Who's Zoomin' Who? Quiz | Brain Teasers

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The Quizzyland Derby, held this year in the USA, is the first jingle-bell in the prestigious FunTrivia Coxcomb (also nicknamed the Jester Hat). Harried Helga was in charge of totals board (or tote board). But she and her fellow stewards had a little too much of the official drink, the Terry-Gone Julep. Can you straighten out this mess? Horses: Angelshark, Nightbolt, Silvermoon, Zoroaster Jockeys: Avery, Casey, Jordan, Shannon Stables: Calumet Farm, Damp Acres, Rumford Ranch, Sylvan Wynde Silks: red stripes, purple checks, blue polka-dots, green diamonds Finish orders: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th CLUES: 1. There are exactly two colts and two fillies in the race. 2. One colt was owned by Calumet Farm, and the other was ridden by Shannon. 3. Jordan did not ride a filly. 4. Zoroaster is an impressive chestnut colt. 5. Silvermoon finished before the horse whose jockey sported purple-checked silks, but after the horse ridden by Avery. 6. The horse from Sylvan Wynde finished before Nightbolt. 7. Angelshark was not ridden by Avery. 8. One colt lived at Rumford Ranch. As the other colt whizzed by the grandstand, Helga could just make out blue polka-dot silks. 9. The jockey on Nightbolt did not wear red-striped silks. 10. A fleet-footed filly won the race. Fillies are female horses and colts are male. Horse names used here could apply to either. The stables own and breed the horses, and enter them in the race. Silks refer to the brightly-colored garments worn by the jockey. Use a pencil and a paper to keep track, perhaps with the traditional logic grid. You may want to answer the questions in order to make best use of the hints, but it isn't necessary. Let's start a moderate pace... Which two jockeys rode on the colts? (This is a very helpful starting point. Study clues 1, 2, and 3.)

Answer: Jordan and Shannon

Clue 1 states there are exactly two colts in the race.
Clue 2 tells us Shannon rode a colt
Clue 3 tells us Jordan did likewise.

A 'colt' properly describes a young male horse, usually under four years of age.
A 'foal' is a horse of either sex under the age of one.
Upon age one, it becomes a 'yearling'.

2. By process of elimination, which two jockeys rode on the fillies? (Review the names at the top of the puzzle. Bear in mind clue 10.)

Answer: Avery and Casey

There are exactly two horses of each sex (clue 1) in the race, so if Shannon and Jordan ride colts (question 1), the other two jockeys must ride fillies.

A 'filly' is a young female thoroughbred horse, usually under age four.
Over age four, she is referred to as a 'mare'. If she is used for breeding, she is called a 'broodmare'.

3. Let's cut to the chase! Which horse won the Quizzyland Derby (and received a garland of rainbow roses)? Angelshark, Nightbolt, Silvermoon, or Zoroaster?

Answer: Angelshark

Zoroaster is a colt (clue 4), but the winner is a filly (clue 10), so he didn't win.
Silvermoon finished after jockey Avery's mount (clue 5), so he didn't win either.
Nightbolt crossed the finish line after Sylvan Wynde's entry (clue 6), so he's not the winner.
That leaves Angelshark!

The Kentucky Derby famously drapes its winners with a garland of red roses. The Fun Trivia Coxcomb (Jester Hat) is rainbow-colored, so we use rainbow roses instead! Rainbow roses are colored artificially; the stems are slit and placed in colored water, to separately dye the petals.

4. Avery skillfully navigated her horse through the dirt track and finished... where? [Hint: clues 5 and 7, and question 3]

Answer: 2nd (place)

Avery thwarted the dreams of at least two other jockeys, the one clad in purple checks and the one riding on Silvermoon (clue 5); so she cannot be third or last.
Avery did not ride Angelshark (clue 7), which was the winning horse (question 3).
If not these, Avery's horse could only be second!

The "win, place, show" terminology is very old in horse racing. "Also-ran" refers to any horse that didn't finish "in the money" (first, second, or third).

If you bet on a horse to place, then you win whether the horse comes in first or second. (But it pays less than a successful win bet.) If you bet a horse to show, then you win whether it comes in first, second, or third (with an even lower payout, of course).

5. Where did Silvermoon finish in this hotly contested race? [Hint: clue 4 + question 4]

Answer: 3rd (show)

Silvermoon finished between Avery's mount and another horse (clue 5), so the horse could finish in either second or third place.
In the previous question, we've just determined that Avery guided her horse to second place (question 5).
So the only way to make this fit in a four-horse contest is for Silvermoon to be third. (Angelshark > Avery's horse > Silvermoon > purple checks)

If you bet 'across the board', then you bet an equal amount of money to win, place, or show on one horse. If it finishes "in the money" (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), then you collect the appropriate bet. If it finishes "out of the money" (4th or worse), then you lose all three bets.

6. When the dust cleared, where had the rider in the purple checks finished? [Hint: clue 5 + question 5]

Answer: 4th (also-ran)

Based on clue 5 and the previous question, we know the finish order is this:
winner > Avery's horse > Silvermoon > purple checks
So the purple-checked jockey tried, but could not get his horse "in the money".

Silks are the brightly-colored identifying garments of the jockey. They actually signify the owner of the horse, so a jockey may change his or her silks several times on a racing day, possibly wearing different silks for each race.

7. Now we're picking up the pace! Where did that chestnut colt Zoroaster finish? [Hint: questions 3-6, plus question 2]

Answer: 4th (also-ran)

Keep in mind the finish order that we've determined thus far:
Angelshark (horse) > Avery (jockey) > Silvermoon (horse) > purple checks (silks)

Angelshark was first (question 3), and Silvermoon was third (question 5). We deduced in question 2 that Avery rode a filly, so the only place where we can fit poor Zoroaster is dead last, ridden by the jockey with the purple checks.

A foal can run within hours after birth. Horses cannot vomit, but they can produce 10 gallons (38 litres) of saliva per day.

8. So then by elimination, where did Nightbolt finish? [Hint: questions 3,5,7]

Answer: 2nd (place)

With Angelshark in first (question 3), Silvermoon in third (question 5), and Zoroaster at the rear (question 7), Nightbolt must have finished second!

In the early twenty-first century more than $100 billion was bet on horses every year, worldwide.

9. Which horse did jockey Avery ride?

Answer: Nightbolt

Jockey Avery rode a filly (question 2) and the runner-up (question 4), which was Nightbolt (question 8).

Chariot racing became a sport of the Ancient Olympics around 680 BC. It is believed, however, that in Central Asia horses were raced as long ago as 4500 B.C.

10. Hmmm, the colts keep coming up in these questions. Well, which starters in the Quizzyland Derby *are* the colts? [Hint: Maybe figure out who the fillies are first? The colts will be the other two! Review clue 10 and questions 3, 8, and 2.]

Answer: Silvermoon and Zoroaster

Victorious Angelshark (question 3) has to be a filly (clue 10).
Because runner-up Nightbolt (question 8) was ridden by Avery (question 9), she must also be a filly (question 2).
Therefore the other two entrants, Silvermoon and Zoroaster, are the colts.

Some colts are 'gelded' (altered) because of their aggression, and so they are called 'geldings', and they are safer to handle than (intact) colts. An intact older male horse (over age four) is a 'stallion'.

11. The jockey in the purple checks rode which horse? [Hint: solve questions 6 and 7]

Answer: Zoroaster

The wearer of the purple silks rode in last (question 6), and Zoroaster was the last horse to cross the finish line (question 7).
Ergo, the jockey in the purple-checked silks rode Zoroaster.

The term 'stallion' dates from the time of Henry VIII, when such potentially dangerous beasts were to remain in their stalls. Successful stallions can earn their owners far more money in stud than on the racecourse.

12. Which horse sported a rider in the blue polka-dots? [clue 8 + questions 10, 11]

Answer: Silvermoon

There are two colts, Zoroaster and Silvermoon (question 10).
One colt had a blue polka-dotted rider (clue 5).
This must be Silvermoon, because we already know that last-place Zoroaster's hapless jockey wore purple checks (question 11).

Jockeys have to keep their weight down but their strength up. The lowest recorded weight on record for a jockey at one point was 49 pounds! The average racehorse weighs about 1000 pounds!

13. Let's get these stables straight! So which stable entered Zoroaster? Calumet Farm, Damp Acres, Rumford Ranch, or Sylvan Wynde? [Hint: question 10 + clue 8]

Answer: Rumford Ranch

The two colts are Silvermoon and Zoroaster (question 10).
Clue 8 tells us that one colt is identified with blue polka-dots, and that the other colt came from Rumford Ranch.
Silvermoon is the one with the blue polka-dots (see previous question), so Zoroaster, must be the one from Rumford Ranch.

Thoroughbred horses used in flat racing are bred for speed, agility, and determination. They are almost double the size of the Arabian horses from which they descended a millennium ago.

14. And which stable entered Silvermoon? [Hint: questions 10, 13 + clue 2]

Answer: Calumet Farm

Between the two colts (question 10), if Zoroaster came from Rumford Ranch (previous question) then Silvermoon had to come from Calumet Farm (clue 2).

The real Calumet Farm is in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, and was established in 1924 by William Monroe Wright, founder of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. It has produced many Kentucky Derby winners, including such U.S. Triple Crown winners as Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948).

15. Which stable entered Angelshark? [Hint: clue 8 + questions 3, 8]

Answer: Sylvan Wynde

A horse who finished in front of Nightbolt came from Sylvan Wynde (clue 8).
Angelshark (1st place, question 3) is the only one ahead of Nightbolt (2nd place, question 8), and therefore is the answer.

When a horse (male or female) wins a race for the first time, it is said to have "broken its maiden". 'Maiden races' are for horses who have never won a race.

16. So by elimination which stable entered Nightbolt? [Hint: solve questions 13-15. In lieu of #15 you could solve questions 3 and 9.]

Answer: Damp Acres

Angelshark came from Sylvan Wynde (question 15, or questions 3 + 9).
Zoroaster is from Rumford Ranch (question 13)
Silvermoon is from Calumet Farm (question 14).
That leaves Damp Acres for Nightbolt.

Most racehorses retire by age 15 and it is rare for them to win above that age, but there is on record a horse winning at age 18

17. Coming 'round the final turn! Which horse did jockey Shannon ride? [Hint: clue 2 + question 14]

Answer: Zoroaster

Straight from Clue 2: One colt came from Calumet Farm, and the other colt was ridden by Shannon.
Question 14 tells us Silvermoon came from Calumet Farm.
Therefore, Shannon rode Zoroaster.

Compared to other countries, the USA has an exceptionally high rate of casualties in thoroughbred horse racing, in no small part due to the legal and widespread use of painkillers and performance-enhancing drugs which are not permitted in other venues.

18. We're coming down the home stretch! Jordan rode which horse in the Derby? [Hint: question 17, question 10, and clue 3]

Answer: Silvermoon

Shannon rode Zoroaster (question 17), one of two colts (question 10).
Jordan rode a colt, too (clue 3).
Therefore, Jordan rode Silvermoon.

The Quizzyland Derby used to award winners with a garland of buttercups. Then we learned that buttercups are poisonous to horses! Buttercup gives horses mouth blisters, diarrhea, and colic.

19. Whom have we left out? What about jockey Casey? Which horse did he ride? [Hint: questions 9, 17, and 18, as well as 3).

Answer: Angelshark

Avery rode the runner-up filly Nightbolt (question 9).
Shannon rode Zoroaster (question 17).
Jordan rode Silvermoon (question 18).
Therefore, Casey rode Angelshark to win! (question 3)

No matter when a thoroughbred horse in the Northern Hemisphere is actually born, its birthday is officially January 1. This is to group horses easily for competitions that have age restrictions.

20. Crossing the finish line on this quiz! We already figured out the winner (question 3). So now tell me, what silks did the rider of the winning horse wear? [Hint: clue 9 and questions 3, 19, 11, 12, and 9]

Answer: red stripes

Angelshark won (question 3), and Casey is Angelshark's jockey (question 19).
As Angelshark's jockey, Casey wears neither purple checks (Zoroaster, question 11), nor blue polka-dots (Silvermoon, question 12).
Avery on Nightbolt (question 9) could not have worn red stripes (clue 9), and so must have worn green diamonds (only choice left).
Therefore, Casey wore red stripes on Angelshark.

So here are the official results on the tote board:
Win (1st) - Angelshark - Sylvan Wynde - Casey - red stripes
Place (2nd) - Nightbolt - Damp Acres - Avery - green diamonds
Show (3rd) - Silvermoon - Calumet Farm - Jordan - blue polka-dots
Also-ran (4th) - Zoroaster - Rumford Ranch - Shannon - purple checks

Source: Author gracious1

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Fifiona81 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Who's Zoomin' Who? Trivia Quiz

Logic Puzzle #6. The Quizzyland Derby proved an exciting race! But the track officials made a little too much merry during the race with the official drink. So can you figure out which horse zoomed to the finish?

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