How Many Races to Find the Top 3 Horses from 25 with Only 5 Tracks?

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SUMMARY

To determine the top 3 fastest horses out of 25 using only 5 tracks, a minimum of 7 races is required. First, conduct 5 initial races with 5 horses each, ranking the horses within each race. Next, race the winners of each of the 5 races to identify the fastest horse. Finally, conduct a race with the second and third place horses from the races of the top three horses to finalize the top 3 overall. This systematic approach ensures accurate identification without the need for a stopwatch.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic racing logic and elimination methods.
  • Familiarity with ranking systems and comparative analysis.
  • Knowledge of combinatorial optimization techniques.
  • Ability to visualize and strategize race outcomes based on limited resources.
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  • Study combinatorial optimization strategies in competitive scenarios.
  • Explore decision-making frameworks in resource-constrained environments.
  • Learn about ranking algorithms and their applications in sports analytics.
  • Investigate game theory principles related to competitive racing and selection processes.
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Mathematicians, competitive strategists, game theorists, and anyone interested in optimizing selection processes in competitive environments.

Albert1
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you have 25 horses and you have to pick fastest 3 out of the 25. In each race
only 5 horses can run at the same time as there are only 5 tracks. what is the
minimax number of races to ensure the 3 horses can be chosen without using a stopwatch ?
(suppose the speeds of all horses are different)
 
Last edited:
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Albert said:
you have 25 horses and you have to pick fastest 3 out of the 25. In each race
only 5 horses can run at the same time as there are only 5 tracks. what is the
minimax number of races to ensure the 3 horses can be chosen without using a stopwatch ?
(suppose the speeds of all horses are different)
my solution:
after each race two horses will be eliminated from competition ,
so when race 8 is finished ,there are only 9 horses remained marked with $A_1,A_2,A_3,A_4,A_5,A_6,A_7,A_8,A_9$
we arrange race 9:$A_1,A_2,A_3,A_4,A_5$
race 10: $A_1,A_2,A_3,A_6,A_7$ $(A_4,A_5)$ out from race 9
race 11:$A_1,A_2,A_3,A_8,A_9$ $(A_6,A_7)$ out from race 10
after race 11 the top 3 can be produced
$25-11\times 2=3$
 
Last edited:

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