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Horse Racing

CombinatorialHard
20 min
35 pts

Description

Rank n horses by speed with limited pairwise races. Minimize races needed.

Game Rules

You have 25 horses and a 5-horse race track. What is the minimum number of races needed to find the top 3 fastest horses?

Examples

First: Race all 25 in 5 races (5 horses each)

Second: Race winners of first 5 races

Third: Race top candidates from previous races

Hints

  • Eliminate horses systematically

  • Use tournament-style elimination

Solution (Click to reveal)

7 races minimum: 5 initial races, 1 race of winners, 1 final race of top candidates.

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