Market and auctions

The market is your yard's front door: new horses come in through it and surplus horses go out. In Padooko the market runs in one shared world; a horse one player puts up for sale is bought by another. This guide covers every way to buy and sell a horse, how to read a lot card, and the rules of the auction.

Ways to get a horse

The foal counter is the simplest: your groom brings three foals every day (more for Padooko Plus members). The first foal is a gift; later ones cost Doko. For crates see Horse tiers, and for breeding see Breeding. The rest of this page is about the sales ring.

The sales ring

There are two kinds of lot in the ring:

• Ready lots: a fresh round of lots arrives in the ring at regular intervals. They're racehorses of different ages and quality, including select lots that are Noble. Each round also brings a few stud lots: older stallions and mares that can be bred right away. On these lots you bid against rival yards.
• Player listings: horses other players have put up for sale. Here the dealing is entirely between players.

Ready lots never include a Legend, but a player can list their own. The line you're after sometimes turns up in another yard's listing.

Reading a lot card

Know what to look at before you buy. A lot card shows:

• Three training stats: Speed, Acceleration and Stamina, as bars and numbers.
• Likes: its favorite surface, ideal distance and whether it enjoys the mud.
• The groom's word: gold tags about the horse's future: "a gift for speed," "sharp from the gate," "tough as iron," "will bloom late," "little room to grow."
• Temper and character: visible traits by name, and a "?" for each hidden one.
• Running style, class, rating and power.
• Record: runs, wins and places.
• Blocks: if something keeps the horse from racing right now (injured, exhausted), it says so here.
• Value: the value the game puts on this horse, shown next to the reserve.

A horse's limits never appear as a number anywhere. So when you buy, look at its tomorrow as well as its today: a young horse with a bright word from the groom can be a better investment than one that's worth more today but is getting older.

What sets a horse's value?

Training stats count most. Age matters too: horses are worth the most at their peak, a little less when young, and less again as they age. Wins and good form add a premium, and an injury lowers the value. A Noble or Legend tier, a starred Legend and a line bred in your own yard over generations all raise the value as well. Rating alone doesn't set a value.

Bidding

The ring runs as an English auction:

• Every new bid has to beat the current highest bid by a set minimum, or meet the reserve. The quick-bid buttons show the amount you'd bid.
• You can't bid on your own listing, or on a lot you're already leading.
• When the lot closes, the highest bid wins if it clears the reserve, and the winner pays their own bid.
• When you bid, the amount is held in escrow; if someone outbids you, it comes back to you.

On ready lots, rival yards bid too, and from time to time they answer a bid you're leading with. Set your own ceiling before you start; in the heat of an auction it's easy to pay far more than a horse is worth.

Selling a horse

There are two ways to sell.

Listing it in the ring

You put your horse in the ring with a reserve. As long as no bid comes in, the listing stays open for a few days. The moment the first bid arrives, a one-day final countdown starts; other players can answer within it, and later bids don't extend it. When time runs out, the horse is sold if the highest bid clears the reserve.

When listing, keep in mind:

• A listing's price is capped relative to the horse's value; a reserve far above it won't be accepted.
• Brand-new accounts can't bid on other yards' listings or list a horse for their first few days; bidding on ready lots is open from day one.
• A horse that's racing can't be listed; the race has to finish first.
• You can have at most three listings in the ring at a time.

Quick sale

You can also sell a horse straight to the yard's cash counter from its page. The Doko arrives instantly and the horse leaves right away, but the cash offer is usually below what the ring would pay. The counter is a way out, not a place to make a profit:

• For a horse bought from the game (a counter foal, a crate foal, a ready lot), the cash offer won't be more than you paid for it.
• For a horse born in your yard, the cash offer depends on what it has won on the track; a foal that has never raced gets a low offer.

A quick sale is useful when you need to free a stall fast. For a valuable horse, use the ring.

Market tips

• Buying: age, the groom's word and the conditions the horse likes matter at least as much as today's stats. Think about the gap in your yard: if you already have two sprinters, a stayer is more useful.
• Selling: sell at the horse's peak and in good form; that's when its value is highest.
• For breeding: stud lots are the fastest way to start breeding without waiting for retirement age.
• Stalls: make sure you have a free stall before you buy; with a full yard, even if you win the lot you'll have nowhere to put the horse. A yard starts with a set number of stalls, and you can add more with Doko.

For looking after a new horse, see Yard care; for its tack, see Gear.