100 Yard Rush
“I’m tired of letting our league site determine draft order but I’m too lazy to do anything about it,” – Most league Commishes. Well, what if I told you there was […]
Horse Race Draft
A Rule About Draft Randomization
“The fastest two minutes in sports” – horse races are a heart pounding burst of adrenaline for sports-people of any type. Anything can happen once those gates fly open, which makes these races the perfect opportunity for bettors – or, say, for a certain fantasy football commissioner searching for the perfect way to randomize the order of an upcoming draft? A tried and tested Draft Order Rule, the Horse Race Draft randomizer rule is a shockingly easy and exciting way to kick off a new fantasy football season. Continue reading to find out why this continues to be a MyCommishRule all-time favorite fantasy football draft randomizer.
How It Works
Similar to our MLB Homerun Derby Draft, the Horse Race Draft pairs each league owner with a race participant. At the end of the race, the draft order is determined by where each race participant finishes in the competition. In the case of the Horse Race Draft, names of each league owner are drawn from a hat and paired with a race horse. As the race begins, the all out sprint of the race adds an extremely exciting element as league owners can literally watch the first pick slip away as their horse gets pinned on the inside track or they can argue over which horse has the edge in a dead heat down the stretch.
Another thing that makes this Draft Order Randomization Rule so great is that there are no tiebreakers needed. Horse races always have explicit results so you will never have to hear league owners complain about the unfairness of a tiebreaker scenario. Thank goodness!
As you can imagine, this is best enjoyed when all league owners are present and in one place. Horse racing is already thrilling, add this Draft Order randomizer element and you can take it over the top. The ultimate way to enjoy the Horse Race Draft Rule though is to actually watch the race, in person, at the track. Peg your draft to the last race of the night, bet on the early races and enjoy some beverages. League owners are not soon to forget the simultaneous excitement and disappointment about to ensue.
Nuts and Bolts
- With the league owners, select the exact horse race you will be using to determine draft order.
- This race can be one at your local track or one that live streams either on TV or online. We strongly suggest tying this to one of the Triple Crown horse races held in the spring of each year (The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness, or The Belmont Stakes).
- Be sure to choose a horse race that has at least as many participating horses as you have league owners.
- Pair each league owner with a race horse by drawing names from two separate hats.
- Use the official race standings to order the draft by matching the league owner’s position with their paired horse’s position. Don’t worry about if there are more horses than owners, just be sure to skip unpaired horses when determining the final order.
Change Ups
This basic setup for determining draft order via racing can be translated to almost any form of race you can think of. NASCAR, turtle racing, the Iditarod – you name it.
Whichever race you choose to tie your draft order to, we recommend following it live with your leaguemates. Nothing beats that trash talk and commiseration.
Give your leaguemates a little more control by allowing them to CHOOSE their pony when their name is drawn out of the hat. Afterall, we are here to gamble. With the freedom of choice, league owners have no one to blame but themselves when “Moons Over My Hammy” loses by a nose.
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