Yes, saved races are definately bunked. I loaded my saved race and it seemed to have a permanent 'Maintenance Bonus'. Even loading the race and then scrubbing all the racial traits etc didnt remove the bonus. Kind of handy to be sure, but not exactly fair.
Also, a suggestion: Make the 'cost' of Maintenance Reduction in the Racial Traits screen far more expensive. I set it to 150 instead of the 50 it is at now and that seems more appropriate. At 50, its a total no brainer to max it out as 'upkeep' is by FAR the largest expense there is. And having the cost come down in such large chunks is a HUGE advantage. HUGE! Remember that picking '5' for that stat is actually reducing your upkeep costs by 25%!! Thats quite a bargain for 250 'race points'.
Anyways, thats just my $.02 on it. But for you folks that want a more challenging game, crank up that cost to around 150.
Thanx,
Talenn