Brain Teasers & Mental MathHard

You have 25 horses and a track that races 5 at a time, with no stopwatch. What is the minimum number of races to find the 3 fastest horses?

Model answer

7 races.

Races 1–5: five heats of 5. Race 6: the five heat winners — its winner is the fastest horse overall.

Race 7: only five horses can still be 2nd or 3rd overall: the 2nd and 3rd from the…

The full, human-reviewed answer is in the bank.

Sign up free and Daily 10 serves you 10 questions a day from all 2,300+ — or go Pro for unlimited reps.

Pro unlocks every model answer — $19.99/mo.

Also want The 5-Day Rep Program? One short email a day for five days — the out-loud method, start to first offer-ready rep. Free.

Double opt-in: we email you a confirm link first — no confirmation, no emails. Unsubscribe anytime with one click.

More from Brain Teasers & Mental Math

Try the real thing

1 / 3
M&A & Merger ModelsMedium

What makes an acquisition accretive or dilutive to EPS?

Superday coming up? Take the cheat sheet.

The technicals and stories to have cold before you walk in — free, one email, no mailing list.

Free tier: 20 cards + 10 daily reps + ALL drills — no credit card required.