Got a question regarding Nation Rank in chocobo races.
Been doing races for a while. On Former-Hades and Cerberus, don't know about other servers, Windurst has been the crowning First Place Nation of Chocobo Races for as long as I can remember.

What does it take to shift things over? The obvious answer would probably be to have more 1rst place victories from other nations, but with saddle options as they are, I doubt this will ever change.

What I mean by this:
The first place nation (in my case is Windurst) has access to the "best" saddle. Always.
Example:
"Lauan Saddle A standard model, the lauan saddle will stabilize your chocobo's stride. (Available to 3rd place nation).
Elm Saddle¹ A standard model, the elm saddle will stabilize your chocobo's stride. It also increases your mount's endurance. (Available only to 1rst place nation)"

Almost every player-owned chocobo I've raced against has been Windurstian. I'll see one Sandy or Bastok for every twenty-ish Windurstian chocobos. Who can blame them? Access to the best saddle and all.

Here are some suggestions that would make Nation Rank a more important matter in Chocobo Racing.

[1] Make Saddle availability proportionate to how many victory points you have. or,
[2] Restrict access of the best saddle from the first place nation to make it more challenging to defend. or,
[3] Eliminate Saddles all together. (I'm not too passionate about this one).

I think people competing FOR their nation would add more hype to chocobo racing.