Track King

Stable finances

You need money to run your stable and to house and train your horses. Each week there is a financial update where the monies owed to you are collected and the monies that you are due to pay debited from your account - all transactions that take place during the week are added to the income/expense account shown and the balance figure is updated accordingly.(See Daily/weekly timetable). So when you look at your stables' finances, the 'Carryover balance' is the amount you started the week with, and all income/expenses listed are then the transactions that will be totalled to create the 'carryover balance' for the next week.

The income you receive comes from:

• Purses: Purses are the money that you win from doing well in racing. You receive a fixed purse amount for Class races. On top of that, your share of the race purse depends on your finishing position in the race, the higher the better.
• Sponsorship: Perform well and keep good relations with your sponsors and it will earn you a higher income.
• Facilities: Some of the unused horse agistment and training facilities can be leased out for public use, earning you income each week. (See Stable Agistment, Administrative staff and Training)
• Horse sales: The total income received from any horse sales (less 8% Auction House fees) during the week.
• Stud fees: By selling your stallions' services as part of a breeding program, you can earn additional income, again less 8% fees (See Breeding)
• Interest received: You can earn interest each week if your bank balance is above zero, the rate of which is determined by your Administration. (See Administrative staff)

The expenses you may have to pay are split into:

• Manager wages: As stable manager, you'll receive a weekly wage - with it, you can bet on races to gain prestige for your stable and notoriety for yourself! (See Betting)
• Jockey contracts: Good jockeys come at a price, you'll need to pay the wages negotiated in their contract at the time of signing them, and then again at the start of each and every week they are racing for you. If you hire an apprentice to race, you will pay a one-off fee for jockey services after the race. (See Jockeys)
• Facilities: This includes the setting up and the maintenance of the stables' training and veterinary facilities, as well as administrative staff costs and specialist facilities. (See Stable Agistment, Administrative staff, Vet services and Training)
• Auctions/studs: Total fees payable for any horse and yearling purchases and any stud breeding undertaken during the week.
• Transport: It costs money to safely transport your jockeys and horses from A to B depending on whether they travelled to another track, region or continent. (See Travelling)
• Race fees : This amount includes any race entry stakes payable as well as race establishment costs if you create a Stakes race. (See Owners Club features)
• Interest payable: You have to pay overdraft interest each week if your bank balance is below zero. Admin staff can help negotiate a lower interest rate. (See Administrative staff)

Going broke / Liquidating your stable

There's nothing to keep you from spending your stable's money even if your balance is zero. As stable manager you have access to a line of credit at the bank, but you're going to have to pay some heavy interest on this borrowed money. The bank is prepared to allow you free reign on spending until you reach $250,000 debit - but after that things start to get tight. You'll still be allowed entry into league races, and to hire unlisted apprentice jockeys, and to auction your horses, but that's about the extent of it. You won't be able to resize your stable facilities, or purchase any new horses, and signing a new jockey contract is right out! Also, and most importantly, your bank will put a stop on any staff drawing a wage from your stables' funds once a 'closing balance' of -$250k has been registered. This means that your vets and trainers will be unpaid! They're prepared to ride it out for a week due to sheer loyalty to you, but at the start of the second week without pay they will all walk out, leaving you with zero training and vet capacity. Note that while Trainers are working for free, you cannot sell any Training to the public, so you might as well use it while you can! The bank will then continue to finance your stable, even if the debt continues to grow, but you'll be without those valuable stable hands.

Should you grow tired of being broke, your Stable Finances page will offer a "Liquidate stable" link for anyone who has closed the week at -$250k. This process is not reversable! If you enter liquidation, your stable will effectively be reset to a 'new' stable, with 4 completely novice horses and minimum sized agistment. You will still be in the same Class as you were before, but you might find it hard to remain competitive!

League Bonuses

At the end of every season the sponsors hand out a bonus if your stable has done well enough. Trophies and money are handed out to the top 5 places in each racing Class. How much depends on your place and how high up you are in the league system:

70% of the League Bonus is paid at the end of the season, and the other 30% is paid on accepting promotion to a higher league. As an additional bonus all stables that promote will be given a FREE week of Owners Club!!

Personal finances

Your personal finances are totally separate to your Stable Finances. This money is your personal money, as a manager of a Stable, to use however you see fit.

As you don't have a team of Administrative assistants looking after this money, you won't earn any interest on it - so you may as well spend it! And what better way to spend it than at the track, betting on the horses that you know best?! (See Betting)

During the off-season, each Owner will have the opportunity to donate up to 10% of their Personal Finances - to a maximum of $500k - to their Stable. Of course, a stable that accepts charity like this would no doubt have to expect a loss of prestige...but it does provide another way to utilise your Personal Finances if your stable struggles. These donations can only be made once a season, during the Promotion/Relegation window.