Season, standings and rating
Single races are the sentences of a story; the season is the story itself. In Padooko every horse climbs and slips on a rating ladder, every season is shaped by eight big feature races, and at the end of it a champion goes into the record. This guide covers the calendar, the standings and the rating.
The game calendar
Padooko has its own calendar, and it runs faster than real time: one game month is roughly one real week. Horses age on this calendar, and injuries and breeding waits are counted in game months. The waits you sit through on screen (training, resting, the gap between races), however, always count down in real time.
Twelve game months make a season, so a season lasts about three real months. Because the server never stops, the calendar keeps turning while you're away.
The season's eight feature races
Every season's calendar is built around the same eight feature races. Each opens in its own month and is run under fixed conditions:
| Race | Distance | Surface | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juvenile Stakes | 1400 m | Dirt | Young horses at the start of the road |
| Fillies' Stakes | 1600 m | Turf | The young class; the first big test of a career |
| Sprinter Cup | 1200 m | Dirt | A test of the gate and speed |
| Gazi Stakes | 2400 m | Turf | The season's most prestigious classic; mature horses |
| Presidential Cup | 2000 m | Turf | The best of the class |
| Stayer Cup | 3200 m | Turf | A marathon of breath and heart |
| Autumn Stakes | 1800 m | Synthetic | The last big stop before the finale |
| Champions Stakes | 2400 m | Turf | The season finale |
Each feature race has a minimum rating and an age window, both listed on the calendar tab. Early-season races are open to young horses, the later ones to mature, highly rated horses. Feature race prizes are far bigger than lobby races, the winner receives a trophy bearing the race's name, and they count double in the season standings.
The way to prepare for a feature race is to look at the calendar: which month, which distance, which surface? Train your horse for those conditions a few weeks ahead, make sure it meets the rating requirement, and keep it fresh on race day. See Tracks.
The standings
Through the season, every race puts points on the board for the first six home:
| Place | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Points scale with class: Handicap races count one and a half times, Cup races two and a half times, and Grand Prix races four times. Feature races double that again. The standings are ordered by points, then by wins, then by earnings.
Season champion
When the season closes, the horse at the top of the standings goes into the record as the season's champion, provided it has run at least three races; one lucky win isn't enough for the title. The season summary also shows the top three horses and their owners, the most wins and the biggest single payout. Winning the Champions Stakes earns the separate "Season champion" badge.
The weekly cup
Within the season, a themed cup runs every real week: sprint, turf, mile, dirt, long distance and synthetic themes take turns. Every race that fits the week's theme scores the same points for the cup as it does in the season standings. Your yard's cup score is the total of its ten best runs that week, and you need at least three scoring runs to be ranked. When the week closes, Doko prizes go straight to the top places and the winner also gets a Gold Crate voucher. Padooko Plus members get no extra advantage in the weekly cup.
Trophies and badges
Your trophy cabinet fills up with the eight feature race trophies and a set of badges:
- First win: one of your horses wins for the first time.
- Ten wins: a horse wins ten races.
- Hat trick: three wins in a row.
- Mud master: a win on heavy going.
- From the outside: winning from slot 8.
- Full house: growing your yard to ten horses.
- Millionaire: gathering a million Doko in your wallet.
- Season champion: winning the Champions Stakes.
The rating ladder
Every horse has a rating from 0 to 100, and every horse starts at 0. A rating only moves with what happens on the track: stats, age, price and tier don't touch it. Even an expensive horse from the market proves itself on the track like everyone else.
The ladder works like this:
- A top-four finish raises the rating: a win the most, fourth place the least.
- Fifth or worse lowers it.
- Low on the ladder, climbing is easy and falling is hard. Near the top, a win gains less and a loss costs more.
- The margin counts too: a horse that wins by a clear distance, or finishes close behind the winner, gains more; one that finishes far behind loses more.
As a result, every horse settles where it truly belongs. Running often won't carry a horse to the top on its own, and a champion that loses its form slides back down.
Rating and class
The rating sets a horse's class:
| Rating | Class |
|---|---|
| 0–34 | Maiden |
| 35–54 | Handicap |
| 55–74 | Cup |
| 75–100 | Grand Prix |
A horse can race in its own class or one above; a horse that has never won can also drop a class. Class sets the entry fee and the prize, and feature races need a minimum rating. The fairness of a field, though, comes from power, not rating. See Races.
Rating and form
A horse's card also shows its last six finishes: that's its form. Form doesn't set the rating directly, but it adds a premium to the horse's value and tells you how the horse is going right now.
Season tips
- Look at the calendar early and give your horses a goal for the season.
- For a high place in the standings, a few good races in a higher class are worth more than lots of maiden races.
- Follow the weekly cup's theme; put forward the horse that suits it that week.
- Rather than forcing a horse whose rating is slipping, rest it and run it in races with the right conditions.
Progress is never reset: the season closes, but your horses, trophies and badges stay with you.