Welcome to Final Furlong! Final Furlong is a free , active, realistic simulated horseracing game. It uses a database back-end to automate entries, race results, sales, auctions, breedings, etc...this means less waiting around, and more fun ! Races are run two days a week, rain or shine. We have a large group of active and loyal members, but are always welcoming more, so feel free to look around and see if you'd like to become part of the fun!
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History of Final Furlong
Final Furlong started in November 1997, though at the time it was called Virtual Racing.
It had many active members and used a program called Stretch Drive to run races.
In 2000, however, Shanthi shut down Virtual Racing, supposedly permanently. She deleted
all of the files from her computer so that she could focus solely on schoolwork, as she
was in college studying pre-veterinary work at the time.
However, that hiatus lasted a mere month, and soon Virtual Racing was reborn...as Final
Furlong. (This was greatly helped by Shanthi changing majors to Information Technology ;-)).
Final Furlong had more members than before, and Shanthi soon grew tired of all the
countless hours of recordkeeping involved in running the game. She began exploring the
option of running the game using a database to help keep track of records. She spent the
next few years, with the help of fellow-conspirator Andrea, learning various code languages
to try and implement automation without losing the personal feel of the game. Keeping the
game personal and fun was a top priority, as there are too many games out there with
thousands of members that just make people feel lost and alone instead of part of an active,
welcoming community.
Today, the work still continues...Shanthi devotes a large part of her free time towards
improving Final Furlong as much as possible. Comments and suggestions on further
improvements are always welcome.
About the Owner
Shanthi is a young woman living in North Carolina. She has fostered a love of horses since before
she can remember, and has been riding since age 4. She has competed extensively in hunters,
though jumpers and eventing are more to her liking (and more fitting with her abilities). She bought her
first horse, Java, in 1998, but sadly only owned her for 3 1/2 years before she died
due to a broken leg. In 2002, she bought a weanling filly named Emma, whom she trained for 3 years before selling her. Currently, she owns a 2001 Thoroughbred mare named Magic, who retired from the track 3 days before Shanthi bought her. Shanthi hopes to own a Thoroughbred/Warmblood sporthorse breeding and training facility someday.