Horse racing has produced some legends that even non-racing fans would know about. Secretariat, Frankel, Red Rum, Man o’ War, and many more thoroughbreds have really caught the public’s imagination.
Below, we examine which runner holds the claim to be the best racehorse of all time, and who the notable contenders are in the list. We’ve also dedicated a section to famous racehorses in the UK, where National Hunt and flat racing have produced their own legends.
Who Is the Best Racehorse of All Time?
The most common answer you’ll hear (at least in North America) is Secretariat. And it’s hard to argue with a 31 lengths winning record that has stood for over 50 years. At the 1973 Belmont Stakes, Secretariat moved full throttle like “a tremendous machine,” according to track announcer Chick Anderson. It was his ninth straight victory, and he remains one of the few horses who won the Triple Crown – Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes – in the same season.
For British and Irish fans, the answer to the greatest racehorse of all time tends to be Frankel, without much debate. He won all 14 of his career races between 2010 and 2012, including elite Group 1 contests. No horse has come close to his Timeform rating of 147, because of which, he was officially ranked the greatest racehorse in history by the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings Committee.
Man o’ War also deserves an honourable mention in the list of famous racehorses. Blood Horse magazine and the Associated Press both named him the best American thoroughbred of the 20th century in separate expert polls (ahead of Secretariat). He sired 386 registered foals, which include 64 stakes winners. 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral is his most famous offspring. Other notable progeny include Battleship (1938 Grand National winner), Crusader, American Flag, and Bateau.
Criteria for Ranking the Greatest Racehorses of all Time
Win record is the obvious starting point for this list, but we didn’t consider the wins alone. A horse that won 14 out of 14 races in top company ranks much higher on our list compared to one that won 39 from 63 over a longer career. Both are superior in different ways.
We also looked at the winning margins because elite fields at the Group 1 level don’t usually get defeated by 10 lengths. However, when they do, it means something extraordinary happened. Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, and Frankel won the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot by 11.
We also looked at the Timeform ratings tool to assess the level of competition these horses had.
Moreover, we also considered their versatility and how well they handled different distances, going conditions, and track configurations.
Top 10 Best Racehorses of All Time
1. Secretariat
Everything with Secretariat comes back to that Belmont Stakes race. You can watch it a hundred times, and it still looks surreal. He won the Triple Crown that year with track records at all three legs that still stand. His Belmont time of 2:24 has never been touched in over fifty years.
Interestingly, when Secretariat passed away, veterinarians examined his body and found that his heart was roughly two and a half times the normal size, which may explain his incredible stamina and speed. He finished his career with 16 wins from 21 starts, but these statistics don’t really capture what he was.
2. Frankel
Frankel remained unbeaten in 14 career races. He also holds the highest ever record of 147 Timeform rating. His most notable race was his trailblazing 2000 Guineas victory (2011), where he led by 15 lengths. The Queen Anne Stakes (2012) at Royal Ascot comes a close second, which Frankel won by 11 lengths. He continued his dominance over longer distances with a 7-length win in the 2012 Juddmonte International.
Frankel was trained by the late Sir Henry Cecil, who spent the last months of his life battling cancer while guiding the horse through his final season. Frankel has since become one of the world’s leading sires. His most famous offspring are Adayar (Epsom Derby), Hurricane Lane (Irish Derby/St Leger), Chaldean (2023 Guineas), and Soul Stirring (Japanese Oaks), as well as champion filly Alpinista.
3. Man o’ War
Man o’ War was born in 1917, raced between 1919 and 1920, and won 20 of 21 starts. His one defeat came at the Sanford Stakes when he was found facing the wrong direction at the start.
He established three world records, two American records, and seven track records in his career. He won the 1920 Belmont Stakes (by 20 lengths), 1920 Preakness Stakes, 1920 Travers Stakes, and the 1920 Kenilworth Park Gold Cup. He didn’t get the Triple Crown, though that year, as his owner chose not to enter him into the Kentucky Derby.
His largest margin was a whopping 100 lengths at the 1920 Lawrence Realization Stakes.
Fun fact: Man o’ War earned The New York Times’ “Outstanding Athlete of the Year” title along with Babe Ruth in 1920.
4. Winx
She is one of the very few mares on our list. Winx dominated middle-distance races from 2015 to 2019 in Australia. During this time, she set a world record of 25 Grade 1 wins and 33 consecutive victories.
She is also the only horse in Australia to win four Cox Plates, and that too consecutively. Her statue stands at Moonee Valley Racecourse, the site of her four Cox Plate wins. She was declared the Australian Horse of the Year four times in a row. She also won the World’s Best Turf Horse title three times.
Fun fact: The Warwick Stakes was renamed the Winx Stakes in her honour.
5. Citation
Citation won the Triple Crown in 1948 and became the first racehorse to earn over a million US dollars in prize money. The same year, he won 19 of 20 races. His overall record is 32 wins, 10 seconds, and 1 third in 45 starts.
He was a versatile horse who collected trophies on dirt tracks, ran multiple distances, and performed under various weather conditions. And if legend is to be believed, horse owners would pull out their entries when they saw Citation in the runners’ list. Such was his impact on the field.
6. Zenyatta
American thoroughbred Zenyatta had a smashing 19-1 record, and was famous for her last-to-first closing style. Her only career loss came in her final race before retirement.
Her most notable win is the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic victory against a male field, something that had never been done before. At the start, she was far behind but overtook halfway through at blazing speed.
Zenyatta set the North American record for 13 Grade I victories by a filly/mare. She earned over $7 million (£5 million) in her career. She collected plenty of awards, too. She was named the 2010 American Horse of the Year, Champion Older Female three consecutive years (2008–2010), and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016.
7. Red Rum
This is the only horse on our list to win the Grand National three times (1973, 1974, and 1977). In the years in between (1975 and 1976), he came second. Out of these wins, his 1973 race is considered legendary as he came 30 lengths behind the leading horse in the final stages and won. He also set a record in that race (9:01.9), which stood for 16 years.
By the time he entered his final Grand National in 1977, he was already 12 years old, making him the oldest horse in the fray. He still managed to win the race by 25 lengths.
Fun fact: He has two statues in his honour: one at the Aintree Racecourse in Southport and the second at Ayr Racecourse. There is also a railway line and two pubs named after Red Rum.
8. Ribot
Ribot was an Italian-trained thoroughbred, known for his perfect record of winning all his 16 races across three countries (Italy, France, and England). He won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe twice (1955 and 1956), considered to be Europe’s most prestigious race.
Ribot was named Italy’s “Horse of the Century” and ranked third in the 20th Century’s best racehorses by A Century of Champions, behind Sea Bird and Secretariat.
After retiring, Ribot sired winners of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Molvedo, Prince Royal), and Irish Derby (Ragusa, Ribocco, Ribero).
9. Black Caviar
Australian thoroughbred Black Caviar had a perfect 25-win record from 25 starts, including 15 Group 1 victories. She was known as “the Queen of the Turf,” after she won four back-to-back World Champion Sprinter titles (2010–2013).
After retirement, she was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame and is regarded as one of the fastest sprinters in Australian racing history.
10. Arkle
Arkle won 3 consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups from 1964 to 1966. He dominated steeplechasing in his 5-year racing career. In fact, his superiority was such that racing officials created a separate handicapping system for races in which Arkle competed. He had to carry heavy weights over long distances and still managed to win 27 of his 35 starts.
He became a national hero in Ireland, with statues erected in his honour. There’s also the Arkle Challenge Trophy named after him.
Fun fact: His skeleton is on display at the Irish National Stud.
Most Famous Racehorses in History
Famous horses aren’t always the ones that make it to the list of the best in the world.
For example, Seabiscuit’s career record doesn’t put him anywhere near the top. In fact, he spent most of his three-year-old season losing races. So how did a small, scrappy horse become the most famous racehorse in history? It’s all because of his 1938 match race against Triple Crown winner War Admiral. He defeated the defending champion by four lengths. It was the time of the Great Depression, and this story became synonymous with hope. His biography sold millions of copies, and his film was nominated for seven Oscars. He wasn’t the fastest horse, but was definitely the most beloved.
American Pharoah is another famous racehorse that ended a 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015. Zenyatta also belongs in this list, as she broke the glass ceiling by defeating the entire male field in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Famous Racehorses in the UK
British and Irish racing is shaped by the Grand National, Cheltenham, and Royal Ascot. This is our selection of the most famous racehorses in the UK, who dominated these races:
Frankel
Frankel’s greatness lies not just in his 14 unbeaten win record, but in how he won. His 147 Timeform rating remains the highest ever assigned to a thoroughbred.
Frankel was truly his trainer’s final masterpiece. Sir Henry Cecil, battling cancer through Frankel’s final season, brought out the best in him.
He retired after three seasons and transitioned into a stud at Banstead Manor. His influence lives on through his offspring, Adayar, Hurricane Lane, Alpinista, and Chaldean.
Red Rum
Only one horse has won a Grand National three times, the good ol’ “Rummy”. In 1977, he earned huge success with a 25-length win over Churchtown Boy, who had won the Topham two days prior.
Desert Orchid
“Dessie” was one of the most celebrated National Hunt racehorses in the UK. The grey gelding won 34 of his 70 starts, including four King George VI Chase races. His 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup performance turned him into a celebrity, as he achieved a dramatic victory on heavy ground.
He also won the Irish Grand National in 1990, despite carrying a top weight of 12 stone.
Arkle
Arkle was so good at racing that handicap rules had to be changed to make the game fair for other horses. How many sports players can claim that?
He became a sensation in the 60s, at a time when television coverage was rapidly increasing the popularity of steeplechasing. His dramatic victories at the Cheltenham Gold Cups from 1964 to 1966 made him a public figure alongside the Beatles and Jackie Kennedy.
Fans would write letters to him and bombard him with presents like carrots and sugar lumps. The flood of letters increased in 1966, when his career came to a sudden end with a broken hoof at Kempton Park.
Enable
Enable won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe twice (2017 and 2018). She went for a third Arc in 2020 but lost by a short neck to Sottsass.
In her four-year career, she had 11 wins from 14 starts and became the first British-trained mare to win more than £10 million in prize money.
Records Held by the Greatest Racehorses
- Longest undefeated streak: Kincsem (Hungary) remained unbeaten in 54 races.
- Highest win record: This is held by Winx (Australia). She won 37 races, including 33 in a row. 25 of these races were Grade 1 victories.
- Best racehorse of all time: This award was given to Frankel (UK) at the 2012 World Thoroughbred Rankings conference for his undefeated 14 starts. His average winning margin was 5.4 lengths.
- Perfect record: Peppers Pride of USA finished his career 19-0, a perfect record in American racing.
- Best sprint runner: Black Caviar (Australia) remained undefeated in 25 races, dominating in sprint distances.
- Best time record: Secretariat (USA) still holds the record times in all three Triple Crown races.
- Highest race speed: Winning Brew (USA) recorded a speed of whopping 70.76 km/h over two furlongs in 2008.
- Most career wins: Chorisbar (Puerto Rico) holds the record for most career wins with 197 wins out of 324 starts.
- Highest prize money earnings: Golden Sixty (Hong Kong) holds the record for earning over $21 million (£15.5 million) in his career.
Legendary Horses:
- Man o’ War (USA) won 20 of 21 starts, setting 3 world records and 7 track records during his career.
- Citation (USA) won 32 of 45 starts, including the 1948 Triple Crown.
- Red Rum won three Grand Nationals.
- Man o’ War once won a race by 100 lengths.
Can Modern Racehorses Become the Greatest of All Time?
Probably, yes, but the path looks different now because training methods, veterinary science, and sports nutrition are considerably more advanced now than they were in Secretariat’s or Man o’ War’s era.
The competition has also gone global. So, you’ll see today’s champions facing runners from Australia, France, Ireland, and the US, all in the same season.
The main obstacle is that careers are shorter. Horses like Winx (43 starts) or even Frankel (14 starts) are unusual by modern standards. Stud value for an unbeaten or lightly raced horse can run into hundreds of millions, so owners retire horses earlier. As a result, you will see horses racing only for 3–4 seasons before they are retired.
The comparison is also not truly fair to horses of olden times. Man o’ War ran in steel shoes on slower tracks carrying weights that would be impossible for modern horses. Also, tracks are more evenly laid out now, making it slightly easier for the runners.
However, this sport keeps producing horses that make you reconsider what’s possible, and that has been true in every decade since Secretariat.
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