With some major gameplay improvements around the corner, and breeding updates in our midst, it’s the perfect time to showcase a tool made specifically for analysing racing traits and improving breeding outcomes through data: The Zedge! We interviewed ShadyLane, The Zedge’s founder and an outstanding ZED RUN community member, to discuss the highlights of his site and how ZED Headz can use it.
Origins of The Zedge
ShadyLane first began playing ZED RUN in March 2021 when he bought a racehorse with a group of friends, and quickly became hooked on racing. Over time, as breeding reopened and theories were tested, it became increasingly clear to many players that base ability (BA) was an essential statistic in breeding, yet it wasn’t quantified on any third party sites. This became one of the driving factors behind The Zedge’s origin.
“I wanted a way to compare the BA of all racehorses in stud to find the best values with the least amount of work, so I asked a small Discord if anyone wanted to help me with the technical side. Krager volunteered and as we were working on it, people in the Discord kept saying they wanted to pay for access, so we decided to make a website, embed the data sheet, and sold our first Zedge passes right after Thanksgiving 2021.” –ShadyLane, founder of The Zedge
The Three Racing Traits
Just over a year after its creation, The Zedge has sold 400+ passes and has adapted with each ZED update to display the information needed for anyone to improve their breeding game. Their main focus is “on quantifying the three racing traits, (Base Ability, Distance Preference, and Variance), using normalised speeds,” in an easy-to-digest fashion, according to ShadyLane. “We have various metrics to paint a fuller picture of those traits as well as a breeding performance vs expectation metric.”
The Zedge’s extensive data sets it apart from other sites, making it one of the best analytical and comparative tools for scoping out breed pairs or finding new horses to buy. “There's no better place to compare horses with all of the data that matters (racing traits, parents, breeding performance).”
Buterin Barn and The Zedge Pass
The Zedge offers both free and paid data options. The Buterin Barn, which has all of the essential data on Buterin horses, is free, and serves two great purposes: Newer users get the broadest info they can on their horses before breeding to potentially improve outcomes, plus it gives a taste of the tool to encourage people to purchase a full pass. Data on all other breed types can be accessed through the Zedge membership pass, which is currently available as a 30, 90, or 365 day membership, all with a monthly cost lower than a single Buterin genesis cover.
The data offered on the Zedge gives all ZED players the opportunity for a deeper understanding of their horses, and the chance to improve their stable through smarter breeding. As ZED RUN continues to grow and change, we’re excited to see how tools like The Zedge grow and change with us, as they continue to do their parts to make the data more fun and accessible for everyone! ShadyLane can often be found in the ZED RUN Discord, especially in #zed-strategy-chat, discussing breeding and racing with other players. Follow him on Twitter @ShadyLaneZedge, and check out The Zedge if you’re looking to elevate your game!
