Remove a race entry

The window that takes a horse out of a race it is entered in. It recalls, for each horse, the race and its date, then asks for confirmation. It accepts a selection.

The entry is refunded

That is the good news, and it is complete: the cost of the entry is given back to the owner, in full, with no deduction. Getting an entry wrong therefore costs nothing but the missed opportunity.

The place is given back to the race in the same movement: its number of runners and its takings go back down. A withdrawal really does free a place for another player.

But the window for doing it is narrow

Three conditions, and all must hold:

• Entries are still open: the race's entry deadline has not passed.
• The draw has not taken place: the horse has not yet received its number.
• You are the horse's owner or jockey. The trainer, no.

In practice it is the second that most often shuts the door. As soon as the numbers are allotted, the horse runs — there is no withdrawal possible any more, and the entry has to be seen through. If a condition is missing, the game names the horse concerned and lets the others go through.

What is put back in place

The horse becomes available again: its next race is erased, and it can be re-entered elsewhere straight away. Its delay before the following race starts again from its last race actually run, not from the cancelled entry — a withdrawn entry counts for nothing, and therefore makes you lose nothing.

When to use it

Three cases keep coming up:

• You have found better. A more suitable race has opened since, or one with less competition.
• The horse is no longer in a fit state. Its biorhythm has gone into a trough, or a training course has injured it.
• You got the distance or the class wrong. The most frequent, and that is why the refund is total.

To enter, and for the criteria that decide what is open to your horse, see Enrol a horse and horse racing.