As you approach the place, you notice that is isn't very big. Just a simple brick building. No windows, only one door, and it's a heavy metal one. You overhear someone else walking up...

"There's no way in hell they fit a whole damn track into this place unless they miniaturized the horses." 

The man grumbles and proceeds to knock on the door anyway, and then waits in silence for a few seconds. You then hear a brief metallic slide and a deep voice grunts from behind the door. The man glances at you, then leans toward the door and says "Man o' War". The metallic slide comes again and you realize it's a peep hole for the door.

There is a loud THUNK and the door opens from the inside. The man in the tweed overcoat who gave the password raises an eyebrow at you as if to say "You comin'?"

As soon as you step inside you start to head downstairs and you see that there are bright lights coming from down there, a few sets of them in fact. After turning around the corner you see a line of limousines, and people, just standing waiting for something obviously, but nobody seems overly agitated, everyone is relaxed and you are offered a beer or cocktail while you wait.

After only a brief moment you see Frite stand up in front of the crowd on a small makeshift platform. She clears her throat, takes a drink of what looks like a daiquiri, and begins to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming! I invited each of you here to be among the first to join me in my new adventure in New York, something we are all interested in, Horses. Now I know you must realize by now that the horses are not housed here, but that is why I have arranged for transportation for you all. Please feel free to jump in a limousine, take advantage of the refreshments, and while we make our way to the park, which I am proud to say is just across the river in New Jersey, please read over the brochure that I have placed inside for each of you."

Amidst a few applause, she steps down, and gets into the first limousine which promptly takes off. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, you jump into a free one and find yourself sitting with a few strangers. Rather than strike up conversation, it seems everyone is going over this brochure Frite spoke of, so you pick one up for yourself.

Tough Times Racing

For all Horse Lovers, and Lovers of Betting.

There are only a few minor rules in place here at TTR, lets go over them now.

1. All drinks are free, but we expect you to be on your best behavior while consuming them. Anyone found guilty of harassment will be escorted off the premises.
2. All bets are FINAL WHEN PLACED. Bets CANNOT be changed after they have been placed, whether posted to the board, or personally sent to the teller.
3. All payouts will happen promptly (within 24 hours of a race).
4. All bets must be made in increments of $10,000. You may of course place bets of higher increments as well.
5. Any bets exceeding $500,000 will have to be approved by management prior to finalization. You will receive notice if approved. This is for the safety of our customers pockets as well as our own, we ask that you please understand this is a small organization after all.
6. In the event of a death, the following will be applicable...
   1. Untimely death of a better: The person, or persons who placed the bet will not be allowed to collect on the bet, NOR will any of their next of kin.
   2. Untimely death of the owner: All bets directly prior to the death of the owner that had not previously been paid or collected upon will be null and void.
7. Any questions or comments should be directed to Frite.
8. Feel free to tell anyone you wish about our little club here, the more the merrier.

Racing

Now that we have the pesky rules out of the way, lets go over the races themselves.

Any and all races that will take place will be posted, with the times and the horses racing as soon as decided upon. These will also have the STARTING payouts posted. Payouts are in $1 Ratios, and can be explained by asking Frite at any time. A sample of what a single horse's post for a race and their starting payout would be as follows...

The Payout for this horse would be $80,000 on a $10,000 bet. However, please keep in mind that these bets CHANGE depending on who is betting on what horses, and the bet is final at the START of the race. So when you place your bet, make sure you are placing it on a good horse.

How can you find out if it's a good horse? By asking for a copy of the current racer's info sheet. Frite will gladly mail you an info sheet with their most recent races and overall record, and that should be enough to make an informed decision. Of course, you can always just take a look at the Payouts as well, in general a good bet is close to 2:1, anything too much less and you won't make much money, but you'll probably win. Anything more, and you'll make a lot of money, IF your horse wins, but it's less likely.

In general there will be one race every week, unless of course there is a great interest in this system, and then there will be significantly more races.

Ownership

So you like betting on the horses, but you think you could do a better job at investing one time and owning a horse? Not a problem!

To purchase a horse, just speak to Frite and she will give you a list of Horses, as well as their asking prices that are available from the stable. Each horse has a different pricetag for a reason, some will be better than others, but as of right now ONLY class C horses are available for purchase. They will generally run between $50,000 and $150,000 to purchase. Our horses here are immortal, or at least only as mortal as you are, so you can purchase them one time, and just let them run forever. If, however, you want to make more money, you can put a little money into training  them if you wish, but that can be discussed at a later time.

One thing you might want to remember if you own a horse, the more people that come in to bet on them, the more money you could potentially make on that race, because if your horse wins, places, or shows (Comes in 1st, 2nd or 3rd) they get a cut of the prize money which is determined by the amount of bets that come in. So TELL OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT THIS!!!

Just as you finish reading the brochure, you hear the limos pull up to the place, and you step outside to a freshly constructed racing track. Lights are on the track, the gates are ready to be rolled out, and the smell of horses is wafting through the air. Folks are making their way from the limos to the open seating area, while some others are walking to the betting windows. Which way do you go?

A loud voice crackles over the speaker once again.

"Ladies and gentlemen the final results are in! Please take a look at the board for the final tallies of the payouts."

As you look up you see the board read just as it read when you last looked at it.

You hear some flipping and notice quite a few changes on the big board.

A loud voice crackles over the speaker once again.

"Ladies and gentlemen the final results are in! Please take a look at the board for the final tallies of the payouts."

As you look up you see the board read just as it read when you last looked at it.

After a few more hours of drinking and talking you notice a weird quite in the room, and then you realize that all those men who were working on the two boards are done, the boards have flipped over to the next race and the new information.

Racing Board

Stats Board

"Ladies and Gentlemen, you may once again thank Marcio for the Second Big board. It was his idea to inform you all of the horses records, even if they are not racing. So at the onset of each race, the second board will now show the records of all the horses of the class that is currently racing. The first board will continue to have the information provided so it can be a simple reference.

As you can see the next race is set to go and there are in fact four more brand new horses for this race, so once again it should turn out to be very interesting. Get those bets in now because the window will only be open until 0:00:00 on July 13!"

A loud voice crackles over the speaker once again.

"Ladies and gentlemen the final results are in! Please take a look at the board for the final tallies of the payouts."

As you look up you see the board read just as it read when you last looked at it.

After a few more hours of drinking and talking you notice a weird quite in the room, and then you realize that all those men who were working on the two boards are done, the boards have flipped over to the next race and the new information.

Racing Board

Stats Board

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the stage is set for our first public race! The stats are up and we will be racing again in about 2 days, as usual. I invite you all to send in a bet, or to purchase a horse, and please encourage other's to do the same.

We do have one announcement. We now have guaranteed prizes for winning horses. Even if the track LOSES money on the race and the bets, the owner of the winning horse will receive 10k, the second place horse will get 5k, and the third place horse will get 2.5k. If, in the event that the track is able to profit, the winning horses will still receive a portion of that profit as befits their position.

As you can see the next race is set to go!

There are two untested horses in this race. The race will take place on a Regular track. Final bets must be sent in by July 15 0:00:00 MR time, and the race will complete before 6:00:00 MR time on the same day. So get those bets in now!"

With that the speaker cracks out once again.

You hear some flipping and notice quite a few changes on the big board.

A loud voice crackles over the speaker once again.

"Ladies and gentlemen the final results are in! Please take a look at the board for the final tallies of the payouts."

As you look up you see the board read just as it read when you last looked at it.

A goodly amount of time passes, and then you hear that familiar loud clicking and flipping noise once again. The boards have changed to show new stats on the horses, including some new owners you notice, as well as not one but TWO races, well well, this should get interesting.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention for a moment."

You hear Frite's voice, not the normal announcer come over the speaker.

"I just wanted to thank you all for what you have done so far. This has been such a successful little experiment of ours that we have decided to run not a single race, but two every other day. If this continues, we may even push for more races, provided we have the horses that can run them. Speaking of which, for those of you who are still interested in buying a horse, or know someone interested in buying a horse. As you can see on the stat board there are a few left, but I am working around the clock to find a breeder who has some foals for sale that we could race, and once I can find some, I will be sure to put them up for sale for you. Again I want to thank you all, you have been amazing so please continue to be amazing and we can all continue to have fun at this."

Racing Board 1

Racing Board 2

Stats Board

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have TWO race coming up, as Frite said earlier. You can see them on the boards now. Bets for these races will ONLY effect the horses in the same race. The bets and betting pool do NOT carry over to the second race, they are independent of one another. That being said, they ARE both going to happen consecutively. The betting for BOTH races will end on July 17 0:00:00 MR time, and BOTH races will be completed by 6:00:00 MR time on the same day. For those of you who are curios, both races are on Regular tracks. We are happy so far with being able to keep the elements out of our races, it is of course for the safety of all involved that we strive for this. So we at Tough Times wish you all the best of luck!"

With that the speaker cracks out once again.

Soon you hear that familiar loud clicking and flipping noise once again. The boards have changed to show new payouts on the horses. Looks like a lot of people are going for one or two horses in each race. 

Racing Board 1

Racing Board 2

"As you can see ladies and gents, the payouts have been updated, and by the looks of things the two races have decided their favorites, but don't forget, you still get paid if your horse comes in third place, and some of these odds are paying out EXTREMELY high. Let me give you an example...

If you bet 10k right now on Doublin's Diamond, and he cam in third place, you would make about 167k. That's insane. To make the same amount of money on honey Peaches, who is the current favorite, you would have to bet 333k AND Honey Peaches would HAVE to win on top of that.

It's a great time to get some bets in for the third place winners is all I'm trying to convey folks. That being said, please keep in mind you may bet however you like, as long as your bets are in increments of 10k."

The loudspeaker cuts again and people begin to mill about.

That familiar voice strikes up again, though slightly later than expected...

"Ladies and gentlemen the final results are in! Please take a look at the board for the final tallies of the payouts."

As you look up you see, for the first time, the board actually did change before the race. Looks like some folks got in a few big last minute bets, oh well, these things happen now and again.

After just a short while, you hear that familiar loud clicking and flipping noise once again. The boards have changed to show new stats on the horses, as well as the next two race.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the next two races are announced and the stats for all horses have been updated. It should be noted that these races will be taking place on a WET track according to the forecast.

Please feel free to place your bets at anytime.

Thank you and good luck!"

Racing Board 1

Racing Board 2

Stats Board

"Final reminder, the betting for BOTH races will end on July 19 0:00:00 MR time, and BOTH races will be completed by 6:00:00 MR time on the same day."

With that the speaker cracks out once again.

The boards start flipping again as you notice the payouts changing.

Racing Board 1

Racing Board 2

A soothing voice comes over the loudspeaker, slightly different than before, a bit deeper in tone, more bass than the baritone of the last announcer.

"Ladies and gentlemen the final results of today's races are in, however it is with deep regret that I bring them to you. Our regular announcer will not be returning to us. Earlier today, while transporting a few horses, one of the horses managed to break loose and shift the weight of the trailer. This tragically resulted in the trailer toppling killing all of the occupants, our announcer, as well as two prized horses owned by the late Garrus_Vakarian.

That being said, the results of the races are as follows..."

As you have taken the habit of doing you look up at the big board and notice a few changes, including two scratches for the second race, which greatly impacted the final payouts.

A brief time passes before the boards start to flicker again and the new man's voice comes over the loudspeaker.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the next two races are announced and the stats for all horses have been updated. It should be noted that these races will be taking place on a MUDDY track according to the forecast.

Please feel free to place your bets at anytime.

Thank you and good luck!"

Racing Board 1

Racing Board 2

Stats Board

"The betting for BOTH races will end on July 21 0:00:00 MR time, and BOTH races will be completed by 6:00:00 MR time on the same day."

With that the speaker cracks out once again.

Once again that annoying click sound can be heard and you know the payouts are changing.

Racing Board 1

Racing Board 2

The voice then comes over the loudspeaker...

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems I have the misfortune of telling bad news every time I come on the air, but I must let you know that Island Beauty has been retired prior to this race. On the bright side, much better chances of winning now in the first race, so get those bets up!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen," That voice comes up again suddenly, though you knew it would, the results must be in.

"I have to tell you now that we have the results of the two announced races! Please take a look at the boards for the final payouts."

Racing Board 1

Racing Board 2

"And of course, here are the results!

In Race 1, First place was White Chocolate.

Second place Featherlite

and Third Place was Strategem.

What a race for Owner Doodat this one turned out to be eh?

Of course Race 2 was intriguing as well.

First place was taken by Queen of Scioto, who is quickly becoming a favorite horse.

Second place was ItalianPrincess a long shot who paid out BIG to those who bet her,

and in third place was Honey Peaches.

Congratulations to all of the winners!"

A very short time passes before you hear a familiar voice once again.

"Hello everyone. Sorry that this isn't the normal person you hear." You can tell it's Frite on the loudspeaker this time, not that other guy, whomever he is.

"I want to thank everyone who's come out and enjoyed our little thing here so far. I would like to make a brief announcement here at this time. it has come to my attention that if I continue to run the races as I am, I will be completely bankrupt by weeks end. BUT have no fear! I have decided to change just one little thing that will make a big difference for all of us. It has to do with the betting. From now on, you must decide for yourself what bets you are placing, there will be 4 options for the time being.

1. Win - This is a bet you place if you think the horse is going to win. It is the most common bet, but you only win money if the horse comes in FIRST PLACE.
2. Place - This is a bet you place if you think the horse will come in AT LEAST second place. You only win money if the horse comes in second or first place. The payout for this bet is less than the win payout.
3. Show - This is a bet you place if you think the horse will come in AT LEAST third place. You win money if the horse comes in the top 3. The payout for this bet is SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER than the win payout.
4. Trifecta - This is a bet you place on 3 horses at once. You tell me what 3 horses you think are going to come in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in the CORRECT ORDER. The payout for this bet is SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER than the win payout.

Doing this will significantly change the way things are run from my end, but I hope to make the transition as seamless as possible for all of you. That being said, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, I hope you feel free to come to me, my door is always open."

With that you see the boards change over and show the next races.

Racing Board 1

Racing Board 2

Stats Board

"Hello everyone! So, as usual, the betting for BOTH races will end on July 24 0:00:00 MR time, and BOTH races will be completed by 6:00:00 MR time on the same day. Seeing how we have the new betting system, we have given an extra 24 hour window for bets to come in so everyone can get acquainted with the new system.

Any questions, as she said, go ahead and ask Frite."

The loud speaker cracks out and a few people make their way toward Frite's office, others make their way to the betting windows.