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Stable Management System

Owner's Manual

Contents

  1. Welcome
  2. Starting the System
  3. Your Screen at a Glance
  4. The Stable
  5. Quick View (hover a horse)
  6. Breeding: Sires & Dams
  7. Import & Export
  8. Making & Editing a Horse
  9. Saving, Sending & the Stations
  10. Japanese Versions
  11. Golden Rules
  12. Controls
  13. Troubleshooting & FAQ
  14. Companion Tools (Breeder & ROM Studio)

1 Welcome to the Stable Office

The Stable Management System is a free tool built into the Derby Owners Club home pack. It is your stable office: create, organize, and manage all your horses right in your web browser, no card-reader hardware and nothing extra to install. Build a champion, keep a tidy stable, line up retired sires and dams for breeding, and walk any horse out to a player station whenever you want to race.

Good to knowIt runs on your own PC. Nothing is uploaded anywhere, and it works with no internet connection.
New name, same friendly toolThis used to be called the "Card Editor / Card Suite." It is now the Stable Management System, with a real stable you can organize, at-a-glance horse cards, and import/export to your PC.

2 Starting the System

You usually do not have to start it at all. When you launch a game with one of the Play - ... files, the Stable Management System opens by itself in your default web browser.

If you ever close the tab, just open your browser and go to:

http://localhost:8788

TipThe game and the system are independent. You can open it before, during, or after starting the game, and the order never matters.
Not starting on its own?It only auto-starts when you open the game with a Play - ... file (not flycast.exe). If it will not open or will not start by itself, see Section 13: Troubleshooting for a step-by-step fix.

3 Your Screen at a Glance

From top to bottom:

Live Session (top panel)
Your four Stations (Sat 1 to 4) on the left, your Stable on the right. This is where you move horses between the stable and the player seats, and where everything below lives.
Action buttons
Load, Create New Horse, and (when a horse is open) Save, Preview, Clear, plus the version selector. A matching set sits at the bottom too, so you never scroll back up.
The Editor
A horse's full details: identity, stats, performance, titles, and looks. Fill these in to build or change a horse.
NoteThe Live Session panel (Stations + Stable) appears when a game session is running, that is what the tool talks to. Opened on its own, you still get the full creator and can download cards by hand.

4 The Stable

The Stable is your barn: the pool of horses you keep on hand for this game version. It is organized into groups so it stays easy to read.

ActiveYour racing horses. Holds up to 10.
Sires ♂Retired males, ready to breed. Holds up to 2.
Dams ♀Retired females (and geldings), ready to breed. Holds up to 2.

Each group header shows a live count, like Active (7/10). The caps keep your stable tidy. They are a gentle guide, not a wall: if you go over, the count turns red with a friendly reminder to export a few horses to your PC, but nothing is ever blocked or deleted.

Sorting and reordering

  • Drag a horse by the ⠿ handle to put your stable in any order you like.
  • Sort buttons: Name, Stat (by total ability), and Status (active first).

Your order is remembered between sessions.

One game at a timeCards are made for a specific game version. The Stable shows the horses for the game you launched. Horses for other versions appear under a greyed Other versions group so they are out of the way but never lost.

5 Quick View (hover a horse)

Hover your mouse over any horse, in a Station or the Stable, and a card pops up with everything you need to know at a glance:

Parents"by Sire ex Dam", the horse's breeding.
Leg typeIts running style (see below), with an icon.
Sex♂ Male, ♀ Female, or ⚥ Gelding (a gelding runs as a female).
PersonalityRough, Imposing, Coward, Honest, or Sloppy.
Stat barsThe six race stats (Start, Corner, Out of Box, Competing, Tenacious, Spurt) as quick bars, plus Speed / Stamina / Sharp and a total (Σ).
FooterCoat color, dirt ability, races run, win-place-show record, G1 titles, and earnings.

How "leg type" is decided

A horse's running style comes from where its Start stat ranks among the race stats (the Corner stat is not counted):

Front-runnerStart is the highest.
Start DashStart is 2nd highest.
Last SpurtStart is 3rd highest.
Stretch-runnerStart is 4th or lower.
AlmightyAll the stats are equal.
TipWant a front-runner? Make Start the standout stat. Want a closer (Stretch-runner)? Keep Start modest and build up the others.

6 Breeding: Sires & Dams

When a horse retires, it moves out of Active and into the breeding groups so you can find a mate fast:

  • A retired male becomes a SIRE (under Sires ♂).
  • A retired female or gelding becomes a DAM (under Dams ♀).

The colored badge makes it obvious at a glance which horses you can breed from, and the 2-each caps keep your best breeders front and center. Keep your favorite sire and dam here, and rotate others out to your PC when you want to try a new pairing.

Retiring a horseOpen the horse in the editor, tick Retired, set the number of breeds, and save. It will land in the right breeding group automatically.

7 Saving Horses to Your PC (and bringing them back)

Your stable is meant to stay lean. Your full collection lives on your PC as horse files, and you bring horses in and out as you need them. This section is the one to read if file types have ever tripped you up.

The two file types, and why people mix them up

A Derby horse can live on your PC in two shapes. They hold the same horse, just written differently:

FileWhat it isUse it for
.cardThe actual game card (the exact bytes the game reads). The tool saves it named after the horse and version, e.g. Gold Queen (Rev C).card. The everyday format. Save, store, share, and load these.
.rawA text export (the older "Super Juicer" format the community has long shared). Same name with .RAW, e.g. Gold Queen (Rev C).RAW. Sharing with people who use .raw, or importing ones you were given.
The one thing to rememberThe tool reads the horse from the data inside the file, not from the file's name or type. So you can hand it a .card or a .raw and it always knows which horse it is. You can keep whichever you like, they are interchangeable.
The old mix-up (now fixed)Earlier, the "Save card" button named every card the same generic thing (like drbyocwc.zip.card), so saving two horses to one folder overwrote each other and you couldn't tell them apart. Cards are now saved by horse name, so that can't happen. If you have old generic-named cards, just load each one (the tool shows you who it is) and save it again to get a proper name.

Step by step: save a horse to your PC

  1. Open the horse in the editor (click Edit on a horse in the stable or a station).
  2. Choose how to save it, all three name the file after the horse:
    • Save .card (to PC) — the game card, e.g. Gold Queen (Rev C).card.
    • Save .RAW — the text format, same name with .RAW.
    • Save both — one click downloads the .card and the .RAW together.
  3. That's it. The name carries the horse and the game version (Rev C, Rev D, DOC 2000, …), so even if you juggle several versions nothing gets confused.
Why the version is in the nameA card doesn't record which game version it's for, both World Edition versions (Rev C and Rev D) use the exact same card format. So the tool writes the version into the file name, which is the reliable way to tell them apart on your PC. The version comes from the game you launched, or from the small version dropdown next to the save buttons.

Step by step: bring a horse back in

  1. Into the stable: click Import at the top of the Stable and pick one or more .card or .raw files. They drop straight into the stable; files for another game are skipped with a note.
  2. Into the editor: click Load .RAW / .card and pick a file. The tool reads it and shows a message like "Loaded Gold Queen, World Edition card." so you always know who you opened, even if the file was named something odd.
  3. From there, send the horse To Station to race it, or To Library to keep it in the stable.

The Import / Export buttons

ImportTop-right of the Stable. Pick one or more .card or .raw files; they drop into the stable. Wrong-game files are skipped with a note.
ExportOn any horse's row. Downloads that horse to your PC. The horse stays in your stable; export just makes a copy you can store or share.
Let the tool place cards in the game, don't hand-renameTo race a horse, use To Station (Section 9). The tool writes it into the right place under the game's own internal name for you, so you never have to deal with that generic <game>.zip.card name yourself. Keep your PC files named by horse; let the tool handle the game side.
Keep it cleanTo make room, Export a horse you are done with, then remove it from the stable with the ✕ button. It is safe on your PC and you can Import it again any time.
About digitizing your real cardsIf you have physical Derby Owners Club cards, you can digitize them to files and keep them on your PC, then import only the ones you want to race or breed.

8 Making & Editing a Horse

Click Create New Horse to start fresh, or open an existing one to change it:

  • From a station: click Edit next to a Station.
  • From your stable: click Edit next to any horse.
  • From a file: click Load .RAW / .card and pick a file from your PC.

Identity

Name / Sire / DamUp to 18 letters each. Sire and Dam are the parents.
SexMale, Female, or Gelding.
ColorThe usual coats, plus special ones marked with a star (Panda, Zebra, Tiger, and more).
PersonalityRough, Imposing, Coward, Honest, or Sloppy.

Stats

External (current)Start, Corner, Out of Box, Competing, Tenacious, Spurt. Range 1 to 64.
External (retirement)The same six at peak. Range 1 to 16 (the ✕ △ ○ ◎ symbols).
InternalStamina, Speed, Sharp. Current caps at 60, retirement at 45.
Dirt Ability0 to 255. Higher is a better dirt runner.

Performance, Titles & Looks

Set Total Races and the Won / Place / Show / Out breakdown, Hearts (0 to 16) and Earnings. Tick any G1 Titles won, and under Appearance choose the silk pattern, two colors, and hood. Tick Retired (and set breeds) to send the horse to your Sires/Dams.

Watch outWon + Place + Show + Out must add up to exactly Total Races, and earnings must be a multiple of $1,000. The tool warns you and will not save until they line up.

9 Saving, Sending & the Stations

The four Stations (Sat 1 to 4) are your starting gates, one per player. Load up to four different horses for a four-player race.

To StationPlaces the open horse onto a Station you pick. Walk it right out to the track.
To LibrarySaves the open horse into your stable to use later.
Save → Lib(next to a Station) Moves that station's horse into your stable and frees the gate.
Load(in the Stable) Sends the chosen horse out to a Station.
Save .card (to PC)Downloads the open horse to your PC as <Horse> (<version>).card for backup or sharing (see Section 7). The horse stays where it is; this just makes a named copy.
Save bothDownloads the .card and the .RAW for the open horse in one click, both named after the horse and version.
One place at a timeA horse lives in either a Station or the Stable, never both. Moving it is like leading the horse from the barn to the gate, there is only one horse.

10 Japanese Versions (DOC 2000 & DOC Original)

The Japanese games use a different card format, and the Stable Management System reads and edits it. Japanese horse names show correctly in katakana, and the Quick View shows the horse's name, sire, and dam.

Renaming a Japanese horse & setting its pedigree

Load a Japanese card (DOC 2000 or DOC Original) and you can now:

  • Rename the horse with a built-in katakana keyboard, type the new name in Japanese, no Japanese input setup needed on your PC.
  • Set its sire and dam from a dropdown of all 164 authentic breeding names, read straight from the arcade ROMs, so the pedigree is always a real in-game horse.

When you save, the card's ID, format markers, and data are preserved, only the name and pedigree are rewritten, so the card still loads cleanly in the game.

Why only name & pedigree?On the Japanese versions a horse's stats, sex, and leg type live in the cabinet, not on the card (unlike the English cards, which carry everything). So for Japanese horses the editor changes the horse's identity, its name and parents, while stats stay with the machine. Organizing, import/export, and sending to stations all work the same as the English versions.
Want to edit the Japanese game text itself?Names, menus and messages built into the Japanese ROMs (not on a card) can be edited with the separate DOC ROM Studio, see Companion Tools at the end of this manual.

11 Golden Rules

Rule 1: Swap only on an empty gateWhile racing, the game keeps saving your loaded horse back to its card. Load or swap a card on a Station only when it is empty (on the "Insert Card" screen). The tool shows a reminder banner whenever the game is running.
Rule 2: Save before you swapIf a Station has a horse you want to keep, click Save → Lib first. Then the gate is empty and ready.
Rule 3: Match the versionA card is made for one game version. The tool knows which game you launched and handles this for you, and it will stop you from loading a card from the wrong game family onto a Station.
Rule 4: Your PC is your vaultKeep your full collection as files on your PC, and Export often. The stable is your working set; your PC is the safe.
Rule 5: It is all on your PCCards live in folders on your own computer. Nothing is sent anywhere. Back up your Card-Library folder to keep your stable safe.

12 Controls (during the game)

Click a window first, then it listens to the keyboard:

Derby Owners Club control panel showing the keyboard mapping: arrow keys to move, Enter to start, Z is Button A, X is Hold, C is Whip, and I inserts a card.
The cabinet panel and which key does what.
KeyDoes
Arrow keysMove / choose
EnterStart: create a horse / confirm
ZButton A
XButton B (back / cancel)
CButton C: this is your WHIP during a race!
VButton D
IInsert Card (load a saved horse)
TipOnly the window you clicked listens to the keyboard. Plug in up to four USB game controllers for real multiplayer.

13 Troubleshooting & FAQ

Card suite won't open, or won't start by itself

The Stable Management System is a small web page your own PC serves locally. It starts on its own only when you open the game through a Play - ... file. Work through these in order:

1. Use a Play fileOpen the game by double-clicking a Play - ... file (for example Play - World Edition EX (English).bat), not flycast.exe. Only the Play file starts the suite and opens it in your browser.
2. Use http, not httpsIf you open it by hand, type http://127.0.0.1:8788 (or http://localhost:8788). It must be http: if the browser jumps to https it will not connect. Trying a different browser can also help.
3. Check the Tools folderYour Derby folder must have a Tools folder next to the Play files. If it is missing (older downloads predate the suite), re-download the pack, or add the small Card Suite Add-On and say Yes to replace _launch.ps1.
4. Find the helper windowRight after launch, a small minimized blue window opens (PowerShell, running the suite). Look on your taskbar. If it is there but no browser tab appeared, just open http://127.0.0.1:8788 yourself.
5. If that window flashes and closesSecurity software is blocking it. If Windows asks to allow PowerShell or the firewall, click Allow. If you run a third-party antivirus or a VPN/proxy, pause it and relaunch (a VPN can redirect localhost).
Always-works fallbackYou do not need the auto-start to make cards. Open the Tools folder and double-click DOC-Card-Creator.html: the card creator opens straight in your browser as a normal file, where you can build, edit, and save/convert horses. Only "send to a running station" and the live stable view need the auto-started helper.
My Stable is empty even though I have horses.
The Stable shows horses for the game version you launched. Horses for other versions are under the greyed Other versions group. Launch the matching game, or Import the horse you want.
A horse won't load onto a Station.
Either the Station is occupied (click Save → Lib to free it), or the card is from a different game family (it will not work there). Use a card made for the game you are running.
My retired horse isn't showing as a Sire/Dam.
Make sure it is marked Retired in the editor. (On Japanese versions this split is not available yet, see Section 10.)
It says "card is wrong version" in the game.
The card was made for a different version. Make it again for the version you are playing (the tool picks this automatically when you use To Station).
My numbers will not save.
Won + Place + Show + Out must equal Total Races, and earnings must be a multiple of $1,000.
Where are my horses stored?
In your Derby Owners Club folder: each Station's live card is under its satN\data folder, and your stable is the Card-Library folder.

✦ Companion Tools

The Stable Management System manages your horses. Two more free, in-browser tools cover the rest of Derby Owners Club, and like the stable office, they run on your own PC with nothing uploaded.

DOC Breeder Studio

A breeding planner for all four versions. Browse every CPU horse, see its surface, distance, running style and standout abilities, and breed any sire & dam to project the foal before you spend a credit. The data is read straight from the arcade ROMs, and the Japanese versions show names in katakana with English. Open it: Breeder Studio.

DOC ROM Studio — for tinkerers

Goes a level deeper than cards: it edits the game's built-in data in the program ROM, the 244 CPU horses and their stats, breeding stock, race & track names, and on-screen text, then hands you back a finished ROM. It covers all four versions and edits the Japanese ones natively (Japanese text with romaji and an optional translation helper).

One-and-done packagingLoad your game's ROM .zip, make your edits, and click Build ready-to-play .zip. ROM Studio rebuilds the complete zip in your browser, with all the mask ROMs kept exactly as the game expects, so you just drop it into your ROMs\… folder and double-click Play. No repacking, no hex editor. Open it & read the guide: DOC ROM Studio.
Cards vs. ROMsUse the Stable Management System (this manual) for your own horses and cards. Use ROM Studio only when you want to change what's built into the game itself. They're separate tools for separate jobs.