Welcome to Derby Day

This game allows the users to attend a fictious Race Track once
per day and wager on horses running in 7 different races that
day.

You will be staked to a Bankroll of $1000 when you first enter
the game. Each day when you enter the track it costs you $50
from your Bankroll. For this you will be admitted to the track
and given a "program" which will list each of the entries for
today's races and some additional infomation about them.

Pay special attentions to the "Speed" and "Stamina" ratings as
these have a major bearing on who can win a given race. These
ratings are based on how fast a horse can run in a short race
and how much "staying power" he has for longer race.

The program also lists the Odds that you will be paid on should
you make the correct bets. The odds are also derived from the
statistics used to create the speed and stamina ratings and to
actually run the race.





Although the speed and stamina ratings and the odds are a good
indicator of a given horses chances of winning, there is still
a factor of luck involved as there is in real horse racing.

The post position (in the game it is the horse number) can have
impact either positive or negative. You must try to weigh all of
the factors and determine who you believe the winner(s) will be.

If you have a problem determing the winners yourself, there are
always people at the track who are willing to give(sell) you
information. Some are good and some are.... well lets just say
in a lot of cases chosing a horse at random will give you a
better chance than listening to advice. You can buy TipSheets
from Touts at the track for modest amounts(?). They may or may
not prove better than your own thoughts and analysis.

First and formost enjoy your visits to the track and have a good
time betting someone elses money(?)

What follows is a brief description of each of the main menu
options and some of the more important sub-menu options.


Explanation of Menu Options:

<B> Look at your bets. This command will list the bets you have
    made for the upcoming race giving you the race number, the
    number of the horse, the type of bet, and the amount of the
    bet.

<C> Check your TipSheets. If you have purchased a TipSheet from
    one of the track Touts, this will allow you to view the
    list of picks the Tout has made.

<E> Examine user Stats. You can see how many total bets you have
    made, how many you have cashed, the last date you were at
    the track, your current bankroll, and your name (in case you
    forget).

<H> Help will display this file.






<L> List Top 10 Bettors. You can check and see how you are doing
    compared to the other game players.

<Q> Quit will return you to the BBS.

<R> Run the next race. This will start the next race and run it
    though to the finish. You will be shown the results and any
    winning tickets will be cashed and the money put into you
    Bankroll.

<T> Buy a TipSheet. You can vist Tout's Row and purchase a list
    of race predictions from one of the Touts. Hopefully the
    picks will be good ones!!

<V> View race entries and odds. This will show the horse's number
    name, Speed rating, Stamina rating, and the odds for the horse
    for this race.

<W> Wager on a race. This is where you give the track your hard-
    earned money to hold for you until the next race is run. With
    a little luck the track will give it back (plus some extra)
    after the race is run.



Now for a few simple rules and hints.........


* You can only run the races for a day one time. The game will
  keep track of which races you have run for the day and allow
  finish running the day if you leave and come back later.

* Remember though that once you place a bet, the track takes
  your money. At this time the game does not keep those bets
  for you if you leave without running the race. A good rule
  is if you bet a race, run it. I'm working on a way around
  this, so it will be different soon.

* You can only make 5 bets per race. This is due to the short
  field size of 6 horses. This will increase once the field
  size for the races is increased.

* To clarify Win-Place-Show betting:

    * If a horse wins, you will cash all bets on that horse.
    * If a horse places, you will cash all place and/or show
      bets on that horse.
    * If a horse shows, you will cash only show bets.

  This means you have a much better chance of cashing show bets
  since any or all of the first three finishers pay on show
  bets. The downside is that show bets only return a fraction
  of the odds in return. Often a .50 return on the dollar for
  show ( and sometimes even place bets ) are common. While a
  show bet is safer than a win bet, it can be a slow and
  agonizing way to make a profit.


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Please leave any feedback or comments to the Sysop!!

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