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Quiz about Top Race Horses 20th  21st Centuries
Quiz about Top Race Horses 20th  21st Centuries

Top Race Horses: 20th & 21st Centuries Quiz


Everyone debates who the greatest horse of all time is. After this quiz you will be armed to voice an opinion of your own! Look for clues in the question - even the horseracing novice should be able to find the right answer!

A multiple-choice quiz by euphonic. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
euphonic
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
326,221
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
9 / 10
Plays
956
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 97 (8/10), Guest 199 (9/10), Guest 47 (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. This horse was no secret when he won the Belmont Stakes in 1973. Not only did he capture the Triple Crown, he set a world record for 1 ½ miles on dirt when he covered the distance in 2 minutes 24 seconds. Known as "Big Red", this big chestnut son of Bold Ruler was named Horse of the Year in 1972 and again in 1973. His name might make you think more of an administrative assistant, but his place was definitely in the winner's circle. Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. This horse was so spectacular that his trainer, Buddy Delp, proclaimed that "he was the best horse to ever look through a bridle". At age 3, this gray son of Bold Bidder captured the 1979 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, but allegedly stepped on a safety pin, hurt his foot, and struggled home a disappointing third in the Belmont Stakes. He also competed at age 4, went 9 for 9 in that year, and was so fearsome that no one even bothered to show up to try to beat him in the 1980 Woodward Stakes. His name might remind you of an auction, and in fact he was sold in one. Even though he was bought for $37,000, he went on to win over $2.7 million. Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. This champion of the American turf sure could boogie. He tangoed his way into the winner's circle 21 times in 22 lifetime races, but may be best remembered for the big dance he didn't win - the 1953 Kentucky Derby. The big gray son of Polynesian tap-danced on the heads of his competition for 3 seasons, and even though he is considered by many as an all-time great, he had to share his only Horse of the Year title with the good but all-but-forgotten One Count. Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. This great big son of Palace Music sure could smoke on the racetrack. He rose to prominence in the 1995 Donn Handicap, a race in which he beat the reigning Horse of the Year, Holy Bull. He would take that title for himself in 1995, lighting up his competition and showing his butt to everyone who dared face him. Race announcer Tom Durkin famously called the end of the 1995 Breeder's Cup Classic by declaring the winner as "the incomparable, invincible, unbeatable _____________ ". Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. In the late 1940s this horse's performance surely would have earned him a medal. Not only did he gain commendation as Horse of the Year in 1948, he won the Triple Crown. In addition to those awards, he was also the first horse to win over $1 million dollars on the racetrack. He also garnered the greatest compliment you can get on the racetrack - no one would face him in the 1948 Pimlico Special and he won in a walkover. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. No quiz on the top American race horses is complete without recognizing this combatant. He fought to victories in 20 of his 21 races and is often thought to be a Triple Crown winner, but he wasn't. His trainer, Samuel Riddle, thought that the distance of the Derby was too far too soon for the original "Big Red". This son of Fair Play was built like a tank, and even though he didn't contest the Kentucky Derby, he did win the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. The only horse to ever beat this battler was named Upset, and some say this is how the term "upset" came to mean a victory for a huge underdog. Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Most of the horses mentioned in this quiz are males, but not this one. This mare captured the Breeder's Cup Classic in 2009, the first female to successfully complete the feat. She also won the Breeder's Cup Ladies' Classic in 2008. Despite winning millions on the racetrack and going undefeated in both 2008 and 2009, she was denied Horse of the Year in both years. Named after an album by The Police, this mare has proven she is one of "ze all-time greats". Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. 'Kayso, this horse was named Horse of the Year an incredible 5 times! And he like shares his name with that character Ashton Kutcher played on "That 70s Show". And I like soooo love that this horse not only won 39 of his 63 lifetime races, but that his name is the same as my southwestern Washington hometown! It makes me soooo emo that horses don't stick around year after year like this tall, dark, and handsome guy did.

What, he was like gelded? Soooo, does that mean he like didn't have kids and junk? Oh well, I soooo love him anyway, even if he ran in the 1960s.
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. This little guy pranced across the northern border of the U.S. from Canada and sashayed away with the 1964 Kentucky Derby. That same year he won the Queen's Plate (the Canadian version of the Kentucky Derby), the Preakness Stakes, as well as the Florida Derby, Flamingo, and Blue Grass. At one time he was for sale for $25000, but later in his life people would pay $1 million stud fee just to have their mare bred by him. This Canadian invader changed thoroughbred horseracing worldwide as a sire, but he was just as good on the racetrack. Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. A fast horse needs a name that just screams speed and suggests aristocracy. This Triple Crown winner had just that. And the name was appropriate - this speedster won the Belmont Stakes by 25 lengths to secure the Triple Crown. A winner of 16 races from 21 starts, this 1943 Horse of the Year never ran again after the Belmont because he hurt an ankle. Owned by taxicab tycoon John Hertz, this horse's name might make you think of what Hertz would do on inventory days, but horseracing fans know this name means thoroughbred greatness. Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This horse was no secret when he won the Belmont Stakes in 1973. Not only did he capture the Triple Crown, he set a world record for 1 ½ miles on dirt when he covered the distance in 2 minutes 24 seconds. Known as "Big Red", this big chestnut son of Bold Ruler was named Horse of the Year in 1972 and again in 1973. His name might make you think more of an administrative assistant, but his place was definitely in the winner's circle.

Answer: Secretariat

Secretariat is considered by some to be the best race horse who ever graced the American tracks. In addition to capturing the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes, he won 11 other stakes races in 2 seasons of racing. Those who claim Secretariat is overrated point out that while he often won in spectacular fashion, he also lost 5 races in his 21 lifetime starts.

Sham was a contemporary of Secretariat, running 2nd to him in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He never ran again after his last-place finish in the 1973 Belmont Stakes.

Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978, each time besting Alydar, the runner up in all 3 legs. Both Affirmed and Alydar would enter the Horse Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, just like Secretariat.

Rambling Willie was a famous Standardbred (harness racing) horse. He raced 304 times, winning 128.
2. This horse was so spectacular that his trainer, Buddy Delp, proclaimed that "he was the best horse to ever look through a bridle". At age 3, this gray son of Bold Bidder captured the 1979 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, but allegedly stepped on a safety pin, hurt his foot, and struggled home a disappointing third in the Belmont Stakes. He also competed at age 4, went 9 for 9 in that year, and was so fearsome that no one even bothered to show up to try to beat him in the 1980 Woodward Stakes. His name might remind you of an auction, and in fact he was sold in one. Even though he was bought for $37,000, he went on to win over $2.7 million.

Answer: Spectacular Bid

Spectacular Bid would atone for his loss in the Belmont Stakes. He would lose only one more time, to fellow Hall of Fame Horse Affirmed. Spectacular Bid finished his career a winner of 23 stakes races and 26 races overall from 30 lifetime starts. He was named Horse of the Year in 1980.

Unbridled's Song is another famous gray horse with a bad foot. He stumbled home 4th in the Kentucky Derby on a bad hoof. While he was never recognized as a champion on the racetrack, he became one of the leading sires in the world in the first decade of the 2000s.

Cam's Card Shark was a famous harness horse who won over $2.4 million.
Mr. Prospector was a famous thoroughbred sire. He led all sires in total earnings by progeny in both 1987 and 1988.
3. This champion of the American turf sure could boogie. He tangoed his way into the winner's circle 21 times in 22 lifetime races, but may be best remembered for the big dance he didn't win - the 1953 Kentucky Derby. The big gray son of Polynesian tap-danced on the heads of his competition for 3 seasons, and even though he is considered by many as an all-time great, he had to share his only Horse of the Year title with the good but all-but-forgotten One Count.

Answer: Native Dancer

In addition to being one of the all-time best racehorses, Native Dancer is also immortalized as the grandsire (grandfather) of Northern Dancer and the damsire (maternal grandfather) of Mr. Prospector, the two most influential sires of the late 20th century.

Exceller was a top-class race horse of the late 1970s. He completed a task nearly impossible to duplicate - he beat two Triple Crown winners in the same race, the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Ruffian is a Hall of Fame member herself. She won the 1975 Filly Triple Tiara before suffering a fatal injury in a match race against Foolish Pleasure, the 1975 Kentucky Derby winner.

Tom Fool was the horse who denied Native Dancer the title of Horse of the Year in 1953. While Native Dancer had 9 wins and 1 second in 10 starts that year, Tom Fool was a perfect 10 for 10.
4. This great big son of Palace Music sure could smoke on the racetrack. He rose to prominence in the 1995 Donn Handicap, a race in which he beat the reigning Horse of the Year, Holy Bull. He would take that title for himself in 1995, lighting up his competition and showing his butt to everyone who dared face him. Race announcer Tom Durkin famously called the end of the 1995 Breeder's Cup Classic by declaring the winner as "the incomparable, invincible, unbeatable _____________ ".

Answer: Cigar

Cigar was a stud on the track, winning $9.9 million dollars over his 33 lifetime races. At breeding, however, Cigar was a dud. He was found to be sterile and never sired a single thoroughbred. Regardless, he is still considered to be arguably the best American horse of the 1990s.

Poor But Honest finished second to Cigar in the Massachusetts Handicap in 1995. That was a great performance for a horse that could have been bought for just $5000 less than 2 years before his Mass Cap performance.

Running Stag won the 2000 Massachusetts Handicap. An European expatriate, he would rise to prominence in America on conventional dirt racecourses.

Silver Charm nearly captured the 1995 American Triple Crown. He was denied the crown when Touch Gold beat him to the wire in the Belmont Stakes. Like Cigar, he too would go on to capture the Dubai World Cup.
5. In the late 1940s this horse's performance surely would have earned him a medal. Not only did he gain commendation as Horse of the Year in 1948, he won the Triple Crown. In addition to those awards, he was also the first horse to win over $1 million dollars on the racetrack. He also garnered the greatest compliment you can get on the racetrack - no one would face him in the 1948 Pimlico Special and he won in a walkover.

Answer: Citation

Citation was never the same after his 3-year-old campaign, winning just 5 times in 16 subsequent starts. He can probably be forgiven however - by this time he had had such serious injuries that he missed his entire 4-year-old racing-year. He finished his career the winner of 32 of 45 races. At the end of his 3-year-old campaign he was an astonishing 27 of 29 and his only losses were 2nd place finishes.

Noor was a top-class contemporary of Citation, and is the only horse to beat Citation twice. While Noor was notable, his 4 victories over Citation have made him immortal.

Silver Spoon was a daughter of Citation and earned her own place in the Hall of Fame alongside her father. She won 11 stakes races, including the Santa Anita Derby, which she contested against males.

Mecke was a horse in the 1990s who won top-level (Grade 1) races on both turf and dirt, a rare feat. His full sister, Beautiful Pleasure, was a memorable horse of the 1990s, just like her older brother.
6. No quiz on the top American race horses is complete without recognizing this combatant. He fought to victories in 20 of his 21 races and is often thought to be a Triple Crown winner, but he wasn't. His trainer, Samuel Riddle, thought that the distance of the Derby was too far too soon for the original "Big Red". This son of Fair Play was built like a tank, and even though he didn't contest the Kentucky Derby, he did win the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. The only horse to ever beat this battler was named Upset, and some say this is how the term "upset" came to mean a victory for a huge underdog.

Answer: Man O' War

Man O' War is the standard to which all other thoroughbred horses are compared. While some might question whether he was the all-time best, there is little dispute that he is always in that conversation. In addition, Man O' War was no slouch in the breeding shed. He sired 64 stakes winners including Triple Crown winner War Admiral.

Seabiscuit was a champion horse of the late 1930s. He beat War Admiral in a match race, and his 1940 victory in the Santa Anita Handicap was highlighted in the Academy Award nominated movie "Seabiscuit" (2003). Seabiscuit was himself a grandson of Man O' War.

Skip Away was a champion horse of the 1990s. He captured the Breeder's Cup Classic in 1997 and won over $9.6 million dollars on the racetrack. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.

Alysheba was a champion horse of the 1980s. A son of the equally famous Alydar, Alysheba won the Kentucky Derby and Breeder's Cup Classic as well as many other stakes races. Like Man O'War, Seabiscuit, and Skip Away, Alysheba is in the Hall of Fame for his exploits on the American turf.
7. Most of the horses mentioned in this quiz are males, but not this one. This mare captured the Breeder's Cup Classic in 2009, the first female to successfully complete the feat. She also won the Breeder's Cup Ladies' Classic in 2008. Despite winning millions on the racetrack and going undefeated in both 2008 and 2009, she was denied Horse of the Year in both years. Named after an album by The Police, this mare has proven she is one of "ze all-time greats".

Answer: Zenyatta

Even though Zenyatta was denied Horse of the Year in 2008 and 2009, she was recognized as champion filly or mare both years. Oddly enough, she was denied Horse of the Year in 2009 by Rachel Alexandra, another female. 2009 was the first year the only finalists for Horse of the Year were females.

Serena's Song was a champion filly in the 1990s. When she retired she had won more money than any other U.S. filly or mare. She is also known for beating males on multiple occasions, a rare feat in American racing.

Mariah's Storm was an oft-injured but brilliantly fast female in the 1990s. Even though she ran against and often beat the best of her generation (including Serena's Song) she is probably best remembered for 2 off-the-track reasons. She was the inspiration for the movie "Dreamer" (2005), featuring Kurt Russell and Dakota Fanning. Mariah's Storm was also the mother of one of the best European horses of all time, Giant's Causeway.

Flanders was 2-year filly champion of 1994. Never beaten on the racetrack, she beat Serena's Song in an epic stretch battle in the 1994 Breeder's Cup Juvenile Fillies. While Flanders won the battle, she lost the war. Flanders would never run again while Serena's Song would have an illustrious career.
8. 'Kayso, this horse was named Horse of the Year an incredible 5 times! And he like shares his name with that character Ashton Kutcher played on "That 70s Show". And I like soooo love that this horse not only won 39 of his 63 lifetime races, but that his name is the same as my southwestern Washington hometown! It makes me soooo emo that horses don't stick around year after year like this tall, dark, and handsome guy did. What, he was like gelded? Soooo, does that mean he like didn't have kids and junk? Oh well, I soooo love him anyway, even if he ran in the 1960s.

Answer: Kelso

Kelso was in fact one of the very best. For 8 seasons he competed against the very best, racking up 31 stakes victories and nearly $2 million in earnings. Known for his ability to carry weight, run on all surfaces, and run at classic distances, Kelso probably would not fare as well today. Races today are much shorter than they were in the 1960s and earlier.

Best Pal was also a gelding, just like Forego. Running in the 1980s, he was often considered one of the very best of his day. He retired with over $5 million dollars in earnings.

Forego, a gelding as well, won nearly $2 million in 6 seasons of racing during the 1970s. While he could run in races over a mile, he was best in races for sprinters, races less than 1 mile.

Exterminator rounds out a great group of geldings. He was on the track for 8 seasons from 1917 to 1924. His greatest victory came in the Kentucky Derby. He was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1957.

Why geld a male horse? Here are a few reasons - 1. for medical reasons like an undescended testicle, 2. because a horse will grow if gelded at the right time, 3. because the horse is difficult to handle.
9. This little guy pranced across the northern border of the U.S. from Canada and sashayed away with the 1964 Kentucky Derby. That same year he won the Queen's Plate (the Canadian version of the Kentucky Derby), the Preakness Stakes, as well as the Florida Derby, Flamingo, and Blue Grass. At one time he was for sale for $25000, but later in his life people would pay $1 million stud fee just to have their mare bred by him. This Canadian invader changed thoroughbred horseracing worldwide as a sire, but he was just as good on the racetrack.

Answer: Northern Dancer

A winner of 14 races from 18 starts, Northern Dancer may have been diminutive in stature, but he could run. His record of two minutes exactly in winning the Kentucky Derby was a record until Secretariat topped the mark 9 years later (in 1973).

Southern Image was a brilliant but brittle horse in the first decade of the 2000s. He won three Grade 1 stakes races in just 8 lifetime starts. He retired to stud and was a "shuttle stallion" - a stallion that would stand in the Northern Hemisphere for the breeding season then "shuttle" to the Southern Hemisphere for the breeding season there.

Gone West was a regally bred son of Mr. Prospector who won 6 races in 17 starts, including 1 Grade 1 victory. He is the grandsire of Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones.

Eastern Lyric is a name shared by 2 horses over the years, both from Great Britain. Neither was very good, but each had a name that fit a theme with this question.
10. A fast horse needs a name that just screams speed and suggests aristocracy. This Triple Crown winner had just that. And the name was appropriate - this speedster won the Belmont Stakes by 25 lengths to secure the Triple Crown. A winner of 16 races from 21 starts, this 1943 Horse of the Year never ran again after the Belmont because he hurt an ankle. Owned by taxicab tycoon John Hertz, this horse's name might make you think of what Hertz would do on inventory days, but horseracing fans know this name means thoroughbred greatness.

Answer: Count Fleet

Not only was Count Fleet a stellar racehorse, he was a stellar sire as well. Among his 38 stakes winning sons and daughters were three champions - Kiss Me Kate, Counterpoint, and ... One Count. This son of Count Fleet shared Horse of the Year honors with another all-time great, Native Dancer.

Cadillacing was a Grade 1 winner in the 1980s but may be best remembered as the the full sister to Hall of Famer Easy Goer.

Sunline was quite possibly the best female horse to ever live. A winner in 32 of her 48 starts, she won 14 Group 1 races, many against males. She was 3-time Horse of the Year in Australia, 4-time Horse of the Year in New Zealand, and the first active horse ever inducted into the Australian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
Source: Author euphonic

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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