/1 (evens) 3rd place (1.0 ÷ 3) + 0.25 ≈ 0.58 0.6 points
5/2 4th place (2.5 ÷ 4) + 0 = 0.625 0.6 points
1/2 (short price) 1st place (0.5 ÷ 1) + 1.0 = 1.5 1.5 points
20/1 (longshot) 1st place (20.0 ÷ 1) + 1.0 = 21.0 21.0 points
Any odds Last 2 finishers - 0 points
Any odds Did not finish - 0 points

Why This System?

The price-based scoring system prevents the strategy of simply picking favorites in races with many runners and using wildcards on the largest fields. Now, you must balance odds against finishing position:

  • A short-priced favorite (1/2) winning scores fewer points than a well-backed outsider (10/1) finishing 2nd
  • The last two finishers score zero points, encouraging picks that will finish mid-pack or better
  • The place bonus still rewards winners while factoring in value

Special Scoring Scenarios

  • Wildcard Bonus: When you use your meeting's Wildcard, the points for that selection are doubled.

    Example: A 5/1 horse finishing 1st with a WILDCARD:

    Base Score: (5.0 ÷ 1) + 1.0 = 6.0 points

    With Wildcard: 6.0 × 2 = 12.0 points

  • Non-Runner Handling:
    • If your main pick is a non-runner, your backup pick will be used for scoring.
    • If both main and backup picks are non-runners, you receive 0 points for that race.
  • Did Not Finish: If your horse starts the race but doesn't complete it (falls, pulled up, etc.), you receive 0 points.
  • Last Two Finishers: The last two horses to finish in any race receive 0 points, regardless of odds. This encourages selecting horses likely to finish in the top half of the field.
  • Points Display: Points are calculated with 2 decimal places precision but displayed with 1 decimal place (e.g., 4.58 points displays as "4.6 pts").

League-Specific Scoring

Each league can have its own specific rules and scoring modifiers. The default scoring system applies to all leagues, but certain leagues may have custom point calculations based on their settings.

  • Multiple Leagues: If you're a member of multiple leagues, your selections are used across all of them, but the points might be calculated differently in each league depending on their specific rules.
  • League Filters: Some leagues may focus on specific race types or countries, restricting which races count for points.

Leaderboards & Prizes

Leaderboard Rankings

Leaderboards are available for each league, showing rankings based on total points accumulated. You can view different leaderboard timeframes:

  • Daily Leaders: Top performers for each day
  • League Leaderboard: Overall standings in your league
  • User Stats: Detailed performance metrics for individual players

Prizes

Prizes are awarded to the top-performing players in each league. The number of prizes depends on the total number of players in the league. Prize details are specific to each league and festival and will be communicated to participants.

League System

Creating & Joining Leagues

  • Public Leagues: Open to all registered players
  • Private Leagues: Require an invitation to join
  • League Expiration: Leagues can have defined expiration dates

League Settings

League creators and administrators can customize various settings:

  • Country Filters: Restrict eligible races to specific countries (e.g., a "British/Irish" league might include only races from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales)
  • Privacy Options: Control who can see league standings and members
  • League Duration: Set when the league will end

Fair Play & Support

Fair Play Rules

  • Multiple Accounts: Players may only participate with one account. Using multiple accounts to gain an advantage is prohibited.
  • Technical Issues: In case of technical problems affecting selections or scoring, contact support with details of the issue.

Privacy & Security

  • Private Leagues: League creators can choose to keep their league private.
  • Secure Data: The game uses HTTPS encryption to ensure secure data transmission.