Achievements:
World Cups – 18 Regionals – 8 Local – 37
– 
1st World Cup
Sat 24 Mar 12, Fibrillation, 1700m, 1.42,876 Dead
I would like to welcome Hareeba to Track Nuts. Its a pleasure to interview a player so admired for the way he carries himself and just how he has put so much back into the game. A sponsor of up to 7 world cups over 18 seasons, add to that, organized the 2yo series for a number of seasons, so rightly it’s time we caught up with the great Hareeba.
Welcome Hareeba,
How did you come across Track King by accident or from a friend?
Forgot who but someone from the Racing And Sports forum community posted a link to this game and thought why not!
How long did you take to find your feet in the game? Who influenced you most?
When I joined I started in Class 5 and bumped into Riddley straight away. Had no idea as sold off one starter horse and used unlisted apprentices in my leagues. But making mistakes is what it’s all about as long as you don’t get discouraged. Remember that first league race very well as thought it weird how Riddley’s horse won by panels from mine, haha. Until the penny dropped and got a better jock. Ended runner up for that season and camped for another in Class 5 as thought I needed it. In those days there weren’t any stable spies so just kept an eye on what Riddley did and tried to follow suit to try and train and race better. So would probably have to say Riddley influenced me the most from the outset. But as you race more and more, other players would catch my attention!
What is one thing you wish you knew when you started the game?
Hmmm, that’s a hard one…to be honest I actually enjoyed coming in clueless and just learning from my mistakes. Made it all the better when I did get it right! Actually don’t think I even read the HELP section when I started. Went to the forums for guidance and just ‘winged’ it.
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I got into mixology for a bit. Just learnt some of the classics and their modern twists as well. Learned most of it from the internet. All a bit of fun as you can imagine.
What motivates you to play this game day in and day out?
I’m a tragic horse racing fanatic, haha. Got hooked in year 10 when I won some money betting on a horse called Brosberg during the Melbourne Cup carnival. Was a goner after that high! So not hard trying to find the motivation playing Track King when it allows me to fantasize what I can’t do in real life horse racing. Training, breeding, buying, selling, and racing horses.
If you had the opportunity to change one thing about the game (only one), what would that be?
Loaded question! If only there was the one thing to change that would make this game’s population explode! That’s what I would like to see, the TK population increase exponentially. But to answer the question, would like to see the game redevelopment finished. Feel the crux of the game is still highly appealing to me but a more up to date change to game aesthetics is well overdue I feel.
The horse owned by another stable that you wish you had owned, and why?
Really hard to pick one! I’ll go with Tripp Leilani from Manor Park’s stable. Just look at that trophy haul! That single horse has won more world Cups than my entire stable has! Tripp’s racing career was so well planned and executed by the top TK stable. Honorable mentions to Little Grey Horse from Tomac’s stable, Wild Smokey from Troublemaker’s stable, Jobim from Riddley’s stable, and Rising Darkness from Jukr’s stable.
Your favorite horse bred or bought and what did you see that was appealing.
You probably know the answer to this question Gary!? As your wife Chrissy bred her, haha. Amphibian was my favorite horse. Was looking for a 2yo that season and didn’t buy her until quite late in the season for about $700k. She’s a favorite because I was so surprised with what she achieved as her comparative OR and xp wasn’t too high, but she was dominant in some of her early wins. Being a little sentimental, have kept her muddie son in the stable to continue the bloodline.
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
The best advice would’ve been from an ex-player Pengo who deciphered the weather pattern and shared it in the Lowe forums. In the earlier days, planning seasons ahead with the weather did give you a bigger advantage than these days where weather patterns are common knowledge. So gotta give credit to Pengo for many of my earlier race wins!
What is the one feature of the game you cannot get your head around?
That’s easy, breeding, hahaha! Think I’ve only bred the one initial OR5 foal (Enigmatic) in my entire time here. And it was an unpredictable styled horse! Looking to improve on that record?
What irks you the most in this game?
Still to win that elusive Class 1 League trophy. Although I do race at one of the most competitive Class 1 tracks that is Lowe. Bit of a slow learner too…
Who’s the next big thing for you?
Not sure really? Have had a lot of fun learning the mudlark and competitive racing styles. Hopefully my next big thing is an early sprinter? Will try to get near some sprint and short speed world records and dare I say break them? Will have fun trying either way…
Who would your dinner TK party guests be and why?
I would invite anyone willing to come, although I can be a bit narky with organizing numbers as some invites could be going to the same person! Hahaha!
Thank you Hareeba for your time and willingness to share your insights.