# List of racehorses

This list includes racehorses that exist in the historical record.

## Racehorses

For competition horses, such as show jumpers and dressage horses, see List of historical horses § Competition horses.

### A

* Ace Impact: Undefeated winner of the 2023 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
* Adios Butler: famous harness racer
* Affirmed: U.S. Triple Crown winner (1978)
* Agnes Tachyon: Undefeated 2001 Satsuki Sho winner
* Ajax: 18 consecutive race wins, before he was defeated at 1/40
* Albatross: harness racer who won 59 of 71 races, and as a sire produced winners of over $130 million, including Niatross
* Allez France: French Arc winner and first filly to win a million dollars
* Alydar: finished second to Affirmed in all three 1978 Triple Crown races; successful sire
* Almond Eye: Won 9 G1 races, including all three of the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown in 2018
* American Pharoah: 2015 winner of the U.S. Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup World Championships in Lexington, Kentucky at Keeneland Race Course
* Animal Kingdom: American Thoroughbred racehorse; won 137th Kentucky Derby and 2013 Dubai World Cup
* Apapane: 2010 Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown winner
* Archer: first and second winner of the Melbourne Cup
* Aristides: winner of the first Kentucky Derby
* Arrogate: winner of Travers Stakes, Breeders' Cup Classic, Pegasus World Cup, and Dubai World Cup in track record time and the richest U.S.-based racehorse of all time
* Arkle: highest Timeform rating for a steeplechase horseracer
* Assault: U.S. Triple Crown winner (1946)
* Auguste Rodin: Winner of both the Epsom and Irish Derbies of 2023, as well as the Breeders' Cup Turf of the same year

### B

* Barbaro: 2006 Kentucky Derby winner whose racing career and life was cut short due to a life-ending injury
* Battleship (1927–1958) was an American thoroughbred racehorse who is the only horse to have won both the American Grand National and the Grand National steeplechase races.
* Barack Obama, named after the 44th President of the United States, was a New Zealand horse that competed in international endurance events.
* Barbaro: American Thoroughbred who decisively won the 2006 Kentucky Derby, but shattered his leg two weeks later in the 2006 Preakness Stakes, ending his racing career; underwent several operations; eventually healed, but developed laminitis and could not be saved; euthanized January 29, 2007
* Beholder: winner of the Breeder's Cup Juv. Fillies, two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Distaff, as well as the first filly to win the Pacific Classic
* Bernborough: Australian racehorse and winner of 15 consecutive races at big weights; sold to US film producer Louis B. Mayer
* Ben Nevis: champion Maryland steeplechaser he won the Maryland Hunt Cup twice and the Grand National
* Bend Or: very successful British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1880 Epsom Derby
* Best Mate: 2002, 2003 and 2004 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner; often given title 'Greatest Steeplechaser' since Arkle, and an equal to him
* Big Brown: 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner; first horse since Clyde Van Dusen to win the Kentucky Derby from the 20th post position
* Black Caviar: undefeated in 25 career starts; fifteen-time Group 1 winner
* Bold Forbes: 1976 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner
* Bold Ruler: leading sire of stakeswinners; born in the same barn the same night as Round Table; sired the outstanding Secretariat
* Brian's Time: American-trained racehorse with a successful stud career in Japan
* Bret Hanover: one of only nine pacers to win the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers; had 62 wins from 69 starts; the only horse to be made Harness Horse of the Year three times
* Brigadier Gerard: winner of 17 of 18 races in England, including the 2000 Guineas and 11 other Group I races; joint third highest Timeform flat rating of all time
* Buckpasser: won 15 consecutive races; one of the great broodmare sires
* Buena Vista: Won 6 Grade I races, including two of the Japanese Triple Tiara in 2009

### C

* California Chrome: won the 140th Kentucky Derby; won the Preakness; won the 2016 Dubai World Cup; two-time American Horse of the Year
* Carbine: outstanding racehorse and sire; winner of the Melbourne Cup
* Cardigan Bay: New Zealand's "million dollar pacer"; the first to win a million in the US; appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show
* Castleshane: winner of eight flat races and two jumps
* Charismatic: winner of the 1999 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
* Charles the Twelfth: winner of the St Leger Stakes in the year 1839.
* Cicero: winner of the 1905 Epsom Derby as the shortest-priced successful favourite in the history of the event
* Cigar: champion in the 1990s who won 16 consecutive races
* Citation: U.S. Triple Crown winner (1948); also won 16 consecutive major stakes races; first horse to earn $1 million
* Clairiere: winner of the 2021 edition of the Cotillion Stakes and 2-time winner of the Ogden Phipps Stakes in both 2022 and 2023.
* Cody's Wish: 2022 and 2023 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner, 2023 American Horse of the Year named after the late Cody Dorman who was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, he lived a long life until he died from the same disease on November 6th 2023 after he suffered a medical event.
* Contrail: 2020 Japanese Triple Crown winner
* Country House: Winner of Kentucky Derby 2019 after Maximum Security was demoted from 1st place for interference with other horses
* Crisp: remembered for his epic race in the Grand National with Red Rum
* Curlin: third richest US-based horse of all time, winner of 2007 Preakness Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic and 2008 Dubai World Cup

### D

* Daiwa Scarlet: First filly in 37 years to win the Arima Kinen
* Dan Patch: America's greatest pacer
* Danehill: American-bred and British-trained sprint champion who went on to become a champion sire in both the northern and southern hemispheres; the first major "shuttle stallion"
* Dance Smartly: second Canadian filly ever to win the Canadian Triple Crown, and the first to win a Breeders Cup Race
* Daring Tact: Winner of the Japanese Triple Tiara in 2020
* Dawn Run: only horse ever to complete Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham Gold Cup double
* Deep Impact: Japanese Triple Crown winner; also smashed the world record over 3200 metres and seven-time leading sire in Japan
* Desert Gold: race mare who won 19 races successive races during World War I; often raced against Gloaming
* Desert Orchid: won King George four times and Cheltenham Gold Cup
* Dr. Fager: "the Doctor"; set the world record at 1 mile on any surface, 1:32 1/5, and held it for more than 20 years. The only horse in American history who in 1968 won 'Racings Grand Slam'.
* Dream Journey: Winner of 3 GI races, including the Takarazuka and Arima Kinen of 2009. Full brother of Orfevre.
* Doncaster: very successful racehorse, sire of the great Bend Or
* Duramente: Japanese Derby winner, sired Titleholder and Liberty Island
* Dynaformer: Sire of Barbaro

### E

* Easy Goer: Hall of Fame champion who ran the fastest mile of all time on dirt by any three-year-old Thoroughbred in 1:32.2; ran the second fastest Belmont Stakes of all time behind Secretariat; had a great rivalry with Sunday Silence
* Eclipse: celebrated 18th-century racehorse that won 18 races in 18 starts; influential sire
* Efforia: Winner of 3 Grade I races in Japan.
* Eight Belles: first filly to win the Martha Washington Stakes, by a record 13½ lengths
* El Condor Pasa: Winner of Grade I races in Japan and France; first Japanese trained horse to finish 2nd in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
* Enable: twice winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, record three-time winner of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the 2018 winner of the Breeders' Cup Turf
* Epiphaneia: Won the 2013 Kikuka Sho and 2014 Japan Cup; sires the aforementioned Efforia and Daring Tact
* Equinox: Two-time winner of the Autumn edition of the Tenno Sho, as well as both Arima and Takarazuka Kinens, and the Dubai Sheema Classic
* Exaggerator: winner of the 2016 Preakness Stakes
* Exterminator: exceedingly popular "iron horse" of American racing history

### F

* Fair Play: successful American Thoroughbred racehorse and very successful sire; sired the great Man o' War
* Flyingbolt: widely considered as the second best Steeplechaser of all-time; stablemate of Arkle; Timeform rated 210. 2 lb inferior to Arkle
* Foolish Pleasure: Winner of the 1975 Kentucky Derby
* Forever Young: Winner of the 2025 Saudi Cup
* Frankel: undefeated in 14 career starts; highest rated flat race horse in history: WTR 140; Timeform 147, Racing Post 143
* Funny Cide: first gelding since Clyde Van Dusen to win the Kentucky Derby

### G

* Gainsborough: winner of the English Triple Crown; leading sire
* Galileo: seven-time Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland; sire of Frankel; has sired 102 Group 1 winners worldwide as of December 2015
* Gentildonna: Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown winner of 2012 and two-time winner of the Japan Cup (2012, 2013)
* Genuine Risk: second filly to win the Kentucky Derby (1980)
* Gloaming: won 19 successive races in New Zealand and Australia; record was 67 starts for 57 wins and 9 seconds
* Go Man Go: champion running Quarter Horse
* Gold Ship: Winner of 6 Grade I races in Japan, two of which was the Takarazuka Kinen
* Golden Miller: record five-time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup; only horse to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National in the same year
* Goldencents: American-bred Racehorse and 2-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in both 2013 and 2014
* Golden Sixty: Won the Champions Mile for three years in a row, as well as a number of other GI races in Hong Kong
* Goldsmith Maid: famous harness racing mare of the 19th century
* Good Magic: winner of the 2017 Breeders Cup: Juvenile, the 2018 Blue Grass Stakes and the 2018 Haskell Stakes
* Grass Wonder: Winner of the 1999 Takarazuka and Arima Kinen; sired Screen Hero and Earnestly
* Greyhound: named Trotting Horse of the Century in the US
* Gunrock: a Thoroughbred stallion who became the mascot of the UC Davis Aggies sports team

### H

* Haiseiko: Former-NAR racehorse who, after being moved to the JRA, won multiple high stakes races such as the Satsuki Sho and Takarazuka Kinen
* Hambletonian 10: the "father of American trotting"
* Haru Urara: Became "the shining star of losers everywhere" (負け組の星, makegumi no hoshi) as she never won a single race in her career.
* Hastings: sire of Fair Play, who in turn sired the great Man o' War, successful racehorse
* Heart's Cry: Handed Deep Impact his first defeat after clinching the Triple Crown at the 2005 Arima Kinen; also a successful sire
* Horlicks: New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame inductee; first filly to win the Japan Cup, as well as the first horse from the Southern Hemisphere to win the race
* Hurricane Fly: Irish hurdler, winner of a record 22 Grade I races
* Hyperion: winner of The Derby and the St Leger Stakes; top sire for six years in the UK

### I

* Iroquois: first American-bred racehorse to win The Derby
* Invasor: winner of the Uruguayan Triple Crown, as well as the Dubai World Cup and Breeders' Cup Classic
* I'll Have Another: winner of the 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
* Irish War Cry: Graded-Stakes Winner, noted for his win in the Wood Memorial Stakes and for finishing second in the 2017 Belmont Stakes
* Isinglass: sixth winner of the English Triple Crown (1892)
* Isonomy: very successful racehorse and sire of The English Triple Crown winner Isinglass.
* Itsmyluckyday is a multiple graded stakes winner who finished second in the 2013 Preakness Stakes to Oxbow and won the Woodward Stakes in 2014.

### J

* Jay Trump: three-time winner of the Maryland Hunt Cup and the Grand National
* John Henry: U.S. Champion Turf Horse (1980, 1981, 1983, 1984)
* Johnstown: winner of the 1939 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes
* Jungle Pocket: 2001 winner of the Japanese Derby and Japan Cup
* Justify: 2018 winner of the U.S. Triple Crown
* Just A Way: Won the Dubai Duty Free in 2014 at a record time still undefeated as of 2023, becoming the best rated horse that year as a result.

### K

* Katsuragi Ace: First Japanese-trained horse to win the Japan Cup
* Kauto Star: record five-time winner of the King George VI Chase
* Keen Ice: 2015 Travers Stakes winner
* Kelso: only five-time U.S. Horse of the Year, in the list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by The Blood-Horse magazine, Kelso ranks 4th
* Kincsem: Hungarian race mare and most successful racehorse ever, winning all 54 starts in five countries
* Kindergarten: weighted more than Phar Lap in the Melbourne Cup
* Kingston: all-time record holder of the most wins by a horse with 89
* Kingston Town: won three Cox Plates; first Australian horse to top $1million in stakes earnings
* King Kamehameha: Successful race horse and sire in Japan.
* Kissin George: one of America's premier sprinting Thoroughbred racehorses
* Kitasan Black: Won 7 Grade 1 races in Japan, owned by famous enka singer Saburo Kitajima; sire of Equinox
* Knicks Go: 2021 American Horse of the Year

### L

* La Troienne: most important broodmare of the twentieth century
* Lexington: America's leading 19th-century sire
* Liberty Island: 2023 Japanese Triple Tiara winner
* Longfellow: 19th-century runner and stallion
* Lonesome Glory: only five-time winner of American champion steeplechaser
* Lord Kanaloa: Two time winner of both the Sprinters Stakes in Japan and the Hong Kong Sprint
* Lottery: winner of the Grand National steeplechase in 1839
* Lookin At Lucky: winner of 2010 Preakness Stakes, sired Accelerate and Kentucky Derby winner Country House

### M

* Makybe Diva: won the Melbourne Cup on three occasions
* Malathaat: American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly, American Champion Older Dirt Female Horse and winner of the Ashland Stakes, Kentucky Oaks and Alabama Stakes.
* Man o' War: often considered America's greatest racehorse; won 20 of 21 career starts
* Manhattan Cafe: Winner of 3 Japanese Grade I races
* Maruzensky: Undefeated Japanese racehorse
* Master Charlie: winner of the 1924 Remsen Stakes, Tijuana Futurity, Hopeful Stakes, Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes; awarded 1924 American Champion Two-Year-Old-Male/Colt
* Maximum Security: Winner of Kentucky Derby 2019 before disqualification from 1st place for disturbing other horses
* Mejiro McQueen: Two-time winner of the Tenno Sho (spring), among other Grade 1 victories
* Mejiro Ramonu: First Triple Tiara winner of Japan
* Might and Power: World Champion Stayer (1997); Australian Horse of the Year (1998, 1999)
* Mr. Prospector: one of the most successful U.S. sires of the late 20th century
* Moifaa: first New Zealand horse to win the Grand National
* Mahubah: dam of Man o' War
* Mystik Dan: winner of the 2024 Kentucky Derby

### N

* Nakayama Festa: 2010 Takarazuka Kinen winner
* Narita Brian: 1994 Japanese Triple Crown winner
* Nasrullah: one of the most successful Thoroughbred sires of the 20th century, grandsire to Secretariat
* Native Dancer (also nicknamed the Grey Ghost): won 21 of 22 career races, with only loss in the Kentucky Derby; sire whose descendants have come to dominate modern Triple Crown racing
* Nearco: Italian bred Thoroughbred racehorse. ''Thoroughbred Heritage'' described him as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He was undefeated and his sire line was dominant.
* Needles: the first Florida-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby (1956), also won the Belmont Stakes
* Nest: multiple Grade 1 events winner
* Niatross: pacer who won 37 of his 39 races and broke many records, considered to be one of the greatest harness racers of all time
* Nice Nature: Nick-named "The Silver Collector", Nice Nature became known for finishing third in the Arima Kinen for 3 years in a row, and post-retirement became the focus of a donation drive to help retired horses like himself
* Night Raid: sire of Phar Lap
* Nijinsky: last horse to win the English Triple Crown (1970)
* Northern Dancer: Canada's champion on the racetrack; most successful sire of the 20th century
* Nyquist: 2016 Kentucky Derby winner

### O

* Oedipus: winner of the American Steeplechase triple crown
* Oguri Cap: JRA Hall of Fame inductee; winner of many G1 races and ushered in an era of heightened popularity of the sport during his racing career
* Oju Chosan: Steeplechase race horse who won numerous JG1 races, most notably winning the Nakayama Grand Jump five times in a row.
* Orb: 2013 Kentucky Derby winner
* Orfevre: winner of almost 20 million US dollars in earnings and is one of the highest earning racehorses ever
* Overdose: champion Hungarian sprinter and winner of 14 straight races.
* Oxbow: 2013 Preakness Stakes winner

### P

* Panthalassa: First Japanese horse to win the Saudi Cup
* Palace Malice: 2013 Belmont Stakes winner
* Peter Pan: winner of the Preakness Stakes, and had the Peter Pan Stakes named in his honor
* Phar Lap: Australia and New Zealand's most famed Thoroughbred racehorse; won 37 of his 51 career starts
* Pleasant Colony: 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner
* Popcorn Deelites: the main horse who played Seabiscuit in the Oscar Nominated film Seabiscuit
* Potoooooooo: 18th-century thoroughbred racehorse who won over 30 races and defeated some of the greatest racehorses of the time.
* Pretty Polly Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who won 15 consecutive races, fifth filly to win the British Fillies Triple Crown, record 24: 22-2-0

### Q

* Quevega: only horse in the history to win at six consecutive Cheltenham Festivals
* Queensway: won the Canadian Triple Crown

### R

* Rachel Alexandra: filly and winner of the 2009 Preakness Stakes
* Rakwool: Australian bay gelding, won the 1931 Grand National Steeplechase
* Roy Olcott: harness racehorse
* Real Quiet: winner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes; lost the third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, by a margin of four inches
* Red Rum: only horse in the history of the Aintree Grand National to win the race three times (placed second on two other occasions)
* Regret: first filly to win the Kentucky Derby (1915)
* Ribot: Thoroughbred undefeated in sixteen races
* Rice Shower: Winner of the 1992 Kikka Sho and two-time Tenno Sho winner; euthanized after breaking his leg during the 1995 Takarazuka Kinen
* Rich Strike: 2022 Kentucky Derby winner
* Roberto: 1972 Epsom Derby winner and sire of Brian's Time and Dynaformer
* Rock Sand: English Triple Crown winner (1903); sire of the dam of Man o' War
* Romantic Warrior: Winner of multiple Grade I races in Hong Kong, Australia, and Japan
* Round Table: sire of stakes winners; born in the same barn the same night as Bold Ruler, in 1954
* Ruffian: filly champion who won every race she started until her final (and fatal) race
* Ruthless: first ever winner of the Belmont Stakes, and the first of only three fillies ever to win the Belmont Stakes

### S

* Sadler's Wells: one of Europe's most successful sires of the late 20th century
* Satono Diamond: Winner of the 2016 Kikka Sho and Arima Kinen
* Sea Bird: second highest Timeform rated horse (rated 145)
* Sea the Stars: first horse ever to win the 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Derby, and Arc de Triomphe in the same year (2009)
* Seabiscuit: beat War Admiral in a nationally broadcast 1938 match race; like Phar Lap, raced during the Depression
* Sunday SilenceSeattle Slew: U.S. Triple Crown winner (1977)
* Secretariat: U.S. Triple Crown winner (1973); one of the most famous horses in Thoroughbred racing
* Sham: The main competitor to Secretariat during the 1973 racing season
* Shergar: winner of the 1981 Epsom Derby by a record 10 lengths, the longest winning margin in a race run annually since 1781; kidnapped by the IRA in 1983, and was held for ransom, but the owner syndicate refused to pay, fearing that valuable horses would become targets; the stallion was never found
* Shinzan: Japanese Triple Crown winner of 1964.
* Silence Suzuka: Winner of the 1998 Takarazuka Kinen whose legs broke in the Tenno Sho that same year, leading to his untimely euthanization.
* Silky Sullivan: a racehorse
* Sir Winston: Winner of 2019 Belmont Stakes
* Skewball: immortalized in 18th century poetry as a sku-ball winning against a Thoroughbred
* Smarty Jones: became the first unbeaten Kentucky Derby winner since Seattle Slew in 1977
* Sodashi: First white horse to win a Grade 1 race (Hanshin Juvenile Fillies), and also went on to win 2 other Grade 1 races in her race career
* Special Week: 1998 Tokyo Yūshun winner, as well as the Japan Cup and both Tennō Shōs
* Spectacular Bid: Hall of Fame champion who went undefeated as a four-year-old, and won 26 of 30 career starts
* St Lite: The first horse to win the Triple Crown in Japan
* Stay Gold: Dubbed "the Silver Collector" during his racing career; goes on to sire Orfevre, Gold Ship, and Oju Chosan
* Steel Dust: 19th-century quarter-mile racing horse.
* Stellar Wind: Stellar Wind is an American Thoroughbred racehorse, known for her Eclipse Award winning three-year-old season, and later for her rivalry with the champion mare Beholder.
* Still in Love: 2003 Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown winner
* Storm Cat: one of the most successful U.S. sires of the late 20th century
* St. Simon: Undefeated British racehorse and successful sire
* Sunday Silence: winner in the US; champion sire in Japan
* Sunline: first Southern Hemisphere horse to top $10million in stakes earnings; three-time Australian (2000-2002); four-time New Zealand Horse of the Year (1999-2002); 13-time Group 1 winner
* Swale: 1984 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner, died eight days after the Belmont win
* Symboli Kris S: Two time winner of the Arima Kinen, later sire of Epiphaneia
* Symboli Rudolf: Winner of the 1984 Japanese Triple Crown, and the first horse to win the Triple Crown undefeated.

### T

* Taiki Shuttle: JRA Hall of Fame inductee, two-time Yasuda Kinen winner and the first Japanese-trained horse to win the Prix Jacques Le Marois.
* Tamamo Cross: First horse to win both Tenno Sho's in the same year (1988)
* Tanino Gimlet: 2002 winner of the Japanese Derby; sire of Vodka
* Tanya: second filly ever to win the Belmont Stakes
* Tapit: Three time Leading sire in North America
* Tapwrit: won the 2017 Belmont Stakes, and set a new stakes record for the Tampa Bay Derby
* Ta Wee: two-time American Champion Sprint Horse, and won her second Fall Highweight Handicap, at 10 stone (140 pounds) and her second Interborough Handicap, at 10 stone 2 pounds (142 pounds)
* Ten Point: 1977 Arima Kinen winner who suffered a career ending injury that ultimately proved fatal despite efforts to save his life
* The Duke: first and second winner of the Grand National
* The General: Owned by the 10th United States president, John Tyler
* The Minstrel: winner of the Derby, Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
* Titleholder: Winner of 3 GI races in Japan, with his win at Takarazuka setting a course record in 2022.
* Tiznow: two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic
* T M Opera O: Became the Japanese Horse of the Year for the 2000 season after he went undefeated in all 8 races that he participated in, becoming the highest earning racehorse at the time in the process.
* Tokai Teio: Japanese Horse of the Year of 1991. After suffering multiple injuries including a broken leg, went on to win the 1993 Arima Kinen in the famous "Miracle Run".
* Tokino Minoru: Undefeated Japanese racehorse who died from tetanus 17 days after winning the Japanese Derby in 1951
* Tonalist: winner of 2014 Belmont Stakes, and two-time winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup
* Tuscalee: steeplechaser and all-time record holder for most wins in a season, and for most steeplechase wins overall
* Twenty Grand: winner of the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and Travers Stakes, also was champion 3-year-old and Horse of the Year of 1931
* Two Lea: successful broodmare and filly winner of the Hollywood Gold Cup

### U

* Unbreakable: grandsire of great Native Dancer
* Unbridled: winner of the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic and sire of the champion sire Unbridled's Song
* Unbridled's Song: Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, and sire of the great Arrogate
* Ushba Tesoro: Winner of the 2023 Dubai World Cup and the highest-earning horse in Japan

### V

* Vain: champion front runner; great, great grandsire of Black Caviar
* Varenne: Italy's most famous harness horse
* Vino Rosso: 2019 Breeders Cup winner
* Vodka: First filly in 64 years to win the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) in 2007
* Vo Rouge: fast frontrunner and 3-time winner of the C F Orr Stakes, had the Vo Rogue Plate named in his honor
* Voltaire: winner of the 1828 Doncaster Gold Cup
* Voltigeur: Won the Derby and the St Leger in 1850 and beat The Flying Dutchman in the Doncaster Cup. In 1851 Voltigeur was beaten by The Flying Dutchman in what was probably the most celebrated match race in the history of British thoroughbred racing.

### W

* War Admiral: fourth U.S. Triple Crown winner (1937)
* War of Will: Winner of 2019 Preakness Stakes
* Whistlejacket: Marquess of Rockingham's racehorse; painted by G. Stubbs (1762)
* Winning Colors: third filly to win the Kentucky Derby (1988)
* Winx: winner of 33 consecutive starts, including the Cox Plate four times
* Wise Dan: two-time American Horse of the Year (2012, 2013); won Breeders' Cup Mile twice (same years)
* Wishing Well: Dam of Sunday Silence
* Whirlaway: fifth American Triple Crown winner
* Whisk Broom II: first of four horses ever to win the New York Handicap Triple

### X

* Xaar: winner of Prix de Cabourg (1997), Prix de la Salamandre (1997)
* Xtra Heat: champion 3-year-old filly of 2001, and the only filly to win the Endine stakes twice

### Y

* Yeats: only horse ever to win 4 Ascot Gold Cups, also won 3 other group 1 races
* Your Host: winner of 1950 Santa Anita Derby, 1951 Santa Catalina Handicap, sire of the great Kelso

### Z

* Zabeel: New Zealand sire of Octagonal and Vengeance of Rain
* Zaccio: three-time winner of the Outstanding Steeplechase horse award in the 80s
* Zenno Rob Roy: The only horse since T M Opera O to have won the Autumn Tenno Sho, Japan Cup, and the Arima Kinen consecutively
* Zenyatta: won 19 of 20 starts; first mare to win the Breeders' Cup Classic (2009); first to win two different Breeders' Cup races (Ladies' Classic in 2008, Classic in 2009)
* Zev: winner of the Belmont Stakes and the Kentucky Derby, as well as winner of a match race against Epsom Derby winner Papyrus
* Zippy Chippy: infamous for racing 100 times and losing every single time