Lady Wonder, the horse with supposed clairvoyant powers

Early 20th-century debates about horses with 'paranormal mathematical abilities' helped shape modern approaches to psychological research.

Meet Clever Hans, the 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations and read German

When Clever Hans was prompted with math questions, he responded by tapping his hoof to indicate his answers. Even a panel of experts found no indication of trickery in the horse's demonstrations. However, psychology student Oskar Pfungst found that Hans stopped tapping once a subtle cue on his owner's face told him to stop. The cues were so subtle that Wilhelm von Osten didn't even know he was giving them.

Teen rides stranded scared horse to safety—14 miles out of burning canyon

When wildfires tore through the Los Angeles area in 2025, resulting in one of the worst natural disasters on record, one 16-year-old equestrian named Kalyna Fedorowycz bravely rescued an animal. She saw a horse named Sovereignty in the evacuation zone of the still-raging Palisades Fire, and led and rode him for 14 miles to safety. Sovereignty was eventually reunited with his owner.

How Seabiscuit's DNA made him a winner

Seabiscuit's sudden success in the sport has been framed as a classic against-the-odds sports story. One Binghamton University molecular physiologist wanted to go a bit deeper, though, to see how much genetics played a role in the horse's legendary career. Using the horse's silvered hooves, his research team discovered that Seabiscuit's genotype was typically associated with late bloomers, a finding confirmed by the horse's track record.

Data suggests the typical horse produces over 12 horsepower—a unit of measurement for the rate of work done that was conceived as a marketing tool to communicate steam engine performance.

What made Secretariat, one of racing's most dominant horses, so exceptional

No horse had won the Belmont, the "Test of the Champion," by 31-lengths prior to 1973 when Secretariat did it, and no one has done it since. In this New York Race Association article, jockey Ron Turcotte recounts his iconic race and provides his unique bond with his horse. He also reflects on Secretariat's post-Triple Crown career, noting how he matured later on.

Twain claimed to possess 'mental telegraphy'

In an 1891 essay, the writer claimed to possess psychic powers. It’s something that seemingly supported by his mother and his own death: Twain predicted he would die the day after Halley’s Comet returned in 1910, which did indeed happen.

The man behind the Preakness' iconic weathervane, which features every winner's name

Since 1988, Lawrence Jones has climbed into Pimlico's cherry picker to paint the Preakness winners' silks on its iconic weathervane—a tradition born in 1909. This America's Best Racing profiles Jones, a retired graphic artist, and how he has to meticulously paint the weathervane—even under challenging conditions. Learn the rich history of the event, and what happened to the weathervane after the 1966 fire.

Horse diving was a popular attraction for 50 years

The event, which took place in Atlantic City, is exactly as it sounds: horses, directed by (sometimes scantily clad) riders, would jump from diving boards into pools. Although it was a popular spectacle for decades, it fell out of favor by the late 1970s.

Breaking down the jargon and strategy of horse betting

Placing bets on horse racing isn't the same as a football or basketball game. You can pick a winner (win), who will come in second (place), and even third (show). And all the bets placed on a race are pooled together and divided among the winners. This Top Ten Picks video teaches the mechanics behind each bet, and shares insider tips that can lead to more informed betting choices.

Paul Revere rode to Concord to warn rebel leaders of British attack

Revere was a well-known Boston messenger and an excellent horseman, known as a reliable relayer of messages. As Boston’s patriot leaders spread out into the areas around the city in fear of British arrest, Revere turned his skills to aid the revolutionary moment.

In the 1870s, a woman from Boston ran a Ponzi scheme disguised as a bank by women, for women that promised 8% interest.

Meet Pauline, the White House cow who made national news when she briefly went missing on her way to a dairy show.

A guide to the 13 Triple Crown winners

Only 13 horses have swept the Triple Crown since 1919—Sir Barton as the first, and Justify the last in 2018. This Blood Horse rundown lists them all, spotlighting Secretariat's 31-length 1973 Belmont and Baffert's dual crowns with American Pharoh in 2015 and Justify in 2018. Unpack the stats and sires behind racing's grueling five-week gauntlet.

Horses can—rarely—get West Nile, too

The animals can contract the virus via infected mosquito bites, but for horses there are four vaccines available. Though West Nile's often asymptomatic or mild in horses, the disease can sometimes be deadly, killing via severe neurological inflammation. There are no reported instances of people becoming sickened by infected horses or vice-versa.

Horses account for about 96% of known mammalian cases of West Nile virus infection beyond humans.

Sacagawea’s skills and presence were vital to the expedition’s success

The group hired French-Canadian trader Toussaint Charbonneau and his wife Sacagawea to serve as translators. Sacagawea became invaluable to the Corps, as she could speak Shoshone and had a familiarity with the geography of the region. Acting as interpreter and cultural bridge, Sacagawea helped secure Shoshone horses, identified key landmarks, and signaled peaceful intent to other tribes.

In 1898, Nikola Tesla wowed a crowd by controlling a boat with no visible connection

Some onlookers thought it was a trick, such a a monkey being inside the boat, rather than mind control or some other metaphysical phenomenon. In reality, Tesla was pioneering radio waves, proving wireless control was possible.

How one jockey became one of horse racing's most successful riders

Jockey Victor Espinoza is one of the most successful jockeys in recent American racing history, winning the Triple Crown in 2015 on American Pharoah, as well as seven Triple Crown races. This Paulick Report article, which came out prior to his induction into the Hall of Fame, dives into his background, career highlights, and what he focused on to become a successful jockey.

Decoding sports-betting language

The world of sports gambling is filled with insider lingo: What's a "spread"? How about a "moneyline" or a "parlay"? This resource breaks down the jargon, helping you navigate the industry or, at least, giving you the keys to talk about it.

What it takes to become a professional jockey

This short documentary follows a young, amateur jockey through early mornings and exhaustive gym sessions, where she rides a simulator made to look like real horses. It's a peek into a highly specialized (and highly unusual) athletic pursuit.

The Triple Crown, explained

Only 13 horses have ever won the Triple Crown—one of the most elusive titles in American sports. This explainer breaks down how the series works, why it's so difficult to win, and the legendary horses that defied the odds across the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.

The global horse market is worth about $400B

In this podcast episode from a new series on horses, Freakonomics explores the market around buying and selling some of the world's top sport horses, and the nebulous forces that make them so valuable.

The prophetic Oracle of Delphi was believed to have a direct line to the Greek god Apollo.

Horses have four licensed West Nile vaccines—but humans have none

A major hurdle for West Nile vaccine development is the lack of a market for it since so many people are symptomatic for the infections. Still, a growing number of infections, including a 40% spike in 2025, may change that calculation.

Watch Secretariat's legendary 1973 Belmont race

When the 1973 Kentucky Derby came around, it had been 25 years since a horse had won the Triple Crown. And then Secretariat laid down the fastest Derby, a record that stands today. Then he won a sloppy Preakness, setting up a chance at a Triple Crown. This video is the wire-to-wire coverage of the 1973 Belmont showing Secretariat winning by a record 31 lengths, and the after-race celebration.

Every Kentucky Derby-winning horse

Racing a thoroughbred isn't just about riding a horse as fast as you can. There is a complex racing strategy that forces jockeys to balance aggression and patience, conserving energy for that final stretch. This Kentucky Derby Winners article explores the split-second decisions jockeys make during high-pressure races, the moves they make to outsmart their opponents, and the importance of connecting with their horse.

An 18th-century woman tricked doctors into believing she gave birth to rabbits.

Washington systematically introduced and popularized mule breeding in the United States

Known as "the father of the American Mule," Washington imported a prized Spanish donkey and bred it with a female horse at Mount Vernon. He promoted mules as stronger, more efficient farm animals, helping spread their use across the South and transforming American agriculture.

Rowling adopted initials to appeal to young male readers

At her publisher’s suggestion, Joanne Rowling used the pen name “JK Rowling,” believing boys might be less likely to buy a fantasy novel written by a woman.

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey spent about $43M in 2015 to buy a 10% stake in Weight Watchers and join its board of directors, going on to lose 40lbs using the program.

The legend of the Chinese zodiac involves a race between animals

The legend of the Chinese zodiac says that to help people keep time, the emperor of the gods established a 12-year cycle, with each year symbolized by a different animal. To choose the animals, he held a cross-river race. Each of the winning animals used their unique skills to get across the river: The snake is sneaky, the rabbit is nimble, and the rat is cunning. These characteristics are believed to be mirrored by those born under the animals’ zodiac signs.

The long shot victory of Rich Strike at the Derby

Thanks to a last-minute scratch by Ethereal Road, Rich Strike made the 2022 Kentucky Derby field. He only had one win out of six races prior, and was listed as an 80-1 long shot. This USA Today article lays out the favorable draw and strategic ride that led to the biggest upset since 1913. Watch the wire-to-wire replay of his historic comeback and listen to the call by Larry Collmus.

What it means to call a bracket 'chalk'

If the tournament is rather boring, you might hear a curious word getting thrown around: "chalk." In short, it means that the favorites have been winning. The word's origins go back to horse racing and its sportsbooks, where bookies would post odds on chalkboards. Over time, the bookies came to be known as "chalk" and, years later, tournaments (and their brackets) that seemed to favor those bookies earned the name, too.

Stonehenge has produced wild origin stories

Built before the wheel was invented, Stonehenge inspired increasingly fantastical explanations—from a 12th-century tale of Merlin and Nephilim giants to 1960s claims that aliens built it alongside the pyramids.

Hysterical strength allows someone to lift a car off their child

When the body responds to an acute crisis—say a family member trapped under a car—people can sometimes perform seemingly superhuman feats. This is more than an urban legend: In 2012, a 22 year-old-woman lifted a vehicle off her father, and seven years earlier another man lifted a vehicle off a trapped cyclist. Yet scientists are still unraveling details about why this can occur.

Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' turned the fantasy genre upside down

A lot of 19th-century British fantasy was often stiff; its children’s literature was often overly didactic. Carroll’s novel—about a young girl who falls into an unusual world full—was neither, offering vivid, psychedelic imagery and seemingly nonsensical word games.

August A. Busch, Sr. was gifted a six-horse Clydesdale hitch to celebrate Prohibition’s end

This helped reveal the marketing power of a horse-drawn beer wagon, so it invested in a second six-horse Clydesdale hitch. The Clydesdales soon went to New York, where they drew a crowd of thousands en route to the Empire State Building. Anheuser-Busch even gifted a case of Budweiser to New York Governor Alfred E. Smith in thanks for his help in the fight against Prohibition.

Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of 'Wicked,' is named after 'The Wizard of Oz' author

Gregory Maguire named the Wicked Witch of the West after L. Frank Baum. “I tried Lafaba, I tried Lafeyba," he said. "And then I tried Elphaba. As soon as I got Elphaba, I thought, oh, that's it.”

Nobel Prize winner William Butler Yeats was fascinated by magic and the occult

The Irish poet and 1923 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature laid out his beliefs in a 1901 essay, entitled "Magic," and was a member of several organizations dedicated to occult and mystical practices.

Ray Bradbury said he was inspired to pursue writing after meeting a magician named Mr. Electrico, but scholars have never been able to confirm the story.

Ghosts can work as powerful literary devices

Noteworthy American novels like Toni Morrison’s "Beloved" tell us how spirits help deliver information and greater truths unknown to the characters. Wondering about our souls is common in literature, and the phantoms in these tales offer a unique way of contemplating the complicated experience of being human.

Horse racing's most notorious trainer

Few names are as synonymous with American horse racing as Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. He has trained seven Kentucky Derby winners and two Triple Crown winners. But he also amassed over 30 drug violations in his career. This LA Times article dives into the suspensions and bans, and gives Baffert a space to defend his complex legacy in horse racing. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The Lewis and Clark Expedition unexpectedly ran into Sacagawea's long-lost family in the Rocky Mountains.

Stephen Hawking's early rowing days shaped the bold persona for which he became known

Before gaining fame as a physicist, Hawking was a coxswain at Oxford, where the sport helped him find his social footing and develop leadership skills, even as his motor neuron disease began to emerge.

Using scientific bets, Hawking challenged and highlighted major physics ideas

Hawking famously placed wagers on high-stakes questions in theoretical physics—such as the Higgs boson—for fun and to draw attention to science. When Hawking lost a bet about Cygnus X-1 being a black hole, he paid up with a magazine subscription.

The 'maiden of maiden voyages' who taught the world how to fly

In 1939, Clara Adams set the world record for the fastest person to circle the globe via commercial airliner, though she was a passenger and not a pilot. This article explores the impact of Adams' journey on the commercial flight industry. During...

Auroral myths include Valkyries, firefoxes, and torchlight from giants fishing at night

In Norse mythology, the light displays were considered reflections from the Valkyries' armor as the female warriors brought the souls of heroes to Valhalla. In Finland, firefoxes were thought to move so fast that they created sparks in the sky as their tails brushed against mountains.

Researchers once thought Stonehenge functioned as a precise astronomical computer

In the 1960s, scientists used early computers to analyze the stone layout at Stonehenge, arguing it could predict eclipses and other celestial events. This BBC Sky at Night Magazine piece explains how the theory arose—and why scholars now doubt it.

Prediction markets—the platforms where users can trade bets that pay out depending on certain event outcomes—have faced questions about insider trading.