Always wanted to own a racehorse, but never had a stable to keep them or a team to train them with? With Zed Run you can experience owning and breeding racehorses from your very own stables and build your own horse racing legacy.
Zed Run is a digital NFT horse racing game where you can race on digital tracks for as much as thousands of dollars, collect one-of-a-kind horses for your stable and breed a championship bloodline.
There are four bloodlines: Nakamoto, Szabo, Finney, and Buterin, all with varying rarity. Nakamoto is the rarest and most coveted bloodline, while Buterin is the most common yet most unpredictable on the track. The game has been around since 2018, but has exploded in popularity in the past few months.
So let’s explain the basics if you’re just getting started with your own stables, beginning with how to buy horses and what you can do with them.
Getting Started on ZED RUN
First and foremost, take advantage of the resources the Zed Run team has built out.
- Read the Getting Started Guide
- Join the Zed Run Discord and try #beginner-chat and #learn-the-ropes
- Keep up with the Zed Run blog
Here’s a quick walkthrough on how to get started with digital horseracing and buy your first horse with Zed Run.
1. Creating a MetaMask Wallet
The first step is to getting a horse is make a Zed Run account — or stable. You can use your email, but the best way to sign up is by using a MetaMask wallet. MetaMask is an Ethereum crypto wallet commonly used by NFT marketplaces, like OpenSea.
Download the Chrome extension for desktop or the app for iPhone or Android and create your wallet.
2. Transferring ETH to MetaMask
Next, send Ethereum (ETH) from Coinbase or another crypto wallet to your MetaMask. To get your MetaMask wallet address, click the Chrome extension, then click “Account 1” to copy your wallet address, or click account details, and take a photo of the QR code.
You can also buy ETH on the MetaMask app using a credit card, but there are mixed results with it being approved/declined by the card company.
Lastly, be mindful of what gas fees are when you are moving ETH. They are usually cheaper later at night or early in the morning.
3. Making your Account
Now that your ETH is in your MetaMask, go to Zed Run and click “Start” in the upper right hand corner. Next select “Connect MetaMask”, not “Enter your email”. Follow the prompts to finish setting up your account then go into Settings and add your email and stable name to your account. Don’t worry if you don’t have a stable name picked out yet; you can come back and change it whenever you want.
4. Wrapping your ETH
The last step to get ready to buy your first horse is to wrap your ETH — or transfer ETH to WETH — so you can participate in the drop. Wrapped ETH is used so you don’t have to pay gas fees for every transaction (buying horses, racing, and breeding).
On Zed, go to your Zed Wallet in the top right, scroll down to WETH Balance and click “Deposit”. Type in how much ETH you want to convert (WETH mirrors ETH 1:1) and click “Deposit to WETH Balance”. This process can take up to 30 minutes, so don’t be alarmed if the transfer is not instant.
There will be gas fees on this transaction so keep that in mind too. You will use WETH to buy horses, enter races, and breed. Also, important to keep some ETH in your wallet to convert WETH back to ETH when you want to start the withdrawal process.
Zed Run Horse Attributes
Just like other NFTs, every Zed Run horse has attributes that make it unique. First, there is the name and gender, which have no known correlation to how the horse performs on the track. However, other attributes such as bloodline, genotype, and coat color can all affect performance not only of that specific horse, but performance of future offspring as well.
1. Bloodline
As we introduced earlier, there are four bloodlines in Zed Run: Nakamoto, Szabo, Finney and Buterin. Every bloodline has different qualities that impact its effectiveness on the racetrack. The following are the Zed descriptions for each bloodline — which are named after figureheads in cryptocurrency history.
Nakamoto Bloodline
“Nakamoto is the most celebrated thoroughbred, given that they are the purest racehorses that exist within ZED and are often known as the Samurai breed.” These are the rarest of Zed Run genesis horses — or the only horses that will be released by Zed — with only 2,000 ever to be released, making up around 5 percent of the genesis population.
According to Zed Run lore, Nakamotos are known for their high stamina, personality, intelligence, and — most of all — their purity. This is the most valuable bloodline for racing and for breeding.
Szabo Bloodline
“Szabo bloodline is considered second only to the Nakamoto in terms of rarity. The Szabo bloodline originates from the Hokkaido region of Japan.” Of the thoroughbred genesis population in Zed Run, Szabos make up about 5.26 percent of the population, and only 2,000 thoroughbred Szabos will ever be sold.
According to the Zed Run lore, Szbaos were originally bred for pleasure riding, but are well-equipped for racing. Additionally, Szabos are able to withstand cold temperatures, as the region they originated from is known for harsh winters. Szabos are the closest in bloodline to Nakamotos, though this is anecdotal.
Finney Bloodline
“Finney bloodline is considered the third most rare breed, yet these horses are still able to consistently perform toe-to-toe with their top of the line competitors such as the Nakamoto.” 9,000 thoroughbreds are classified as Finneys — 23.68 percent of the total thoroughbred population.
According to Zed Run lore, Finneys can be difficult to train, but mating between the Nakamotos or Szabos can dilute some challenging character traits. These horses tend to have high endurance and resiliency, as they have withstood unpleasant, balmy conditions for generations from their origins in the Middle East.
Buterin Bloodline
“Originating from Russia, the Buterin bloodline is known to be the most common breed of thoroughbred in the Zed ecosystem. Easily bred, these horses are naturally healthy, sturdy and quick on their feet.” A total of 25,000 thoroughbred Zed horses — or about 65 percent — are Buterins, making this breed by far the most common, but still a great performer on the track.
According to Zed Run lore, Buterins were raised in Siberia, this breed is known to perform through rugged terrain, drastic temperatures, and dry conditions. Buterins have thicker necks and broader chests compared to other breeds — a sturdy and reliable build.
Although the purer the bloodline, the better chance of being a good racer that does not mean that Buterins cannot beat any of the other bloodlines. This is important to understand once we start to dive into the details of racing and breeding later.
2. Genotype
Genotype refers to the Zed Number or Z Number of a horse; thoroughbreds range from Z1 (Nakamoto) to Z10 (Buterin), and can reach as high as Z268 through breeding.
The lower Z number, the more pure the horse is. Genesis horses are always Z1-Z10, but non-Genesis horses — or offspring horses — can also have low Z numbers below 10 as well due to their parents. The Z numbers are also not capped via breeding, which is why a Z268 can exist. More details on this in the Breeding section.
As mentioned before, the purer the bloodline doesn’t always mean the better racer, and the lower the Z number doesn’t always mean the better racer.
3. Breed Type
The next attribute of a Zed horse is the Breed Type. Genesis, Legendary, Exclusive, Elite, Cross and Pacer are the six different breed types in order of rarity.
All of the horses sold during drops from Zed Run are Genesis, which is the rarest and purest breed type. There is a fixed number of these horses (38,000) and once they are all sold, no more will be minted.
Z9s and Z10s are great starter horses as they have the lowest initial cost (approx. $205 and $125) and can still be competitive on the track or in the stud. Last drop, the Z10s sold out very quickly, so you might have a better chance of snagging a pony if you go for a Z9. At the time of this article (June 9, 2021), there are about 20,000 Genesis horses yet to be dropped.
4. Gender
There are male and female horses in Zed Run, each with two distinctions; have children or do not have children. A Colt is a male horse yet to have any children and a Filly is a female horse who has yet to give birth to any children. A Mare is a female who has given birth to children and a Stallion is a male horse who has fathered children.
There is a slightly higher premium on female horses because you get to keep the offspring when the horse breeds.
4. Coat Color
Next up, we’ve got Coat Color — the metallic-looking color of your horse. There are seven different Coat Color Groups: Neptune, Earth, Wild, Moon, Fiery, Classic, and Mystical. Each of these color groups can affect the temperament and personality of a horse.
Each group is broken down into three tiers: Super Rare, Rare, and Common.
There are also Super Coats (name subject to change due to confusing name), which have a chance to appear when two horses with the same coat color breed together.
Check out the full details about Color Groups here in Zed Run’s guide. Below is the Super Rare Coat, Arctic Snow which is one of three Super Rare coats in the Moon Color Group.
Note: Coat color does not impact race performance as of the writing of this article.
How to Buy a ZED RUN Horse
Now that you’ve got all the horse knowledge, it’s time to put it to work. We will be focusing on buying horses directly from the exclusive Zed genesis drops for now. However, horses can also be purchased on the secondary market from OpenSea.
ZED RUN Drop Day
For the last drop, links were sent out to anyone with a Zed account to try and buy a horse during a specific time slot. Demand is very high, and traffic floods the site, so be ready to click fast and furious.
During the Tera Drop — which came in 12 waves — it took about 90 seconds for all the horses to load after the drop time. However, clicking through several of the filters on the left side of the marketplace page enabled much faster loading, giving a leg up on the competition.
See below for an example of what the Marketplace will look like during a drop (this is subject to change).
If this drop is the same as the last, once the drop opens, filter by Z type (such as Z9 or Z10) and then click through coat colors for fastest loading time. Be prepared for lag, bugs and to adapt on the fly. You can also try refreshing, though it can cost precious seconds.
Click on the horse you want to try and buy and follow the prompts from Zed and MetaMask. Once you’ve started the transaction, MetaMask should pop up and ask you to sign your transaction. You will get a success or fail message after attempting the purchase.
If your horse does not appear in your stable right away, don’t worry as it can take a while for the horses to be minted on the blockchain and transferred. Last drop it took over 24 hours in some cases, but as long as you have a successful transaction (check this on the activity page) you are good to go.
See the chart below for the prices from the last five drops.
Racing your Horse on Zed Run
After you buy your first a Zed horse, you can participate in the best part of the game, racing! There’s nothing quite like the thrill of your first win. 12 horses enter every race, but only the top three will receive their share of the prize pool.
1. Classes
There are five classes for raced horses, Class 1-5 (with Class 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest) and one class for unraced horses called Griffin. Every horse must race in a free Griffin race before entering ranked paid races, but will only be able to race Griffin once.
2. Entering Your First Race
To enter a race, select the class your horse is in — Griffin if unraced — then scroll down until you see the option to pick a gate and enter a racehorse. Follow the prompts to select your horse you want to race and sign the MetaMask contract.
…and boom, you’ve entered your first Zed Run race! Now you get to watch your horse compete on one of several incredible 3D tracks. Wait until the race fills up then navigate to the “Next To Run” tab to see how long it is until post time. Use the “My racehorse only” toggle to filter the list and fund what you need.
Take note of this time, and come back to watch the 3D race in real-time. You can always watch Zed Run races on the Zed Run Twitch channel, or any ongoing or completed races on Zed.Run.
3. Class Breakdown
After the Griffin race, you will be put into a certain racing class based on your genotype base rating and can only enter races in that race class until you move up or down in the rankings based on your race results.
Your horse’s ranking is the number displayed next to its name in your stable and when you enter a race. Class is determined by the following: 1st place is +4 points, 2nd is +3, 3rd is +2, 4th is +1, 5th-8th is 0 points, 9th -1, down to 12th which is -4.
Here is how Racing Classes are broken down:
4. Paid Races
Entering paid races is the best way to see where your horse stands on the track. There are nine different race lengths starting with 1000 meters and going all the way to 2600 meters, with 200 meter increments for the other distances.
One advantage of racing your horse is getting to know what it does best. Horses have preferred distances so be sure to race a couple times at each distance to find your horse’s sweet spot.
In beta, one race horse can enter a maximum of three paid races and one free race at one time. As of now, horses don’t get tired, so you can race as much as you want to a day. However, as discussed on the MomentRanks Podcast with Zed Run co-founder Chris Ebeling, fatigue will be part of the game in the future.
Entering a paid race will cost WETH and you can see the prize pool breakdown by hovering over the entry fee in the expanded view once you click on a race. Entry fees range from around $2.50 to $400+ in WETH depending on what Class you are in. Winners are paid out automatically shortly after the race, the WETH will go to your Zed Run wallet.
Watching the legends of the game battle it out for thousands of dollars gives you a glimpse of what’s possible.
Breeding
Breeding — or stud service — is currently unavailable, but it’s an integral part to Zed Run, and building a future for NFT horse racing on Zed. The main points to know are that males are put in the stud farm for females to choose who to breed with, and the female keeps the child.
Also, remember the breed types? This is where Genesis horses play a major role: only two Genesis horses can produce a Legendary offspring. Beyond legendary, genotype plays a major role in breeding. Reference the chart below for more info.
How often can you breed a Zed Run horse?
Zed Run has updated breeding limits, so studs (males) can produce three children per month and mares (females) can produce one child a month. When a child is bred the Z numbers of the parents are added to determine the Z number of the child. A Z10 father breeds with a Z10 mother to birth a Z20 child for example.
How much does Zed Run breeding cost?
Breeding fees vary depending on rarity of the horses and win rate on the race track. Proven winners charge a premium to breed into their bloodlines. However, since Zed Run is built on the Polygon/Matic network, there are no gas fees for producing offspring.
A horse’s gender also depends on if they have been bred; Colts are unbred males, Stallions are bred males, Fillys are unbred females, and Mares are bred females. These distinctions are not known to alter performance on the track. We’ll dive deeper into breeding in a future article very soon!
Wrapping It All Up
As you can see the world of Zed Run is vast, and this is really only the start. There is always something new to learn, and lots of new features coming to the platform — such as one-of-a-kind NFT Coat Skins in partnership with The Preakness. The game is always evolving and the future is bright, so there has never been a better time to jump in and start your stable.
The task of getting started might seem daunting, but hopefully, I’ve helped alleviate some of that stress. It’ll all be worth it when your horse gets into its first gate. See you on the track!
Still have questions about starting out on Zed Run? Jump in the MomentRanks Discord and ask your question, or shoot us a message on Twitter.