When it comes to horse racing video games, there aren’t plenty of options to choose from. Over the past decade, there have been a few horse racing video game releases, and none of them were up to the standards of big triple-A games.
However, as a horse racing enthusiast, trying these games can give you plenty of entertainment, no matter how the games look or their features. Since the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Classic is less than a month away, it’s the perfect time to remember the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships game.
This was developed by 4J Studios, back in 2005. Today we will dive deeper into the game’s specs and find out how to play this game as a warm-up before the Breeders’ Cup Championship races.
Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships
As with any horse racing game, we will go through some of the features that it offers to the players. The first positive mark of this game is that it comes with plenty of gameplay modes.
A player can choose between:
- Quick Race
- A Day at the Races
- Challenge a Champion
- Career Mode
These game modes are quite straightforward and provide players with a different type of action every time.
How to Play the Game – Horse Racing Mechanics
The most important part of a horse racing game is the ability to get you in the right mindset that you are a real jockey competing in a big horse racing event. Unfortunately, the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships game doesn’t deliver this feeling that much.
It all comes down to the horse racing mechanics, that somehow feel bored and do not provide deep control over the horse.
The controls are fairly simple. All you need to do is press A to jump at the start of a race as quickly as possible, and you can manipulate the horse’s speed throughout the race. This means you can start strong and run fast until your horse loses momentum or balance the speed throughout the race.
You can also rotate your viewing angles to see your competitors and move your horse from side to side.
That’s about it.
There are no complex controls and playing the game is quite simple in every game mode.
Betting System
Even though this game falls short in terms of actual gameplay and horse movement, it is an entirely different story when it comes to betting.
The game has quite impressive gambling options that replicate real-life gambling with all the bets such as exacta, trifecta, superfecta, win/place/show, pick 4, 5, and 6.
This is an exciting part of the game since it replicates real-life betting which is very appealing to every horse racing enthusiast.
Career Mode
This is where things get interesting just because you can get involved with the idea of horse racing much deeper. Career mode is a feature where players can race, breed, and train horses, which is the whole idea of the sport.
There are plenty of options and features in this game mode, such as picking a sire and dam to breed, and even though you can’t name your new horse, it is still a great experience getting involved in what’s happening behind the curtains of horse racing.
The best thing is that you can actually bet on yourself to win a race, which is quite easy, and then use the money to breed the most expensive horse from the best stable.
You can also pick different jockeys, enter your horse in different programs, win special cups, and manage injuries, which makes the game even more realistic.
Final Words
Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships is a quite simple game to play that even people that don’t know much about horse racing can manage a successful stable right from the start.
It offers plenty of action and features that will get you in the right mindset, especially before big races like the Breeders Cup in November.
