What Is the Fastest Horse in the World?

The horse has won over the human heart with its elegance, its strength and its sheer magnificence. Its speed is something else entirely, which only makes it more fascinating. On the racetrack, the Quarter Horse can reach top speeds of nearly 95 km/h. So is it really the fastest horse out there? How do we measure a horse's speed in the first place? Here is everything you need to know about the fastest horse breeds.

A closer look at the power of horses

To work out which is the fastest horse in the world, we first need to understand the criteria used to gauge a horse's speed. A horse's average galloping speed sits between 15 and 21 km/h, while the fastest ones blow past 60 km/h. The gait itself plays a key role: walk, trot, canter, gallop and amble. The gallop is the fastest of them all. A horse can reach 60 km/h over a short stretch, and around 50 to 55 km/h over longer distances.

On top of that, stride length is the main factor behind a racehorse's speed, since the stride is the distance covered in a single bound. In practice, the fastest horse is the one that can move its legs quickly. A long-legged horse, by contrast, will struggle to keep up.

The stride rate is the number of strides a racehorse takes within a given time. The average stride rate sits between 130 and 140 strides per minute. Top performers can reach up to 160 strides per minute. The Quarter Horse has a faster stride rate than the Thoroughbred. The Thoroughbred, on the other hand, has to sustain its stride for far longer to cover greater distances.

The stride angle is another metric used to define a racehorse's speed. It is the gap between the horse's front foot and back foot in motion. This measurement is essential for working out how far the horse will stretch out during the race. As a result, the fastest racehorses tend to have wide stride angles.

The Thoroughbred: the fastest horse in the world

A racetrack horse through and through, often called the "lord of the racecourse," the Thoroughbred is without a doubt the fastest horse breed in the world. Bred for long-distance horse racing, the English horse consistently takes the top spots. Thoroughbreds are regulars at the most prestigious flat racing events, such as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the Prix de Diane, the Epsom Derby and the Jockey Club. They have a lean, muscular build with long legs - the perfect anatomy for long-distance racing.

Clocked at 71 km/h, "Winning Brew" is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest horse in the world. "Winning Brew" is a British-bred Thoroughbred with a strong track record in fast racing. At just two years old, he set his famous record at Penn National Race Course in 2008. By comparison, the average Kentucky Derby winner runs at roughly 60 km/h. He holds the title of fastest horse in the world thanks to his sheer power and outstanding speed.

This racehorse breed traces back to the 17th century. It originated in countries with a strong horse-racing tradition and can be worth a small fortune. Arabian horses were the ancestors of this purebred line, which explains their toughness and their speed. That said, the Thoroughbred is most often used for crossbreeding to improve other breeds. Crossed with the Arabian, it produces the Anglo-Arabian. The English Thoroughbred also has its own distinctive features. The breed is kept pure by mating only purebred individuals together. The strongest and fastest have always been selected for reproduction. The English racehorse breed can take on extreme physical effort. Its heart is unusually large, nearly twice the normal size. In the end, its unusual speed places it at the very top of all horse breeds.

The Quarter Horse: the fastest horse over short distances

Why has the Quarter Horse been ranked among the fastest horses in the world? It is an American horse known since the 16th century - a versatile, hardy breed. Clocked at 86 km/h, it has the fastest top speed of any horse breed. Since breeders have always focused on speed, the Quarter Horse holds the short-distance record over 400 m. It is a heavily muscled racehorse with a large, powerful hindquarters and a striking, sculpted physique. It also has solid legs and very muscular thighs. Its feet, however, are a little small for its overall size.

On the temperament side, this stallion is calm, affectionate, intelligent, very social, cooperative and incredibly responsive. Today, the Quarter Horse is mostly found in three countries: the United States, Canada and Mexico. That said, you can also come across this breed in other countries with a strong equestrian sports culture.

The Arabian Thoroughbred: incredible endurance

Hailing from the Middle East, the Arabian Thoroughbred is one of the oldest equine breeds out there. This saddle horse is a featherweight, tipping the scales at up to 400 kg and standing on average between 1.40 m and 1.55 m at the withers. Arabian horses are more about endurance than speed in equestrian competition. In fact, they are the most enduring of all horse breeds.

You would rarely see an Arabian Horse hitting top speeds of 64 km/h. Far slower than the Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred, this type of horse is especially loved for its huge stamina, which can carry it to victory in long-distance endurance races.

The Standardbred: the fastest harness racing horse in the world

Standardbreds are American trotting horses. The name itself tells the story: "Standard" speaks to speed and "Bred" simply means raised. This breed is known as the world's fastest trotting horse thanks to its harness racing performance. With its raw speed, it has covered 1,600 m in a record time of 1 min 46 s.

Developed in North America, this stallion comes from crossing the Thoroughbred with the Norfolk Trotter. At a glance, the body of a Standardbred looks a lot like that of the Thoroughbred. That said, its speed is driven by the musculature of its shoulders and hindquarters. Otherwise, it is a gentle animal with a great temperament.