Season 21: What's New
New race series. New sponsors. New season.
Welcome to Season 21!
This season, we're making adjustments across the board to enhance the racing experience and optimize competition.
While the previous season featured a broad spectrum of events, we've dialed back slightly to balance coverage and participation. This refined approach reflects our observations from Season 20, ensuring more races fire off successfully.
The Season 21 schedule offers about 4% fewer races, helping streamline the competition without sacrificing excitement. In addition, the $CROWN value used to determine prize pools for races like the Kingmaker, Silver Stakes, Kentucky Oaks, and Undercards was locked at $0.36.
Onward and upwards – let's dive in.
Listen to this Blog: Twitter Spaces
Hate reading? Or do you love the soothing sounds of Ryan and Bryce's voices?
Good news – everything in this blog will be covered on Twitter Spaces this Monday at 10:00 am EST.
Click here to set a reminder and/or listen to a replay of our Season 21 Foal's Day Tailgate Twitter Spaces.
Welcome, BAXUS!
As part of our Solana Breakpoint festivities, we announced that our Solana siblings, BAXUS, would be joining us as a long-term partner, and the time has come!
BAXUS – the first peer-to-peer marketplace for buying, selling, trading, and storing your valuable spirits and wine – will be a mainstay on our race schedule for the foreseeable future.
KO Race Sponsorship
BAXUS has generously added $500 – or 40,000 $DERBY – to the KO race jackpot to begin Season 21 and will do so for the next six seasons.
Look for the fiery BAXUS button on the front page, which links directly to their website. You'll want to create a BAXUS account to fully utilize what they have in store for our community over the next six months and beyond.
Follow BAXUS on socials and share your excitement for the partnership.
Click here to create a BAXUS account using our special invite link.
BAXUS Chase Challenge
Allowance runners, BAXUS is your friend!
The BAXUS Chase Challenge introduces a new series running throughout the month.
There will be 18 seasonally allowance races, each with a $25 entry fee. All races are A—to S+ allowance races and will be shown on our various streams throughout the season. The winners of each race will earn a whitelist spot for the season-ending BAXUS CUP FREEROLL, which features a special prize: a bottle of whiskey!
Summary:
- Eighteen allowance races spread across the season.
- Entry Fee: $25 per race.
- Race Classes: A- to S+allowance.
- Winners will be eligible to race in the BAXUS Cup, a freeroll event at the end of the season, with a unique prize: a bottle of whiskey!
The Kentucky Oaks Comes to PFL
In collaboration with Churchill Downs, Photo Finish™ is rebranding its female-only spotlight event, The Kentucky Oaks, aligning with the prestigious Grade I race for fillies held before the Kentucky Derby.
This collaboration enhances the authenticity and excitement of our schedule, planting yet another real-world horse racing flag in our simulated world, which further enables our community to experience the tradition of The Kentucky Oaks.
Be on the lookout for more information about The Kentucky Oaks at PFL!
Claiming Races: Great AGAIN!
Claiming races have been made great again!
With $6,000 worth of $CROWN distributed last season, the structure is back and better than ever. These races will continue to blend risk and reward, fostering strategic thinking among stables.
That said, we refuse to rest on our laurels and have made some further improvements that should make claimers even better.
What's Changing?
- More frequent races and better cadence: We've adjusted the schedule to introduce more races with strategically increasing claim price points as the season progresses.
- Claimers capped at $20k: To maintain the spirit of risk-taking, the cap ensures stables must race where there's a chance of losing a horse, not just for a higher price.
- Extended claiming windows: You now have 6 hours to claim a horse, doubling the previous window.
A Fair Play Reminder:
Collusion and race-stacking are strictly prohibited. Offending horses will be confiscated for the season and barred from leaderboard prizes. Repeat offenses could result in stable freezes—play fair!
G1/2/3 Racing Enhancements
Sponsored races, such as the My Racing Syndicate and BANX Races, were introduced in Season 20, and the excitement continues in Season 21.
- My Racing Syndicate races are back, with another batch featuring a $125 bonus prize added to each.
- G2 “Profit-Boosted” races will run alongside G2 and G3 events each week. These off-distance races offer more versatility and count toward the Kingmaker Freeroll.
Changes for Age 6+ Racing
While Grade Restricted Stakes aren't going away entirely, they will appear less frequently this season.
- The allowance race schedule for 6+ horses is expanding, with improved cadence across A- to S+ allowance races.
- Starting in Season 22, the Silver Stakes event will shift to the final Thursday of the season, giving stables a new date to mark on their calendars and encouraging more racing in the age 6+ season.
Allowance and Benchmark Race Changes
To improve race fill rates and broaden opportunities, we've made a few tweaks:
- Benchmark races below a 60 rating are now grouped more broadly:
- 40-49
- 51-55
- 56-60
This change creates larger pools of eligible horses, encouraging more competition and re-introducing weight adjustments between benchmark ratings.
NW1 and NW2 races have also been removed for benchmark horses above 75. This shift reflects the current participation trends and ensures races remain competitive.
Season 21: LFG!
Season 21 is more balanced and welcomes even more sponsored events.
Prepare your stable, strategize your entries, and use this season's new features.
See you on the track!
