Need Help Understanding (Racing) Chocobo Raising

So I was wondering if anyone who's been really into Chocobo Racing could give me a few pointers and help me understand the way to properly raise a good racing bird.

I read the in-game tutorial, but it was a little hard for me to understand. I've tried my hand at a few races and my Chocobo is currently about rank 9. I know I've read about people eventually retiring their birds, and breeding them raise better youngsters. I've also seen and heard mention about buying food and training with MGP, but I'm not sure how this actually works. I wasn't sure if things would become clearer as I my chocobo ranked up, or not...

So could anyone be kind enough to give this beginner a simple guideline to work towards, or could anyone suggest an existing beginner's guide?

As always, any help is greatly appreciated!