Introduction
zkRace (formerly DeRace) is both the front-running Web3 horse racing game and the world’s 1st cutting-edge zk-rollup infrastructure tailored for GameFi and soon powered by $ZERC token.
zkRace is more than just a game; it’s a paradigm shift in the Web3 gaming space at large. As we embrace our newfound identity and broader mission, we invite you to join us on this groundbreaking journey.
Vision
zkRace, evolved from DeRace, aims to revolutionise GameFi by transitioning from the No. 1 Web3 horse racing game to a comprehensive GameFi infrastructure. Leveraging cutting-edge zk-rollup technology, zkRace ensures scalability, transparency, and fun. It caters to all Web3 gaming needs, enabling cross-chain compatibility and broad accessibility.
With nearly 3.5 years of development, zkRace continues to innovate with new features and maintain a growing player base, positioning itself as a leader in the GameFi space.
NFT horses
Like real-life racehorses, zkRace NFT horses have different traits that define their rarity, performance, cool-down time, and ultimately, value. NFT horse is a valuable asset that allows you to participate in races and earn rewards.
zkRace NFT horses perform differently on various racetracks: some horses are faster on dirt, some on turf and some on synthetic surfaces. Performance also depends on racetrack length: some horses are excellent in short distances while some are outstanding in long ones. Players have to race their NFT horses in different hippodromes to find out what type of races their horse prefers.
Horse breeding
To breed a new horse a Liquid Love NFT, zkRace tokens to cover the breeding fee and 2 horses: a mare and a stallion, both with breeding cool-down equal to 0, are needed. Players can either own both horses themselves or use the rent-for-breeding service. Once breeding is initiated, both NFT horses are sent to the Breeding Smart Contract where all the magic happens.
Breeding in the zkRace metaverse is governed by a Genetic Algorithm (GA). GA generates a new NFT horse by combining genes/properties from parent horses, with some deviation (RNG factor is applied). After breeding ends, parent horses and the newly bred NFT horse return to the corresponding wallets and are ready for racing.
The horse breeding cool-down also starts after breeding ends. Each horse has a different cool-down time which is a hidden property. It can vary between 2 weeks to 2 months.
Horse renting
Horse owners can safely rent their NFT horses on the zkRace platform to other players for breeding or for racing and collect the rental fees in zkRace tokens.
NFT Horse races
Up to 12 horses participate in each race. Every horse participates in the race for a set fee. The winner of the race collects a % of the participants’ fees and also any other additional prizes, which are then automatically transferred to the winner’s account. Over the years zkRace has introduced both best-time and worst-time races, challenge races, invite-only races and more.
Tournaments
From the up-to-the-point championships to the massive week-long tournaments, NFT horse racing is elevated to the next level. Juicy prize pools, sponsored events, the thrill of the competition and triumph of being on the top - the tournament feature brings it all.
Race entry mechanics 
All races are displayed on the upcoming races board. Players can access the board and filter the races by date, entrance criteria, entry fee, player quantity, hosting hippodrome, prize pool and race type to select the most suitable ones to join.
NFT hippodromes 
All horse races take place in hippodromes. In the near future hippodrome ownership will transfer to the community and it will be set in NFT hippodrome tokens, therefore, the player can own a part of the whole hippodrome. Holding more than 50% of the total NFT tokens makes the player a hippodrome manager which guarantees them a right to administrate races and manage the hippodrome.
As in the real world, the hippodromes in the zkRace metaverse vary in track length and surface. Some racetracks are shorter, and some — longer distance. The tracks in the hippodromes also have different surfaces: it varies among dirt, turf or synthetic.
NFT horse wearables
NFT horse wearables are in-game utility NFTs that build the immersive game mechanics. The main way for players to acquire NFT horse wearables are as the in-game activity rewards. More specifically, by being active on the platform and accomplishing missions and unlocking achievements. Equipment NFTs can also be purchased on NFT marketplaces.
NFT Jockeys 
zkRace Jockey is a completely new in-game NFT asset which will be shortly introduced into the zkRace metaverse as a companion to the NFT horses. Jockeys are an important game element as through the Jockey and NFT horse symbiosis the player can reach even better performance on the racetrack. Like in real life horse races, Jockeys will help the horse to focus more during the race and to unlock their full potential.
From the technical side, Jockey is an NFT asset that can be used in-game or traded in the secondary market with other players. Each Jockey owns a distinctive silk/uniform differing both in colour and patterns, which helps them to be easily recognised during the race. Jockey silks are also tradable NFT assets.
NFT Chests & NFT Keys
zkRace Chests house various NFT horse equipment inside. The rarer the Chest, the higher the chance of a rare item hiding inside! To open a Chest players will need to acquire a fitting Key NFT. Both Chests and Keys have different tier levels according to their rarity: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic and Legendary.
Players can choose to open the Chest and keep the item which is hidden inside or to sell it to the other players. They can also trade the Chest and Key NFTs directly without opening them, allowing for a chance of surprise!
Team, artists and partners
Adomas Juodišius Founder/CEO
Adomas is a system architect and an entrepreneur with 13 years of experience in SAAS project management, cybersecurity, and blockchain development. He has an extensive knowledge in blockchain technology gained by working as a cyber security consultant for several blockchain-based startups and businesses. Adomas has established himself as a leader by founding and managing software development and digital marketing company “Media Bubbles”.
Adelaida Sinkevič Founder/CMO
Adelaida is a digital marketing strategist and entrepreneur with more than 8 years of experience working in the marketing sector. She took the lead as marketing director in one of the most renowned digital marketing companies in Lithuania “Not Perfect”, she has also launched Lithuanian sports brand “MTB hopper” worldwide, doubling their yearly profits. Adelaida has founded “Media Bubbles” where she has personally worked with different blockchain projects by planning, implementing, and managing their marketing strategy and providing marketing advisory services.
Kristijonas Sendrauskas CTO
Kristijonas is a project manager/team lead for a team of developers that creates custom-built web and mobile solutions for their clients. He has more than 8 years of experience in working with international clients as well as managing both in-house and remote development teams. In addition to that, he is a full-stack web developer with 7 years of experience developing systems with various tools based on Node.js. Full zkRace team can be found here: https://www.zkrace.com/team
What makes zkRace NFT collection unique?
zkRace is a combination of 2 booming multi-billion-dollar markets: gaming and horse racing all together valued at more than $700 billion.
The digitalization of the billion-dollar horse racing market is practically non-existent: the horse racing industry is rocked by scandals and lacks transparency. zkRace brings the latest technologies to the market, such as blockchain and NFT's and offers decentralized solutions to ensure fairness and transparency. The gaming industry lacks ownership and uniqueness as all video game assets can only be used within the game. In zkRace, all game assets are NFTs and can be used, or sold outside the game.
zkRace merges gaming and horse racing through the blockchain and NFT technologies making them transparent and even more accessible.
Marketing strategy
zkRace's marketing strategy includes forming partnerships with jockey clubs and hippodromes, expanding its presence in real-world horse racing. The team also collaborates with many top-tier blockchain projects like Mintable, Unstoppable Domains, BabyDoge, Orion and engages experienced PR agencies for advertising, community management and professional influencer marketing.
Roadmap
Beta is coming to an end, as zkRace is gearing up for full game launch! 
Learn more at https://zkrace.com/roadmap.
Preview of the collection
zkRace racing starter pack includes:
- 1 x Gen1 zkRace NFT horse of random tier
- 1 x NFT Chest of random tier
- 1 x NFT Key of random tier
Below is the complete distribution for each zkRace NFT within the Racing Starter Pack according to their rarity (from the most rare to least rare):
- Gen1 NFT horses (300):
- Olympian x 10
- Demi-God x 20
- Alfa x 40
- Beta x 80
- Omega x 150
- NFT Chests (300):
- Legendary x 10
- Epic x 30
- Rare x 60
- Uncommon x 90
- Common x 110
- NFT Keys (300):
- Legendary x 10
- Epic x 30
- Rare x 60
- Uncommon x 90
- Common x 110
An NFT Key is required to open the NFT Chest. The Chest holds 1 out of 10 NFT horse wearables: whether a saddle, reins, horseshoes or other, which is used to equip the NFT horse and opens additional gameplay possibilities within the zkRace metaverse.
NFT horse allows players to participate in the races, tournaments and any other racing events, players can breed and rent them, complete in-game missions and achievements to get additional rewards.
Racing Starter Pack NFT sale and redemption details: https://bit.ly/zkRace_Racing_Starter_Pack_Sale_Mechanics.