Famous racehorses have shaped the sport of racing as profoundly as any trainer, jockey or owner. They are the reason people pack the stands at Cheltenham and Ascot, the reason bloodstock prices reach stratospheric levels, and the reason racing captures the public imagination in a way few sports can match. Some of these horses were simply faster than anything else alive. Others had a quality beyond speed: courage, versatility, or an almost supernatural ability to perform in the biggest races, season after season. Here are 15 of the most famous racehorses in history, covering both Flat and National Hunt, weighted toward the British and Irish horses who built modern racing.
Table of Contents
Frankel
Frankel is the most celebrated racehorse of the modern era in British and European racing. Trained by Sir Henry Cecil and owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah, the son of Galileo ran 14 races and won all 14, retiring unbeaten in October 2012. He was trained at Warren Place in Newmarket and ridden in most of his races by Tom Queally.
Frankel’s Timeform rating of 147 is the highest ever assigned to a Thoroughbred. His 2000 Guineas in 2011, in which he opened up a 15-length lead at the two-furlong mark before the field closed slightly to produce a six-length winning margin, remains one of the most jaw-dropping performances in Newmarket’s history. His Queen Anne Stakes, his Sussex Stakes and his Champion Stakes each demonstrated a different dimension of his ability across distances from a mile to a mile and a quarter.
What defined Frankel was not just speed but dominance and consistency, over two seasons and through changing conditions. Sir Henry Cecil’s management of a horse that was genuinely difficult in his early career, prone to pulling and extreme anxiety, was itself a masterclass.
At stud, Frankel has been exceptional. His progeny include multiple Group 1 winners across disciplines, including Cracksman, Soul Sister and Westover. His covering fee at Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket reached a reported £350,000 in 2026, the highest in Europe. As a sire of sires and dam-sire, his influence on 21st-century Thoroughbred breeding is already profound.
Secretariat
Secretariat is, to many observers, the greatest racehorse ever to set foot on a track. The chestnut son of Bold Ruler, foaled in 1970 at Meadow Farm in Virginia, won the 1973 American Triple Crown in a manner that still defies rational analysis more than fifty years later.
His Kentucky Derby time of 1:59.40 for a mile and a quarter remains the track record. His Belmont Stakes, the race that clinched the Triple Crown, was run in 2:24.00, a world record for a mile and a half on dirt that still stands. He won by 31 lengths. CBS Sports analyst Chic Anderson’s call, “He is moving like a tremendous machine,” remains one of the most celebrated pieces of sports commentary in American history.
What made Secretariat extraordinary beyond his times was how he achieved them. Unlike most horses who slow in the final furlongs, Secretariat ran each quarter-mile of his Belmont Stakes faster than the last. His autopsy revealed a heart estimated at 22 pounds, approximately twice the normal size for a horse. Whether that explains his capacity is debated, but the figures speak for themselves.
He was retired to stud in late 1973 and became a solid if not exceptional sire. His legacy is not primarily as a breeding horse but as a performance phenomenon, a standard against which all subsequent racehorses are measured. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1974 and died in 1989 from laminitis.
Arkle
Arkle is Ireland’s horse. Trained by Tom Dreaper, ridden by Pat Taaffe and owned by Anne, Duchess of Westminster, he won 27 of his 35 races including three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups (1964, 1965, 1966). His rivalry with Mill House, the reigning Gold Cup champion when Arkle emerged, was one of racing’s great contests, and Arkle won it decisively every time they met.
Such was Arkle’s dominance in British and Irish jump racing that the Irish handicapper had to maintain a separate set of weights for races that included him. Otherwise the weights would have been so extreme as to make competitive entries impossible for any other horse. He was assigned weights of 12st 7lb that made his victories increasingly improbable, and he simply carried them to victory anyway.
He is commemorated in bronze at Cheltenham racecourse and in a statue at Leopardstown. The Grade 1 Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival is named in his honour. He died in 1970 from the effects of a fractured pedal bone sustained during the 1966 King George VI Chase, which ended his racing career. He is buried at Kilsallaghan in County Meath.
Man o’ War
Man o’ War, universally known as “Big Red,” is the horse against whom American racing has judged itself for over a century. Foaled in 1917 and trained by Louis Feustel, he ran 21 races and won 20 of them. His only defeat came at the hands of a horse called Upset (the origin of the sporting term) in the 1919 Sanford Stakes, when he was drawn wide and a slow start cost him the race.
He never ran in the Kentucky Derby. His owner, Samuel Riddle, considered the race too early in the year for a horse to be at his peak. In hindsight, this was the only gap in an otherwise unassailable record. His times and winning margins were so extreme that handicappers gave him weights that would have stopped lesser horses in their tracks. He regularly carried 130 pounds or more.
As a stallion, Man o’ War was transformative. His son War Admiral won the 1937 Triple Crown. His grandson Seabiscuit famously defeated War Admiral in the 1938 Pimlico Special. The influence of his bloodline on modern Thoroughbred breeding is incalculable. He died in 1947 and his funeral was broadcast on radio, an almost unprecedented tribute to an animal. He is buried at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
Sea-Bird
Sea-Bird is widely regarded in European racing circles as the greatest horse ever to race on the continent. The French-trained son of Dan Cupid ran only eight times, winning seven, but his 1965 performances were of a quality that racing analysts still struggle to contextualise.
His Epsom Derby victory came by two lengths, a comfortable margin, but it was the Arc de Triomphe three months later that cemented his legend. Sea-Bird won the 1965 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe by six lengths in a field that included Reliance (who had won the French Derby and St Leger by ten lengths each), Diatome, and several other top-class horses. Timeform rated that Arc performance at 145, a figure that has never been equalled or surpassed in their records, and which only Frankel has since beaten.
Retired to stud after 1965, Sea-Bird was an influential if not dominant sire. His impact on international breeding was significant through horses like Allez France and Little Current. His Arc remains, by the most respected Timeform ratings, the single greatest individual performance in European Flat racing history.
Red Rum
No list of famous racehorses is complete without Red Rum. The three-time Grand National winner (1973, 1974, 1977) and two-time runner-up (1975, 1976) is the most celebrated jumper in British racing history and one of the most recognisable sporting figures of the 20th century.
Trained by Ginger McCain from a yard behind a second-hand car dealership in Southport, and often exercised on Southport beach, Red Rum’s story defied every convention of elite racehorse preparation. He was an ordinary horse by Flat racing standards who, through McCain’s intuition and the unusual conditioning from beach work (swimming through tidal water to manage a pedal bone condition), became extraordinary over fences.
His 1973 Grand National win remains one of the sport’s iconic moments. Coming from behind to overhaul the seemingly uncatchable Crisp (who had led by 25 lengths approaching the final fence) in the final strides. His 1977 third win, at 12 years old, drew emotional scenes that no Grand National has matched since. Sir Peter O’Sullevan’s commentary on the 1977 finish — “He’s coming up to the line to win it like a fresh horse in great style. It’s hats off and a tremendous reception” — remains the most famous racing commentary in British sport.
Red Rum is buried at the winning post at Aintree racecourse. His trainer McCain lived to see his son Donald win a fourth Grand National with Ballabriggs in 2011.
Desert Orchid
Desert Orchid, “Dessie,” is the most popular grey racehorse in British history and one of the National Hunt’s defining personalities. The grey son of Grey Mirage was trained by David Elsworth and ridden principally by Simon Sherwood and Richard Dunwoody, running 70 races between 1983 and 1991 and winning 34.
His King George VI Chase record of four wins (1986, 1988, 1989 and 1990) at Kempton on Boxing Day made him a household name. His 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup victory, where he ground out a win in dreadful conditions over a course many believed he could not handle, is regularly cited as the most popular result in National Hunt history. He raced from front to back, jumped accurately and consistently, and had a personality that transcended racing.
Desert Orchid retired in 1991 and spent his retirement at Ab Kettleby Farm in Leicestershire, attending parades, charity events and Cheltenham Festival ceremonies. He died in 2006 at the age of 27. His ashes are buried beside the Kempton parade ring. The Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton in December is named after him.
Shergar
Shergar is the most famous missing horse in racing history. Trained by Sir Michael Stoute and owned by HH Aga Khan IV, the bay colt with the distinctive white blaze won the 1981 Epsom Derby by a record 10 lengths, a margin not since approached. Walter Swinburn rode him for most of his career and famously described looking around at Epsom and seeing the rest of the field “as if they were at Folkestone races.”
He went on to win the Irish Derby and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Ascot in the same year before being retired to the Aga Khan’s Ballymany Stud in County Kildare. His Timeform rating of 140 placed him among the greats of the modern era.
On 8 February 1983, Shergar was abducted from Ballymany Stud by armed men, almost certainly the IRA. Despite an enormous police investigation, a ransom demand and decades of speculation, his fate has never been definitively confirmed. He was almost certainly killed within days of his abduction. His remains have never been recovered.
The case remains the largest single equine kidnapping in racing history. Shergar’s name endures both as one of the great Epsom Derby winners and as a symbol of the era’s troubles.
Galileo
Galileo is on this list not primarily for his racecourse record, impressive as it was, but for his unparalleled impact as a sire. Trained by Aidan O’Brien and owned by Coolmore, Galileo won the 2001 Epsom Derby, Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes before being retired to Coolmore Stud.
What followed was arguably the most dominant siring career in Thoroughbred history. Galileo was champion sire in Britain and Ireland every year from 2008 until his death in 2021. His sons and daughters include Frankel, New Approach, Rip Van Winkle, Found, Magical, Minding, Sottsass and literally hundreds of other Group winners across Europe and beyond. His progeny earnings are in the billions of pounds.
The depth and consistency of Galileo’s influence is without recent parallel. His sons are already establishing themselves as sires. Frankel in particular has continued the dynasty. Coolmore maintained his covering fee at an undisclosed but estimated seven-figure sum in his later seasons. He died in July 2021 aged 23, having covered mares until his final season.
Kauto Star
Kauto Star is the only horse to have won and then regained the Cheltenham Gold Cup (2007 and 2009), and his record of five King George VI Chases is unmatched in the race’s history. Trained by Paul Nicholls and owned by Clive Smith, he was ridden in most of his races by Ruby Walsh.
Kauto Star was not the most reliable jumper. He fell and unseated at critical moments. But at his best he was simply breathtaking. His jumping when fluent was spectacular, his jumping speed exceptional, and his ability to quicken in the final stages gave him an edge over horses that might otherwise have had his measure on paper.
His rivalry with stablemate Denman, both trained by Paul Nicholls at Ditcheat, captivated jump racing fans for several seasons. The 2008 and 2009 Cheltenham Gold Cups, contested principally between these two stablemates, produced racing of exceptional quality and narrative drama. Kauto Star died in 2015, buried at Ditcheat. Ruby Walsh described him as the best horse he ever rode.
Best Mate
Best Mate is the only horse since Arkle to win three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups (2002, 2003, 2004). Trained by Henrietta Knight and Terry Biddlecombe at West Lockinge in Oxfordshire and ridden principally by Jim Culloty and Timmy Murphy, he was a horse of consistent class rather than spectacular brilliance.
What set Best Mate apart was the precision of his preparation. Henrietta Knight famously refused to run him on heavy ground or in conditions she felt did not suit. He ran only 22 times in his career, winning 14, but those wins were carefully placed. His three Gold Cups were achieved at the age of seven, eight and nine, with a fresh, faultless campaign each year.
Best Mate died on the course at Exeter on 1 November 2005 after suffering a heart attack during a race. He was pulled up immediately by his jockey and collapsed within minutes. He was 10 years old. His sudden death produced national mourning rarely seen for a racehorse.
Winx
Winx is the most successful racehorse in Australian history by consecutive wins, winning 33 races in a row between 2015 and her final race in April 2019. In total she won 37 of 43 starts. She was trained by Chris Waller and ridden in most of her races by Hugh Bowman.
Her speciality was the 2000-metre distance on the big Sydney tracks, where she won the Cox Plate four times — a record — and the George Ryder Stakes and Chipping Norton Stakes repeatedly. She was not a flashy frontrunner. She typically settled mid-field before unleashing a devastating turn of foot in the final 400 metres that no horse of her era could match.
Winx received a World Thoroughbred Ranking of 130 in 2018, making her the highest-rated horse in the world at that time. She retired to Coolmore Australia for breeding and her progeny are being tracked with considerable interest by the international racing industry.
Black Caviar
Black Caviar ran 25 times and won 25 times. Trained by Peter Moody and ridden almost exclusively by Luke Nolen, she was the queen of Australian sprint racing from 2009 to 2013 and the horse who briefly brought sprint racing to the global centre stage when she contested the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2012.
Her Ascot victory was achieved in somewhat dramatic fashion, with Nolen easing down too early and the field closing rapidly. It confirmed her status on the world stage and produced scenes of celebration from an Australian contingent in the Ascot crowd rarely seen in Britain. Her retirement in 2013 was announced in scenes of genuine national emotion in Australia. She was rated the world’s number one horse in both the Flat and sprint rankings for several years.
Mill Reef
Mill Reef was an American-bred, English-trained colt who became one of the most beloved racehorses of the 1970s. Trained by Ian Balding at Kingsclere in Berkshire and ridden by Geoff Lewis, he won 12 of 14 starts including the 1971 Epsom Derby, the Eclipse Stakes, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in a four-month period that has rarely been bettered.
His Arc was won by three lengths from Pistol Packer, with Geoff Lewis riding what is regarded as one of the perfect tactical races. Mill Reef was a horse of compact, perfectly balanced conformation, only 15.2 hands, but with the engine and quality to dominate the best horses in Europe.
A leg fracture in 1972 ended his racing career and was thought initially to be career-ending. National Stud surgeons performed pioneering surgery that saved his life and breeding career. He stood at the National Stud in Newmarket and sired multiple Derby winners including Shirley Heights and Reference Point.
Nijinsky
Nijinsky was the last horse to win the English Triple Crown — the 2000 Guineas, Epsom Derby and St Leger in the same season — when he completed the sweep in 1970. Trained by Vincent O’Brien at Ballydoyle in Tipperary and ridden by Lester Piggott, the Canadian-bred son of Northern Dancer was widely regarded as one of the most brilliant horses of the post-war era.
His Derby victory came in record time, and he was widely tipped to win the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the same season. He was, however, beaten by a short head by Sassafras at Longchamp, a defeat that ended a 12-race winning streak and shocked European racing. He was retired to Claiborne Farm in Kentucky after one more defeat at Newmarket.
As a stallion, Nijinsky was exceptional. His sons included Golden Fleece, Shahrastani and Ferdinand. No horse has won the English Triple Crown since 1970 — modern conditioning and target-race strategy mean even the best three-year-olds rarely contest all three. Nijinsky’s achievement may therefore stand for the rest of the sport’s history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is considered the greatest racehorse of all time?
In European racing, Frankel (Timeform rating 147) holds the highest official rating of any Thoroughbred in history. In American racing, Secretariat is most frequently cited, based on his 1973 Triple Crown performances and world-record Belmont Stakes time. Among jumpers, Arkle is universally regarded as the greatest steeplechaser of all time. There is no single answer, as different racing traditions produce different criteria, but Frankel, Secretariat and Arkle are the three most cited names.
Who are the most famous British racehorses?
Frankel, Red Rum, Arkle (Irish but trained in Britain by association), Desert Orchid, Best Mate, Kauto Star, Shergar, Mill Reef and Nijinsky are the most famous racehorses associated with British racing. Across the disciplines, these names dominate any historical list and most public recognition surveys.
What is the most famous horse race in the world?
The Grand National at Aintree is arguably the most famous horse race in the world by public recognition, particularly in the UK and Ireland. The Kentucky Derby holds a similar position in the United States. The Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Epsom Derby and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe are among the most prestigious races in the world’s Flat and jump racing calendar.
What made Frankel so special?
Frankel was unbeaten in 14 starts and carries the highest Timeform rating in history at 147. What made him exceptional was the combination of explosive speed, ability to quicken repeatedly, versatility across distances, and dominance that made his races appear almost effortless. His 2000 Guineas performance, opening a 15-length advantage at the two-furlong pole, remains the most startling piece of Flat racing most British observers have ever witnessed.
Is Red Rum the most famous Grand National horse?
Yes, Red Rum is universally regarded as the most famous Grand National horse in history. His three wins (1973, 1974, 1977) and two second places (1975, 1976) make him statistically the most successful Grand National competitor ever. His story, trained on a Southport beach behind a car dealership, gives him a popular appeal that transcends the racing world.
What happened to Shergar?
Shergar was abducted from Ballymany Stud in County Kildare on 8 February 1983 by armed men widely believed to have been the IRA. Despite an enormous police investigation, a ransom demand and decades of speculation, his fate has never been definitively confirmed. He is presumed to have been killed within days of his abduction. His remains have never been recovered.
How are racehorses rated?
Racehorses are rated using performance ratings assigned by official handicappers (the BHA in Britain) and by independent services like Timeform. Timeform ratings are expressed in pounds and reflect the level of performance relative to a theoretical standard. A horse rated 130 is considered outstanding; 140+ is historically exceptional. Frankel’s 147 Timeform rating is the highest of all time. Secretariat’s American figures, calculated on a different scale, are at a comparable level.
