After eleven years in Web Runners, I’m finally wandering over… I’m looking forward to joining all of you! This looks like an enjoyable game and a fun challenge. Heaven knows why I want more horse racing online when I live it every hour of the day as-is, but we each have our own special curse, I suppose! 
Hey Jennifer, welcome!
FF is a bit different from WR, but we’ve got a few converts. (And I think a couple of FF people have joined WR as well.)
[Previous owner of Delta Farms]
Jen, great to see you. =)
Definitely read through the FAQ/Newbie Guide and the pinned forum threads before you set up your stable. Location is pretty critical, especially when you’re first starting out, as you do have to pay for shipping. There’s a lot of details to digest, but knowing them will set you up for success.
There are a few key differences between FF and WR.
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You don’t have to manually keep track of all your horses’ stats. The database does a pretty bang-up job in remembering everything.
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Horses can and do get injured. So, over-training/over-racing can result in more than just a tired/“handicapped” horse.
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No GOTs. You’re on your own trying to figure your ponies out.
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Certain equipment (Blinkers, Shadow Roll, Figure-8, Wraps, No Whip) can make your horse run better; others can make him run worse. Again, up to you to figure out your horse’s preferences.
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Energy, Natural Energy and Fitness. Energy == how energetic a horse is physically and Fitness == how fit a horse is. A fitter horse should recover from workouts and races faster than an unfit one. Natural Energy == how mentally energetic/fit a horse is. That is, a horse with a high NE rating is more willing to give it their all than one that has been on the track for six months. NE can only be restored by shipping your horse home to rest for a period of time.
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As mentioned before, shipping is a part of this game. It eats at your budget, and also horses lose fitness/energy during the shipping process. So campaigns need to be planned at least a little bit.
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You can actually “train” your horse. This improves fitness, and you may or may not receive helpful feedback from the jockey in terms of running style preference, equipment preference, and Natural Energy status (training feedback is the only way that you can ever gauge NE status), among other things. This is all dependent on how well the jockey knows the horse. The better he knows it, the more accurate the information. It’s best to find a jock your horse likes and stick with him/her for a fair number of training sessions until you’re getting accurate feedback. You can gauge this by the comments, “I don’t know XXX very well at all.” vs. “I know XXX pretty well/like the back of my hand.” Most people either ignore the comments completely or take them with a grain of salt.
I think those are the big differences. It takes some getting used to; money management and planning is more crucial here, I think, especially in the beginning. Good luck. =)