Saturday afternoons are BitLife challenge time, and in the absence of new updates in recent months, players of the popular life simulator game have been loading it up on weekends, as well as on the first few days of the new week, to see if they can create a new character, live their virtual lives based on the given theme, and complete the challenge within the given amount of time.
These challenges, as any BitLife player should know, are oftentimes based on popular movies and TV shows, but sometimes can be more general in nature. Other times, they’re based on well-known yearly events, and in this case, it’s this year’s edition of the Kentucky Derby.
As of this writing, the 2021 Kentucky Derby has just wrapped up, but Candywriter launched a challenge inspired by the historic horse race not too long before this year’s iteration took place. The Kentucky Derby Challenge should be perfect for any player who loves horses, and while this new challenge is quite easy compared to others we’ve completed in recent weeks, there shouldn’t be any horsing around when it comes to completing it sooner rather than later.
So with that having been said, here is this week’s BitLife mini-strategy guide, where we shall detail all the steps you need to take to run for the roses and “win” the Kentucky Derby Challenge.
Starting Out – Get An Entertainment Job And Make Small Bets On The Horse Races
When creating a character for the Kentucky Derby Challenge, there are no specific requirements — your character can come from any city or country and can be male or female. In the truest sense, you don’t need to keep re-rolling until you get a character with gaudy stats in a certain area, but for the purposes of one of this challenge’s requirements, we would suggest re-rolling until you have a character with high Looks.
This is because Equestrian Properties can be quite expensive, and in order to afford them, it’s best to have a very high-paying job, such as Actor, Fashion Model, Writer, or whatnot. Alternately, you can also re-roll until you have a character with high Smarts, but since it could take a while before you become a Brain Surgeon or something similar (six years of medical school is no joke), we’re more inclined to suggest an entertainment career, preferably straight out of high school.
As any experienced BitLife player should know, it could take about a decade or so before you become a famous entertainer or celebrity, so your paycheck won’t be anything to write home about at first. It’s at that point where we suggest you start working on the first of the four requirements for the Kentucky Derby Challenge, which is to win at least five bets at the horse races.
Related: BitLife Casino & Horse Racing Guide: How to Cheat in the Casino and Gamble on Horse Races
It’s been quite a while since Candywriter nerfed the old workaround that allowed players to quit the game and restart it to keep their bets if they lose at the casino or the race track. So with that in mind, keep your bets in the hundreds — if possible, don’t let it exceed $1,000 — and use the old quit-and-restart strategy if you lose. You still won’t get your bet back, but you will, at least, maintain your Happiness by doing this.
Unfortunately, there’s still no surefire way to increase your 20 percent odds of winning at the races. We have noticed that there are some horses (BitLife-themed names such as Bitizen and Two Kevins, punny names such as Adam Saddler, BoJockey Horseman, etc.) that do better than others most of the time, but that is far from guaranteed. Perhaps the safest way to go about this would be to consistently bet on the same number horse on repeated occasions, e.g. horse #1 all the way, without betting on the second, third, fourth, or fifth horse.
Save Up At Least $1 Million For Your Equestrian Property
As for the other requirements for the Kentucky Derby Challenge, everything should be pretty straightforward, provided you have a high-paying job that will allow you to afford an Equestrian Property and at least five horses. Typically, Equestrian Properties cost at least $1 million, so make sure to start shopping for one once you can afford it.
At this point, it may be better if your character is not married, as spouses can — and will — object if they don’t like the house you’re planning to purchase. Buying a property against a spouse’s objections could affect your relationship bar, so it’s better to be single when trying to complete this challenge. Also, you may want to set aside about $400,000 to $500,000 for the horses you’ll need to buy as part of the next requirement.
It’s Just As Simple As Buying Five Horses And Renaming One Of Them
The last two requirements in BitLife’s Kentucky Derby Challenge are to own at least five horses and have a horse named Secretariat. Of course, this will only come after you’ve purchased an Equestrian Property, but once you get to the Pets menu and choose the Horse Ranch option, you can go ahead and choose the cheapest horses available. You can do this in one year’s time, or you can space things out across a few years if you want to save some money. (Just bear in mind that dead horses do not count when it comes to the “own 5+ horses” requirement!)
Meanwhile, you should rename one of your horses Secretariat in order to complete the final requirement — nothing to it, just enter “Secretariat” when asked if you want to choose a new name for your pet. Once you’ve done this, and provided you’ve already got a stable of five horses or more, you’re all set — you’ve completed the Kentucky Derby Challenge, and you’re free to pick a prize chest and unlock a new accessory, may it be a hat or a pair of eyeglasses or shades.