Greetings, racing fans. Photo Finish Live Virtual Horse Racing has “Breeding Reports” that allow you to have some genetic testing done to see possible outcomes between a specific stud and mare combo.
Below is a partial example and if at first glance it doesn’t seem that useful (it didn’t to me when I saw my first one) be sure to keep reading as that interpretation couldn’t be more incorrect.
This guide assumes you have a working knowledge of grades and other mechanics of the game. If not, please start with this introductory guide.
The above report is for Zee Bruh (a S grade stud) and Scuba Steffanie (a S grade mare). Inside the shaded box is where the foal’s grade has a 50% chance to fall as it’s the 25th to 75th percentile. The far right whisker is the 100th percentile and the far left whisker is 0 percentile. Another way to think of this is to pretend you have 100-sided dice.
PRO TIP: Access a third-party tool that color codes your breeding report here.
If you roll a 0–5, you would get an A+ for starting. If you rolled a 25 to 70 or so, you’d get an S for start. 71–94 would be S+, and if you rolled a 95 to 100, you might get an SS- meaning around a 5% chance. Useful? Yes, but not amazing.
The extreme value of breeding reports comes when you compare them for multiple studs. Below is another report for Scuba Steffanie but this time, the stud is Morning Wood, another S horse.
JUST LOOK AT THAT START WHISKER COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS REPORT! If the owner bred this pair, I’d estimate around a 10% chance of SS- start, a 10% chance for SS start, and a 5% chance of SS+ start. Absolutely incredible! However… the whisker is wider on each side so the chance for a low quality start is higher as well.
As such, the stable manager would need to make a big decision. Spend the money on the chance of a huge start grade, but possible donkey roll or take the more conservative route? We know what we’d choose! And this creates huge value for breeding reports.
As you can see, there’s even more to the breeding reports. It gives potential preference stars as well. If the orange line was all the way to the left with no box as you see above, it would mean three stars.
If there was a line all the way to the right, it would also mean three stars. Just on the middle line? 0 stars. So, the chance of the above report being soft is 0. The possible stars are 2–3 Left, 2–3 Dirt, 0–2.5 Firm.
Reports also show bloodline to ensure you’re not inbreeding and horse coat color possibilities if you’re into that.
How much do Photo Finish Breeding Reports Cost?
They’re not cheap at $50 each; you need at least two, meaning you’ll spend $100. Are they worth it, even at that price? We can certainly argue that they are, especially if they result in a much more dominant horse for you.
So, while acquiring 20 PFPs isn’t cheap, it may be well worth the investment for some.