I swear to the lord.... I got first place!! I used my gamepad to play the game. So I am using my joystick... then for some reason I am tapping the "A" button along with using the joystick, swearing I am going so much faster with each button press. Maybe it was just the music.... loooll!!
But then I found the true secret after a couple tries... when I ran the track in reverse... and I gained a lap without having to go around the track. So a quick zig zag and I am the fastest chariot racer!! I am the philosopher's stone!
This is not a game that I would play. But I have to say, this was very entertaining nonetheless. The Art style is very unique and that on its own, is enough to draw you in. The 2D story book look works well with these racing horses. And I did get a laugh out of this!
So without knowing any kind of direction you plan to take the game, or without me playing any games like this. My idea would be to have some kind of speed up mechanic when going around the track where you are pressing an input prompt that pops up as you are racing, and each time you press the random pop up prompt with the right timing, you get fasssttteerrrrr!! This could be because I felt like I was getting faster by tapping "A" on my gamepad ::DEAD:: and also because I want to play Dance Dance Revolution.
This project was overall very balanced. You have the camera implemented very well. I think the smoothness of the camera transitioning with the player is great!