Good day all, and happy holidays for those in celebration.

Another week of racing, another breakdown of the activity. This week we introduced the "To Show" betting condition, which allows punters to pick a horse which they believe will come first, second or third, with payout being received if the horse finishes in any of those positions. The maximum bet per condition was also raised to $500,000. We also closed the horse market, with all horses now having owners.

Top Earning Horses

Our highest paying horse in week two has been Al Cap One from Philadelphia who bagged an impressive $1,550,000 in Race 14. Al Cap One isn't the highest earner so far though, that accolade goes to Don't Stop Refreshing from Los Angeles, who has paid out in both races she's run so far, totaling $1,875,000. 

Other horses which paid out in both weeks so far, are:

• Another Contract, Philadelphia
• Bloody Dice, Detroit
• Falure Pony, Detroit
• Godfathers Gun, Detroit
• Long Live LA, Los Angeles
• One Percent, Las Vegas

A number of our horses also have also begun to have their performance affected by their race history. Race History only considers the last 10 races, so every week there is a chance to raise or lower the performance. This week we've seen changes to:

• Another Contract, who has moved from a Form of Average to Good
• Long Live LA, who has moved from Good to Great
• In Cognito has suffered, moving from Average to Poor
• Rogue Racer also disappointing, moving from Good to Average
• Good news for Rumor Has It  and Unsponsored, who have both moved from Terrible to Poor

All these factors should be considered when placing your winning bets! 

All horses have now been sold, however with the recent retirement of Kates, we will be seeing her horse, Rumor Has It go up for auction before the next race.

Horse Owner Earnings are made by way of the amount taken by the book keeper after all winnings are paid out to punters. The excess is divided in a 50/30/20 split.

See The Stables for more information.

Race Analytics

This week we were in Chicago, with all five races running in the Windy City. Unfortunately, residents of Chicago were not able to do enough to benefit from the Home Advantage modifier on this occasion, something we hope will be picked up next time around.

Starting with Race #6, it was a difficult pick for the bookies, with a number of horses vying for that top spot. It was a split between the favorite, Bloody Dice, high performing Don't Stop Refreshing and underdog Knight Mare. Knight Mare managed to fit herself into third place early on, and if the home advantage has been taken, could easily have taken first place. It went to Don't Stop Refreshing though, who dug deep to take Bloody Dice at the last furlong. Don't Stop Refreshing will go into the next race Determined and will be one to watch, especially with an already impressive track record.

In the second race, Race 7, a winner was easier to call, with Al Cap One going in at 1/4, he didn't disappoint and took first place ahead of Untouched Grave. Click Monkey managed to take advantage of its Determined status from the next race, finishing in sixth. And Passing Wind also dug deep, giving him the Determined status, too.

Upset in the third race, Race 8, as underdog 4/5 Drive By not only finished ahead of the clear 1/5 favorite Falure Pony, but dug deep to put distance between them and go into the next race Determined. Horsey McHorseface struggled, as expected following their fall last race. Rumor Has It also dug deep, putting them into fourth place and helping achieve that performance increase from Terrible to Poor. 

Long Live LA was robbed at the last second in Race 9, being overtaken by Giddy Up Goomba. Long Live LA was ticking all the boxes, suited well to the wet dirt track of 1.5 miles, and backed up by a very admirable performance. It wasn't to be thought as Giddy Up Goomba dug deep to take first. The place did the horse well though, helping increase that form from Good to Great. Certainly one to watch in future races. 

The final race, Race 10, was taken by Sling Shot who was another horse extremely well suited to the track and conditions. There was fear in the book makers office that the four horses who entered the race Determined and two with home city advantage might cause uncertainty, but it didn't stop the Detroiter from landing top spot, and with the added benefit of digging deep. 

We're in Vegas next week, where 9 of our horses will have the chance to land that home city advantage. 

Home City Advantage

This is a feature of the races that has yet to be taken advantage of. It centers around the chance a horse gets to increase its place in the race, depending on the turn out from locals at the race track. The more people turn out, the greater chance the horse is inspired to victory! You can read more about it, here.

The Las Vegas races will be hosted at The Strip Downs.

That's all for now

Keep an eye out in the coffee shop Main for announcements and reminders of upcoming bets. The next set of races will be launched soon.

Thank you, and goodnight.