Frequently Asked Questions

Racing Questions
FAQ: How can I watch the races?
A: The program used to run the races in Photo Finish is Horse Racing Fantasy (HRFan) by Gary Darveaux. The web site for this impressive piece of software is www.horseracegame.com. Photo Finish creator Laurie Brown highly recommends it. Gary offers a free demo which can be downloaded to try the game, and the price for the regular (American) version is $59. He also offers tons of Australian and European horses right up through 2004. If you decide to buy the program, please let Gary know you play here, he may give you a discount.

Those that own the HRFan program can view Photo Finish races just as they were run. Each week, after the races have been run, the results are posted on an html page on the Photo Finish website. At the same time, a zip file containing all the saved races from that week will be available for download on the Results page. Players with the HRFan software can just Unzip the contents of this file into their Horse Racing Fantasy\Races folder.

The races will be numbered with the same race number as they had on the racing schedule. Once you have the .rce files unzipped into the Races folder, start up HRFan. Go to Basic Game, and under Race Set Up Option click on Run Previously Setup Race then click on Continue. There should appear a list of the races available to view. Click on each race and its description will appear in the upper window, including the name of the race and the horses that ran in it. Once you have selected a race, click Continue, and the track for that race will appear. Click Continue again and you will be taken to the Field of Horses window, where you can see the weights and odds of all the horses. Click Continue and you will be taken to the start of the race. Then just click Go to start the race.

FAQ: How far in advance can I send in an entry?
Remember that you may send in entries as far in advance as you like, so you don’t have to wait until a particular week to send in your entries. All that matters is that the entries come in before the deadline and in the correct format.

FAQ: How are the horses in Photo Finish created?
A: The horses generated for the auctions and all horses created by breeding will be generated using the breeding program written by Laurie Brown, which uses the same stats as HRFan. No two horses will ever be the same, even among full siblings. The stats are based on those of the sire and dam, with some scores the result of ‘random mutations’.

FAQ: How do I know how my horses are doing in comparison to other horses?
A: Keeping track of the progress of each of your horse is one of the more challenging and fun aspects of the game. It is also important to identify your horses' chief rivals and develope tacts to deal with them. Notice not only what types of races your horses do well in but what types of races your rivals succeed in as well. Watch the results of each race carefully.

Auction Questions
FAQ: How does the Auction work?
A: All the horses for fale are listed on the webste well in advance of the start of the Auction. The bidding customarily begins on a Friday (Eastern US time) and continues through Sunday. Here is an example of a schedule used in the past:

All horses will be open for bidding at 7:30am Eastern US time (Game time) on Friday. Bidding on horses ends as follows:
2YOs end Friday evening at midnight Eastern US time.
3YOs end Saturday evening at midnight Eastern US time.
4YOs and older horses, Yearlings, and breeding stock end Sunday evening at midnight Eastern US time.

FAQ: Does that mean I have to stay up until midnight to bid?
A: No. We use a proxy bidding system similar to that used by ebay, the huge internet auction site. This proxy system makes it unnecessary for you to have to be present at the auction end, since you can place your highest bid up front and forget about it. For more information on how proxy bidding works, look here. Please note that bidding on ebay and on Photo Finish are different in some ways. A majore difference is that in Photo Finish you will not receive an e-mail notification if you are outbid.

FAQ: I don't know what proxy bidding is. How does it work?
A: All you do is bid the most you want to pay. Here's an example:

Let's say you want horse A. You're willing to pay up to $50,000 for the horse. You bid $50,000 and your bid shows up as $9,000. If nobody else bids, you win the horse at the minimum bid price ($10,000). If someone else then bids 15,000, you still have a higher bid ($50,000), so the bid is moved up to $15,000 to cover that person's bid, but you are still the high bidder, only now you would pay 15,000 for the horse if nobody else bids.

If someone else bids higher than $50,000, then the bid would move to $50,000 with the new bidder as the winner, etc.

FAQ: In the Auction, is there a limit to the number of horses I can buy.
A: Yes. Obviously, you cannot spend more money that you have in the bank, and you cannot buy a horse if you don't have a place to keep it. To buy a horse you must have an empty stall. You can only buy as many horses as you have free stalls.

FAQ: What happens if I end up over-buying anyway? I mean, if I buy a horse I don't have room for?
A: One horse will be taken away from your stable. The horse is selected at random, so if you over-buy for any reason, it is possible that you may loose your best horse. Over-buying is a serious offense.

Breeding Questions
FAQ: How do I arrange for a breeding?
A: Just make arrangements with the owner of a stallion or mare ("Hey, I'd like a season to Revenge, please") and after it is confirmed by the owner send the pairing infomation to the Administrator. If you want to use a List stallion or Mare, send the desired pairing and a few alternates to the Administrator.

FAQ: What if I want to use a stallion and a mare from the Breeding Lists and someone else wants to use them, too?
A: There is often a lot of competition for some of the horses on the Lists. List stallions are limited to three pairings each season, and mares are, obviously, limited to one pairing. Because some stallions, and especially mares, are in very high demand, it is quite possible that you will not receive your most desired pairing. Stables must plan their breedings carefully and submit alternative pairings. For EACH foal you want to breed, submit TWO stallion choices, and FIVE mare choices, in order of preference.

Example: You want to breed two foals. You should submit your request in this form.
Foal 1: Stallions - Dynever, Private Emblem. Mares - North Bell, Fionnay, Sardula, Wild Spirit, Vita.
Foal 2: Stallions - Lonhro, Smirk. Mares - Affluent, Sulk, Lady Bear, Lahar, Surfside.

Foal 1 would be Dynever x North Bell, unless Dynever or North Bell weren't available. If Dynever were unavailable, the foal would be Private Emblem x North Bell. If North Bell were unavailable, it would be Dynever x Fionnay. If neither were available it would be Private Emblem x Fionnay, etc. Careful planning is very important.

FAQ: But if two stables want the same broodmare, how is it determined what stable gets it?
A: Stables are granted their selections in random order. The Administrator uses a computer program to generate a random sequence.

FAQ: What would happen if I submitted my desired pairings from the breeding Lists -- say two stallions and five mares -- and they all happen to be picked before it comes to my turn to breed? Would I lose out on the oppurtunity to breed this year or would I get another chance to pick another mare or stallion?
A: In the unlikely event that all your chosen horses are unavailable when it gets to your turn, you will be allowed to choose new horses. You won't lose your spot.

FAQ: If I am using a player-owned stallion or mare, do I have to submit the names of "backups"?
A: No, if the owner of the stallion or mare has confirmed your booking, you are guaranteed a spot.

Stable Questions
FAQ: How can I make silks for my stable?
A: There is a template for download on the Stables page of the web site. Download the template and paint it any way you like in any standard graphics program. Then send the silks to the Racing Steward. Please make sure you save your silks in either BMP or GIF format. Do NOT submit your silks in JPG format. Also, do not resize the template. Simply paint it in as it is.

FAQ: How can I make a web site for my stable?
A: You can make a site for your stable if you like, and submit the link for inclusion on the Stables page. If you wish your site to be hosted on the Photo Finish site, let the Racing Steward know and she can help you. Another popular site for PF players is freewebs.com. If you don't know much about making web sites and need help, post on the Forum. Several players will be happy to help you get a site set up.

Contribution Questions
FAQ: If I send a contribution and get a free stall, what happens when I expand my stable?
A: When you contribute and choose to receive extra stalls, those stalls are in ADDITION to the stalls you have due to size. A Size 1 stable that contributes and gets a free stall (thus having 6), when it expands to Size 2 will have 11 stalls, not 10.