Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships (PlayStation 2)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 4.6 (2.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Ryan Davis
• Reviewed on: 12/01/2005
• Released on: 09/29/2005
• Originally published on GameSpot: Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships (PlayStation 2) Review

Most modern horseracing simulations, such as Tecmo's long-running Gallop Racer series, are intense exercises in statistics and Thoroughbred minutiae, which render them virtually impenetrable to those not already steeped in this pastime that is both regal and somewhat seedy. NTRA Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships strips away much of the density of the genre, making it more accessible but also robbing it of much of its depth.

One of the few advantages that NTRA Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships holds over its competition is its National Thoroughbred Racing Association seal of approval, which grants it use of more than a dozen real-world Thoroughbred racetracks, including Belmont Park, Del Mar, Emerald Downs, and Monmouth Park. The game also prominently features a number of Breeders' Cup winning horses, such as Smarty Jones, Man o' War, Funny Cide, and Seabiscuit. The game covers the three primary disciplines associated with horseracing--jockeying, stable management, and wagering. For pure on-the-track action, there's the quick race mode, where you can define the track, track surface, distance, the number of horses on the track, and weather conditions before choosing one of the game's fictional horses and hitting the track. You can also go in a head-to-head race with one of the featured Breeders' Cup winners in the "challenge a champion" mode.

It's typical for a horseracing game to take a somewhat hands-off approach to jockeying, and Breeders' Cup doesn't stray too far from this convention, allowing you to influence how hard the jockey pushes the horse, as well as the lane position, using the left analog stick. A quick tap of the X button at the starting gate will give you a good jump off the line, and near the end of the race you'll be prompted to hit the X button in order to use the riding crop. Both of these actions are timing based, though they're also fairly forgiving. Mostly what you have to worry about is riding your horse too hard. There's a stamina meter that you'll have to keep an eye on, though often it's possible to ride full tilt for the entire race and still have stamina to spare. The other danger in riding your horse too hard is injury, though this happens only in the game's career mode, and even then it's always possible to recover with a little R&R. The whole jockey experience here just ends up feeling really simple and not particularly challenging.

The wagering in Breeders' Cup features much more depth and, in turn, is much more engaging than actually racing the horses. A day at the races is a mode that lets you spend a full eight-race day at one of the game's 15 real-world tracks putting money on the ponies. You're given a view of the virtual paddock before each race, which serves as a more colorful racing form, giving you access to details like the horse's parents, the win percentages of the jockey, and the horse's lifetime performance--including a breakdown of performance on both dirt and turf tracks. Whether you're able to digest any of this information into something meaningful, or you simply pick the horse with the funniest name, your next step is to place your bet. The betting system lets you place bets anywhere from $2 to thousands of dollars, and you can place standard win, place, and show bets, as well as more involved bets like daily doubles, exacta, trifecta, and pick three. Once you've placed your bet, you can choose to watch the race play out, or you can cut to the chase and just see who won. Your winnings in this mode can carry from one day to another, allowing you to rack up a massive bankroll, but the winnings can't be transferred to any of the other modes, and there's no real reward for your wins, leaving this mode feeling more than a little futile.

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