Derby Owners Club F.A.Q.

What is it?
Derby Owners Club - World Edition is a 4 - 8 player thoroughbred horseracing simulator (which is slightly misleading as you do a lot more then just race a thoroughbred). When you play the game, you're the breeder, trainer, jockey, and owner of a virtual thoroughbred.

How much does it make?
Our testing has consistently shown earnings of $3,000 + per week. We've received reports of games earning in excess of $15,000 per week. One location reported earning over $500,000 in one year with one 8-player DOC.

This is not just a redistribution of money within the location from one cashbox to another. DOC operators have told us as much as 80% of the money taken in by DOC is new money to the location. Additionally, location owners have told us the game has increased food and beverage sales by as much as 25%.

There are players in the US today who have in excess of 1,000 horses in their stables. Lets do the math:

     1 racehorse X $2.00 per play X an average of 30 races X 1,000 horses = $60,000!!!!

$60,000 spent by one player on one video game. You get five of them to show up in your location and the game is paid for in well under a year.

How much does it cost?
The factory suggested retail prices are:

This does not include other costs including, freight, sales tax (if applicable), currency handling devices, and any other ancillary costs related to the installation.

How big is it?
Installation space requirements are:

What if I buy a 4-player Japanese Version and discover I need more stations due to demand?
Individual stations can be purchased to make your Japanese 4-player a 5, 6, 7, or 8 player unit. The factory suggested retail cost of these additional stations is $15,995 per. The Horse Shoe Edition cannot be expanded beyond the 4 seats without major operator performed modifications.

How fast can I get one?
Delivery takes approximately 60 days from the date we receive a firm purchase order.

What should I be charging per play?
Sega recommends $2.00 per play.

Can I run tournaments on DOC?
Yes, please contact Sega for details.

Can players gamble on it?
DOC's software will not support any gambling functions what-so-ever. You can't even set the game to award free plays to race winners. DOC is strictly a game of skill and for amusement only.

I've heard the buzz about DOC but I don't get it. What makes DOC such a great game?
There are a number of elements unique to DOC that makes it such a great game. The few that really stand out are:

• Pace of play — Unlike most coin-op video games, DOC does not require intense focus and concentration. Players are engaged but not to the point of sensory overload. The pace of play encourages repeat play and socializing. It's not at all uncommon to see players on the machine for 8 hours at a time several times a week. How many video games are you aware of that can make that claim?




• Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame — The horse a player creates can't run forever. After 10 or so races, a horse will likely start winning and will continue to run "in the money" through as many as the next 30 races. Eventually, that horse is going to get old and will no longer be able to compete with the younger "up and comers". The beauty of this system is that no one player can dominate the game for any sustained period of time. Everyone gets the chance to be on top for at least a few races. This is a complete reversal of most video games on which one player can get so good, no one else in the location can beat him. DOC lets everyone experience the excitement and exhilaration of winning delivering an emotional rush unlike any other video game.




• Fairness of play — When observing DOC players, you'll notice a very subtle but immensely important interaction between them and the game. When they win, the player's reaction is nothing short of explosive. You'll see players cheering, raising their arms over their heads, giving high fives, taking victory laps around the game and more. But more importantly is what they do when they lose. They don't blame the game for being too difficult; they blame themselves for not being good enough. Put another way, players take ownership of their successes and their failures. A couple games from the past that had this same elusive characteristic were Daytona USA and Virtua Tennis. Both left a player exhilarated for winning and feeling responsible without being made angry for losing. The fact the player perceives these games as fair yet challenging is what brings them back again and again.




• Memory Card Reader and Dispenser Technology — MCRD literally connects the player to the game. The game dispenses credit-card sized magnetic memory cards that are essentially virtual thoroughbreds. On it is kept all the data relative to one specific horse. Information like your horse's win/loss record, lifetime earnings, bloodlines etc. is all stored on the card. Once you create your thoroughbred, you can take your MCRD card to any DOC game in the country and race your horse on that game. MCRD is part of the magic that has made Club Kart, Initial D - Ver. 1, Initial D - Ver. 2, Initial D - Ver. 3, and F-Zero AX such hugely popular games.

How much are these MCRD cards?
The 8-player game ships with 3 boxes (1,500), MCRD cards, the 4-player ships with 2 boxes (1,000). Each player station has its own card dispenser. Each card magazine holds about 100 cards (although Sega recommends you have no more then 75 at a time in the magazine to prevent unnecessary wear to the magazine spring). The operator cost of the cards is approximately $1.00 per but don't let that figure scare you. Here's why. The average player will use the same card for at least 30 plays. We've conducted extensive analysis of what the operator should expect to pay in per-play vend costs and have found this to be between 3 - 7 cents.

I heard something about players selling their horse cards on the Internet. Is this true?
Unbelievably, yes. If you visit E-bay and type in Derby Owners Club, you'll see anywhere from 75 - 300 horses available to bid on. We've seen prices from $5 to $1,500 for one horse card. Additionally, independent players have set up extensive DOC web sites dedicated to the game on which they sell their horses.

Why would someone pay $1,500 for a piece of plastic?
Because that piece of plastic probably represents an investment of over $20,000 by the person selling it. To get a horse that commands that kind of price tag takes lots of hard work, trial and error discoveries, and time. The person selling that horse has likely logged several hundred hours of playtime on DOC.

Is DOC a service headache?
There are currently over 450 units in the field with some coming up on 3 1/2 years in service. The game has proven to be virtually trouble free. The only recurring maintenance item involves the card dispenser. Each player station has its own built-in game play counter. When a station hits 100 plays, it sets off an indicator that tells the operator it's time to clean the card reader. This indicator shows up when the station is turned off and back on.

• The message "insert card cleaner" appears on the screen once power is reapplied to the station.
• The operator inserts a cleaning card (the 8 player version ships with 480 cleaning cards), into the card reader and the message changes to "cleaning card reader". This takes about 10 seconds.
• The card reader ejects the cleaning card and the message "remove cleaning card" appears on the screen.
• As soon as you pull the card out, the message "turn cleaning card over and reinsert it" appears on the screen.
• You simply flip the card over and reinsert it into the card reader and the message "cleaning card reader" reappears.
• After 10 seconds of cleaning the card reader ejects the card and the message "remove cleaning card" appears.
• Pull the cleaning card out and the station comes up into attract mode as normal.

These cleaning cards can be used several times. All you need to do is keep them moistened with denatured alcohol, not dripping wet, just damp. You should be able to do all 8 stations with one card.

How long does it take to play?
One "race sequence" takes approximately 6 - 10 minutes. This is dependent upon:

• Whether or not you have to create a new horse
• The proficiency of you and the other players in getting thorough each phase of the game.
• The length of the track you're going to race on. A 1,200-meter sprint is a lot faster then a 3,200-meter endurance race.

How many races are there?
There are a total of 96 races in the game.
The game is broken down into 16 simulated race days. Each simulated day consists of 6 races. Anyone can enter races 1 to 5 - be it a brand new horse or a multi million-point champion. Race 6 is reserved for those horses that have at least 1 million points in lifetime earnings. These are called "G-1" events short for Graded Stakes.

Two other races each day are worth noting:

Race 1 — Race 1 is a handicap race. The game "handicaps" horses with the most points to level out the field. This is very consistent with how real thoroughbred handicapping works, for example. You may see the favorite horse in a real handicap race enter the track with 132 pounds on its back between tack and rider while the long shot goes out with only 114 pounds. In a "fair" race, the favorite would win easily but by having to lug around another 20 - 25 pounds, the odds shift to the long shot.

During handicap races, you'll notice your "champion" horse(s) will labor more then usual in order to keep pace with the leaders. That's why it's a good idea to keep your champions out of the handicap races and only run up and comers. They'll have a distinct advantage over the rest of the field.

Race 3 — Race 3 is called a "special" race. It's a race with a large purse, 800 thousand points just to the winner. Win that race and you'll be well on your way to G-1 status.

What about these G-1 races?
The 6th race of every simulated day at the track is a G-1 race. The G-1 races are the most prestigious in the game and they're accompanied with a great deal of extra pageantry. Three of them, The DOC 1000 Guineas, The American Oaks, and The Queen Elizabeth II Cup are "distaff" or female only races. You can't enter a colt, just a mare.

Why can't I enter a male horse in those races?
DOC mirrors as closely as possible the real world of thoroughbred horseracing. In the real world, female horses rarely compete well with males. In DOC the best female horse will likely run ½ - 1 second slower then the best male horse. That means she won't be able to take the big point purses. In order to allow these animals a chance at getting mention on the lifetime earning table, the designers put these three gender specific races in. And yes, they did think of everything.

OK, so how do you play this thing?
You obviously can't enter a horse race without a horse so the first thing you have to do is make one. Your first stop will be the breeding farm. There you'll be asked to select a Sire (the father), and then a Dam (the mother), to be the parents of your thoroughbred. The game has approximately 50 Sires and 50 Dams. You select from a random sampling of 8 – 10 each. Once you've made your selection, the horses are left alone to let "nature" take its course.

Very quickly, your thoroughbred is foaled or born. It happens in a matter of seconds (it's a virtual thoroughbred, not a living breathing animal - although sometimes you wonder), and no, the event is not displayed. Remember this is a G rated game.

At that time, you'll find out what the gender of your thoroughbred is. It's now time to name your thoroughbred.

Players can use up to 18 characters — just like a real thoroughbred — to name their horse.

After you name it, you get to select your jockey silks. You can choose the pattern, body-color, and pattern-color for your silks. There are enough combinations to allow for thousands of possible styles.

Now that you've created and named your thoroughbred and picked your jockey silks, you're ready to enter the world of championship horseracing. This might take a few minutes as you have to wait for the current race to conclude before you can enter the next racing sequence. If that's the case, you'll be put out in the pasture. While you're in the pasture, you can further accessorize your horse by running toward one of the many multi-colored hoods or “blinkers”. You'll also encounter some small glowing orbs. Running into them can either improve or harm your relationship with your horse. Most experienced players don't take the chance and simply avoid the orbs.

Every horse is born with different levels of abilities. These are indicated on a chart of 6 blue bars in the top left corner of the screen. They are:

• Start — how well your horse "breaks" out of the gate




• Corner — does your horse "ride-the-rail" in the corners or take them wide making the race longer then it has to be




• Out of the box — if you get stuck inside a "box" of other horses, will your horse fight to find a way out or stay stuck inside and lose?




• Competing — is your horse like Michael Jordan or Michael Jackson?




• Tenacity — at the end of a long race, will your horse dig a little deeper to finish the race strong or will it give up and lose?




• Spurt — when you go to the whip, how much will your horse jump forward, a little, or a lot?

The horse you've created has a racing life of about 35 - 45 race events (the game won't let you race a horse past 64 races but it's highly unlikely you'll ever take a horse out that many times). Each race event consists of 4 elements:

• Training Proper training and feeding are the only ways you can improve your thoroughbred's abilities.
  
  
  
• Feeding — see above.
  
  
  
• Racing - Racing is where you actually pit your horse against other players.
  
  
  
• Feedback - Feedback is where you let your horse know how you felt about its performance during the race.

Training
You can choose one of 10 different training regimens. They are:

• 4 Solo Workouts — you and your horse alone on a track. The object is to go wire to wire in exactly the time specified, no faster and no slower.
  
  
  
• 4 Cooperative Workouts — you and your horse with a pace horse and rider on a track. The object is to cross the finish line in a dead heat with the pace horse, not ahead of or behind.
  
  
  
• 1 Pool Workout — you lead your horse around a horse training pool. The object is to keep your horses head above water for one full lap around the pool.
  
  
  
• 1 Rest Period — you can let your horse unwind and "decompress" every so often to re-energize it.

Each training option allows you to improve one or several of your horse's abilities (depending upon the option you select). Stepping left to right across the training options moves a cursor(s) to the right of your horse's ability chart. That cursor(s) indicates what that particular training regimen will be focusing on. For instance, if you select the first option, "Solo Training Turf" and you do the required training properly, you'll see the blue bar for "Start" grow indicating you just made your horse better at "breaking"out of the gate.

Feeding
You can choose from a menu of 4 different food items and just like training, each targets a different ability. For example, "Carrots" help your horse with "Start". If you select carrots and your horse eats them, you'll see the blue bar for "Start" grow.

One of the many unique features of the game centers on feeding. Just like people, every horse has different likes and dislikes; you may like Coke, while I like Pepsi. If you serve me a Coke I can say "No thank you" but a horse is not able to "verbalize" his dissatisfaction. Instead, he might kick over the feed trough, head butt you, or run away. There is no way of knowing how your horse will react to a particular food until you actually try to feed that food to him. If he does reject it, don't feed it to him anymore! If you do, you won't improve any of your horse's abilities and he'll be angry with you during the race. (Your horse has to actually eat the food in order to gain any benefits from it).

After feeding your horse, you're finally ready to enter your first race!

Racing
After everyone that's playing has completed the training and feeding regimens, the horses are paraded out of the paddock and onto the track. Each horse is introduced individually on the big screen where its G-1 wins, ability chart, and win/loss record are shown.

Every race consists of a field of 12 horses. This means that for an 8-player game, if all 8 stations are being used, 8 "live" or player controlled horses and 4 "virtual" or computer controlled horses will participate in the race. If only 7 players are "live" then there will be 5 "virtual" horses and so on.

After the parade, the main display will show the starter calling the horses to post. This is a man with a yellow jacket, brown hat, and red flag who never changes his clothes.

Immediately after the "Call to Post" the main display switches to a chart showing all 12 horses, their starting positions, a series of 4 columns of triangles, and a series of 10 columns of double circles, single circles, empty triangles, and filled in triangles.

The first 4 columns to the left of the list of horses in the field indicates what type of horse it is, Front Runner, Start Dash, Stretch Runner, or Last Spurt. Each type requires a different whip technique to maximize its performance on the track.

The next 10 columns are the picks of 10 different "virtual" handicappers. Each "virtual" handicapper picks what he thinks will be the top 4 finishers and applies a symbol as follows,

• Double Circle — the horse that handicapper feels will finish 1st
• Single Circle — the horse the handicapper feels will finish 2nd
• Empty triangle — the horse the handicapper feels will finish 3rd
• Filled in triangle — the horse the handicapper feels will finish 4th

The main display then switches to the starting gate, which now is loaded with horses ready for the race to begin. A few seconds later the bell rings and the gate opens signaling it's time to race!

During the race players can monitor their satellite display for important telemetry including:

• Current Position — it's shown mid screen as your current position relative to the rest of the field. For example, if you were in 4th place, the indicator would show 4/12 on your display.
  
  
  
• Distance to the finish line — Shown in the upper left of the screen, this is a descending counter that shows how much distance you have left to travel - in meters - to the finish line.
  
  
  
• Horse Condition — Shown as a bar that extends from the left to the right across the bottom of the screen - this is a very important piece of information. It tells you how much energy your horse has. Each time you use your whip, the bar moves to the right indicating your horse is getting tired. If you use the whip too much, you'll burn your horse out long before the end of the race ensuring a bad finish. Use the whip correctly and you'll have plenty of energy left to hold off challengers at the end.

Feedback
After the race results are posted as "official", your horse will be moved back to the stable area. It's there that you get a chance to react to how your horse performed. Your reaction choices (you get to choose from a menu of 4), range from Scolding, to Praising, to Hugging, to Blandish (whatever that means). Choose correctly and the confidence and trust your horse has in you will grow. The hearts across the bottom of the screen are your indication of whether your horse likes you or not. The more hearts there are, the better you and your horse are connecting.

After your 20th race (and after every race from that point on), the end of race menu shows two new choices,

• Keep your thoroughbred as a racehorse
• Retire your thoroughbred

At 20 races, most players will decide to keep their thoroughbred racing as they've now got a heck of a racehorse under them. But that won't last forever. Just like a real thoroughbred, these ponies have a finite number of races in which they'll be able to "finish in the money"On average you can expect your thoroughbred to be competitive for 35 - 45 races. After that, your horse can no longer run with the young "studs". At some point, you're going to have click on the "Retire" button.

Retirement
When you do retire your thoroughbred, your satellite displays a rather grand ceremony dedicated to his career. A scrolling of its win/lost record, lifetime earnings and G1 titles is displayed after which your horses "MCRD" card is ejected.

You can't race that horse ever again but...

You can breed with it.
If you did a good job of training and caring for it during its racing career it will make a much better breeder then any of the generic offerings the computer has.

Did I tell you this game was involved?

How do I use a retired horse to breed with?
When you start your next game, you'll be taken to the breeding farm just like you were the first time you played. But this time, you don't have to use the generic horses the game offers to create your next champion, you can use your retired horse!

When you're viewing the computer sires, you might notice (probably for the first time), a small line of red text across the very bottom of your screen that says:

"Insert your retired sire card into the card reader or make your selection from those displayed"

Simply insert your retired sire into the card reader and watch what happens. After about 5 seconds the screen will fade to black and then slowly come back up. The horse on the screen will be your retired stallion! If you have a retired Dam card, you can use her as the mother horse as well.

After the game is on location for about a month, you'll probably notice an odd phenomenon; players that are showing up with notebooks, some quite large. When they sit down to play, they'll open these notebooks and study them closely making seemingly random notations.

So what are they doing?
They're charting their horses. They're noting how their horse did in a specific race over a specific surface, etc. They're also likely tracking genealogy lines trying to determine what combination of horses produces the best blood lines. You might notice them reading what look like web page printouts. They probably downloaded those from a player site giving them some pointers on how best to run a horse over a specific track or surface, when to use the whip most effectively, and other seemingly minute details.

What you're witnessing is a growing player base with a passion to play unlike anything you've ever seen before. You'll see an entire community develop that focuses on the game discussing strategies and techniques. They'll be talking about the latest "trick" they read off the internet from players at other locations.

Most importantly, you'll be seeing them a lot more frequently, staying longer, and spending more when they're in your location; all this from one video game.

Home | Corporate Info | Find a Distributor | Trade Shows | F.A.Q. | Contact Us | Video Games
Redemption / Vending Games | Archive Games | Cabinet Conversion
Policies and Procedures | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service