The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

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Fast and Furious

Fast and Furious

Win all the horse races in the game.

18.2%

How to unlock the Fast and Furious achievement in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Definitive Guide

Warning: It is possible that is achievement is missable (I need confirmation). It is also very buggy and prone to glitching so people cannot finish it.

I would recommend doing them before the point of no return. Since it appears some races may not be available after endgame. Some people experience the Velen races disappearing after the isle for example, others have said a patch fixed it so it is clearly still broken and may not remain in your quests so better safe than sorry.

There are 11 possible races for you to complete in the game. I've included a video by Powerpyx (all credit to them for the video) showing the locations of each to help you all out as well. I believe you can simply go to the areas in the video and do the races (I did for several and it was fine), however, you can also pick them up as missions from notice boards throughout the game.

1-3) Velen - Crows Perch: You get to pick which order you race the people in.
4-6) Novigrad - Vegelbud Residence You don't get to pick your opponents this time AND you have to have done the mission "Get Junior" before you are able to unlock these races. Thanks to thomaskorat for clarifying that for me.

Race 7 is obtained after Race 6 is complete. It is also the one I believe makes this achievement potentially missable. I recommend saving after race 6 just to be sure. After completing race 6 (start to leave the area) I was approached by someone and given a message. You must read the message from Carlo Varese (cleaver) and visit him in Novigrad in order to take part in this race. I believe it is possible to fail this race (I am sure I did the first time so Reloaded and replayed to ensure I won) so a save prior to doing it is a good idea. I've also heard reports of this mission glitching during so people can't finish it.
*Confirmed. Failing the race nulls your achievement so save prior!

8) Skellige - Rannvaig
9) Skellige - Fayrlund
10) Skellige - Blandare/Palisade

11) Final race is in Skellige - Larvik

Race 11 SHOULD unlock after all the other races are done. However, for me and other people it has glitched where the person you talk to in order to start the race isn't showing up making it impossible to start and finish the race. I have no fixes for this as of yet as my personal reloading to an earlier save didn't work. They may patch it in the future or you may just have to get it on a second playthrough.
Edit: This should potentially be fixed with patch 1.07

As others have mentioned the tips for horse racing usually involve sprinting and trying to position yourself in front of your opponent to prevent them passing when you need to recharge stamina. Luckily most races are repeatable to give you several tries. Completing Races also gives you better gear. Including more inventory carry weight, more horse stamina and horse blinkers to help with horse fear. So you can save your money and not buy horse gear from merchants. It can also make Races much easier (especially the extra stamina).

Edit: NicholiGinavaef mentioned in the comments where to find the Mastercrafted Cavalry Saddle with 75 stamina:

"in the Smuggler's Cache north of Kaer Almhult. Kear Almhult is the small island west of Eldberg Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is north of the village Arinbjorn on the western side of the main island in Skellige. This saddle is not one of the race prizes that gets handed out. A lot of stamina really make these races easy."

If you vote negative could you let me know why so I can improve this solution because as of now I'm not sure how much is accurate and how much is the game having a few bugs.

A video showing locations by PowerPyx for a visual guide if you don't have the notice board quests and wish to find them.

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28 May 2015 22:31

49 Comments
Yay, so Ciri's race doesn't count (I failed that one).
Vegelbud races note:
"You’ll have to finish the main quest Get Junior for these races to unlock."
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By thomaskorat on 30 May 2015 21:08
Ahh brilliant thank you. I knew you had to at least go there during Broken Flowers (I know for a fact I wasn't able to do it prior) but I wasn't sure how much I had to progress because I had passed those missions before I went back to do the races so that helps. Thank you very much I'll add that in.
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By Flezza on 30 May 2015 21:32
Vengelbud races are glitched for me. ive completed them 3 times now but the quest is still in my quest log, but all markers are ticked. may have to leave this till next patch
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By Techaroo on 02 Jun 2015 06:52
ignore me, next time i'll engage brain before opening gob lol once i finished vengelbud i walked down the stairs to get an invite to another race. the palio i think its called. its a race at night in which cleaver sponsors you.
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By Techaroo on 02 Jun 2015 07:06
Lmao don't worry about it. Honestly I like this game but there are so many bugs it could have glitched for you and I wouldn't have been surprised. Yeah Cleaver I should add his nickname I just used the name above his head =p But yeah That is the one I think you can fail and miss the achievement with.
I could be wrong but until confirmation I figure better safe than sorry!
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By Flezza on 02 Jun 2015 13:14
i'm having some trouble finding cleaver in novigrad, i've been all around the waypoint area several times am i missing something?
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By missionBoo on 04 Jun 2015 10:13
I will say if you are hoping for a patch CD Projekt Red are a very cool developer and put a lot of time into their games, I would be extremely surprised if this didn't get patched.
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By JayD101 on 04 Jun 2015 11:44
Ah found him! Cheers Flezza
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By missionBoo on 04 Jun 2015 19:06
Hey man glad you managed it! He's a little awkward so just glad I could help.
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By Flezza on 05 Jun 2015 09:58
I have gone back to Velen to do the races but they are not there anymore, whats going on? i have done the skellige ones and i have the marker for the Vegelbud Residence
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By Fa1con87 on 05 Jun 2015 13:16
I have gone back to Velen to do the races but they are not there anymore, whats going on? i have done the skellige ones and i have the marker for the Vegelbud Residence
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By Fa1con87 on 05 Jun 2015 13:45
I have gone back to Velen to do the races but they are not there anymore, whats going on? i have done the skellige ones and i have the marker for the Vegelbud Residence
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By Fa1con87 on 05 Jun 2015 13:57
Dude I have no idea. I did mine in the order of the above text and video and minus the last one bugging out so I couldnt start and finish the race to get the achievement I had no trouble.

Honestly have no clue. If the Vegelbud races were available earlier for you (as mentioned you need to to do the missions Get Junior and in my case Broken Flowers also) Maybe if you make too much story progress it messes it up also? Maybe it's funny if you do them out of order? Maybe it glitched? Maybe a mix of all three?

But really I have no info for you lol. I can only guess and assume. Sorry!

I can only suggest trying an earlier save see if they show up and then do them before the skellige races see if it makes a difference but obviously that isn't 100% helpful. Or I can hope that someone other than me sees it and can help you better than me!
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By Flezza on 05 Jun 2015 18:37
@ JayD101 - sorry but please stop defending Witcher 3, they delayed it purely to polish it and promised there wouldn't be bugs like other games as of late. Funny however because there are numerous quest breaking bugs whilst on PC there are game breaking bugs.

People like you keep saying things like the size of the game but Halo MCC is 4 games merged onto 1 disc which is a mammoth task in itself and all things considered with sp, coop & mp from 2 platforms etc etc etc, that collection's size dwarf's the scale of Witcher 3 yet people moan & moan about how broken it is.

Horse race wise, I was a little confused as to the quest "Get Junior" as I'm taking thing's quite slow, making sure I've completed things before they get locked off, exploring etc, so I'm only on Broken Flowers quest at the moment and finished the horse race in the Vegelbud Residence. So I'll have to come back at a later stage then to do 4-6?
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By AG Bucky Barnes on 06 Jun 2015 11:54
Lmao which proves my game just buggered up completely around that time (cause I know I literally finished Broken Flowers and went straight to the race track at the side of the residence and there was an NPC up in the stands I could start races with) so that is great info to have confirmed. Thank you for that!

Yeah the last mission you mentioned will disappear! I remember doing part of it but hadn't "handed" it in with Cleaver and got a failed mission notification after progressing on with the story so had to reload. So worth while getting it done before progressing you are right!
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By Flezza on 06 Jun 2015 16:29
Sigh, my mission 11 is glitches too. I've had everything work out to where I can do everything in one playthrough but I guess I'll have to do another just for this if they don't patch it.
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By J2B9 on 07 Jun 2015 03:47
Without a doubt lol it's quite sad that it is so broken & buggy. Guarantee the race master wasn't there as I was all over the race track stands where you were in the first outing with that Nilfgaard general, now there's an exclamation mark on the minimap and the NPC.

Juggling the secondary & main quests... ugh, I don't remember it being nearly this annoying in Witcher 2. What's even more irritating is some Witcher contracts are definitely broken *facepalm*

Thanks for the write up, fingers crossed nothing goes wrong in these races now! laugh
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By AG Bucky Barnes on 08 Jun 2015 10:28
Man I'm sorry you keep hitting all these. But don't apologise, especially with any bugs you may encounter. Someone might pop in and see you had the same problem which is always relieving.

The 7th race one happened to me also, I figured it was suppose to end there but had went wrong. It ended so weird like you said and it took ages to get the the cutscene for me that I thought it had completely broken and I was so close to switching off my xbox (I couldn't even press pause lol it had me stuck in the city entrance unable to move).

It did finally get into the cut scene and continue on though. So thank omega for that.

Honestly have no idea if any of these would have affected my achievement anyway, even if the last race master had of shown up. The number of people I see (ps4 and xbox users) saying the cheevo /trophy never popped on YT vids etc makes me wonder.

Well thanks for the updates on potential race bugs! Always come in handy for people to know! I'll also hope you don't run into anymore lol!
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By Flezza on 08 Jun 2015 13:15
Crows Perch races are just missing for me, quest just disappeared, must have glitched at some time. Was able to finish all other though no problem.
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By link1873 on 08 Jun 2015 23:45
Pretty sure I've done all the races and just finished the one Larvik. Nothing has popped yet and was wondering if anyone has encountered delays or anything. During the Cleaver race I also encountered a strange and unsual long time of sitting there waiting at the finish line after I crossed it for them to congratulate me. Not sure if this has caused some sort of glitch for it not to pop. Will reload an earlier save tomorrow and do them in a different order to see if it'll pop then.
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By Jeinsel on 09 Jun 2015 06:40
I don't have any info that would help but the not popping thing I've seen from both console users. It would not surprise me at all if it was caused by something like race 7 glitching out the way it did for us. I'd check to see if it'd not pop for me if I had found a way to get the last race to start without restarting.

So yes please, if you reload and that race goes smoothly and it pops at the let us know. That would be great to know.
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By Flezza on 09 Jun 2015 10:53
I can't talk to the racers in velen anymore. Do I need to do the races in any specific order?
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By Carnifox94 on 09 Jun 2015 18:49
I wouldnt know. Given the amount of glitches I experienced in the races and only having done one playthrough, that wasn't one I experienced (Luckily maybe, seems I hit most the others lol).

Wouldnt surprise me if they were tetchy about being out of order or if any were tetchy about story progress or even a mix of both.

Can't really tell you for sure that is the case but unless the races get a patch or we get deffo confirmation on anything that voids the cheevo (like working as intended but progressing too far makes missions disappear etc) may be worth doing them in the above order in a new/reloaded playthrough to try maximise the chance of popping the cheevo.

Unless someone else with more knowledge cann help you! Someone with a fix or reason and more knowledge on that problem than me! Sorry!
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By Flezza on 09 Jun 2015 23:58
Want to mention I found what I think is the best saddle in the game. Mastercrafted Cavalry Saddle - Stamina 75 in the Smuggler's Cache norht of Kaer Almhult. Kear Almhult is the small island west of Eldberg Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is north of the village Arinbjorn on the western side of the main island in Skellige. This saddle is not one of the race prizes that gets handed out. Alot of stamina really make these races easy.
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By NicholiGinavaef on 17 Jun 2015 16:48
That is really handy thanks! I hadn't found that so when I do a second playthrough for this achievement I'll make sure to get it!

I'll also update this solution, with credit to you of course, to help others when I'm on a laptop and able to do so! Thanks!
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By Flezza on 17 Jun 2015 17:09
Fixed with patch 1.07
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By William723 on 18 Jul 2015 03:24
It appears the Crow's Perch races are inaccessible once you complete the game. And as of 1.08, this is still the case.
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By MuBtafa on 10 Aug 2015 02:35
Thanks for the guide. I lost the race number 7 in my first gameplay, and now in NG + I followed this tutorial and got the achievement. Qualified.
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By Loadme Tacos on 17 Sep 2015 13:57
Yup I'm having the Crows nest issue too, but the quests don't even show up as failed in my log, they're just gone, must be a bug :(
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By Neomaster on 06 Jan 2016 09:57
I have done all races and no unlock. Won them all including Race 7 with no issue. Any ideas? Could this be a delayed unlock or is it most likely bugged out?
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By Han D Maiden on 19 Feb 2016 02:33
-Crows Nest races are accessible after completion of the last chapter of the game as of this writing (Jan 2017). There likely was a patch.
-Vegelbud races still available after completion of the last chapter of the game.
-You lose the ability to continue races if you fail 7 (confirmed). This does not fail the quest, but it makes it impossible to continue. Please remember to save before you speak with Cleaver, as this will catapult you directly into the race after speaking with him.
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By VeloursNoir on 09 Jan 2017 02:02
All races and no unlock. Maybe during NG...
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By Vex 93 on 26 Jan 2017 02:41
race 7 is crap. As soon as I let my horse regain stamina and another racer overtakes me, the race instantly ends and I lose.
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By Artemas on 26 Feb 2017 23:17
Anyone having trouble completing the last race and has the Hearts of Stone DLC, here's a trick: beat that entire Questline and side with Gunter O'Dimm. When he offers you a gift, tell him you want to be as fast as wind. You'll get a saddle with 100 stamina, but more important, it turns Roach into a demon horse and incapacitates anyone chasing you (i.e. Racing competition). You can trot to the end if you like and the 100 stamina will just be gravy.
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By CracklyKlover on 05 May 2017 00:38
You should clearly point out that the Velen races are no longer available. Because I checked closely to see what quests failed after going to the Isle of Mist. The horse racing was not one of them. It has been confirmed and is still broken. The quest just completely disappears and you can no longer do them. I luckily kept a save before going to the Isle of Mist to do this. Many others are screwed over as they will have to play a good portion of the game again if they want this one achievement.
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By Hexa Fox on 13 Aug 2017 08:36
I mean I did say at the top to do it before the Isle of mists as people had said some races are no longer available. Especially cause some said a prior patched fixed that for them so it isn't 100% guaranteed to disappear.

Though given I did them all before I was not sure which ones or if all of them happened that way.

If people clarify for me I'm always happy to update with specifics.

You said Velen is still buggy despite the earlier patch so I'll make note of it again.
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By Flezza on 13 Aug 2017 18:33
Best way for me because I screwed up race 7...
When I started the DLC, it has all the world's unlocked, so I just did the races through the DLC. Screw new game +
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By Bratticus182 on 03 Jul 2020 19:28
Just wanna the MC Saddle with 75 stamina can easily do the first 3 skellige races on one bar of stamina.
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By HoggyBear08 on 24 Dec 2021 18:28
@Bratticus182 I've tried that way: Velen races are unavailable since there's no related side quest at Crow Perch innkeep notice board.
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By Nupra79 on 27 Nov 2022 12:11
I won them all and I didn't pop
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By Gut gulper on 22 Jan 2023 20:06
I'm not exactly sure! This game is buggy as hell I'm afraid. I think he is fairly awkward to get to in general? (Or maybe I just found him to be).

Think if you go to hierarch square (there is a fast travel sign there) and head west, past the money exchange/bank you can head into an alley on the right (I think it's the right and I think it has stairs? I honestly cannot remember off the top of my head)around there that leads to his office?

(I think >.>)

Unless you are aware of that and it's just being buggy for you which would not surprise me at all.
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By Flezza on 04 Jun 2015 10:23
I wish I could tell you for sure man! I wasn't even aware of the Get Junior thing! That was given to me in a helpful comment.

I was only able to do it after Broken Flowers (But I cannot for the love remember if I had already done Get junior by that point). You could always try going back, if you can't race there after finishing Broken flowers then you might have to progress the story a little and come back yeah!

Sorry I'm really not extra helpful. My game was a tad glitchy when it came to the horse races at times and I can't be sure what parts were prerequisites or what potentially got messed up !
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By Flezza on 06 Jun 2015 14:26
All good, believe "Get Junior" quest doesn't appear until after Broken Flowers, just finished that quest and have a couple of secondary quests to do now before pressing on with Get Junior.

I'll have a look at that estate and see if I can race before hand and try let you know the result if that helps confirm or what ever.

*yeah just explored the Vegelbud Residence and can't see where you would even start it, can't get inside, been down by the race track, no NPC about even after meditating so imagine it's as you've been informed that it must be after the quest =)

Main quests yet to complete:
Count Reuven's Treasure, Get Junior

Secondary:
Gangs of Novigrad (which I imagine will disappear if progressing too far on those main quests.
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By AG Bucky Barnes on 06 Jun 2015 16:21
**sorry for the ton of posts but I just finished race 7 the one from Cleaver, I came across a weird bug, the race line (horsePS) has you go into the city and it just disappears; it lead me to believe I had took a wrong turn, I go back and see the other 2 competitors sat near the fast travel sign, waited a while but nothing. Went to the map in the pause menu but nothing, unpaused the game and after a couple of seconds the quest completed and went to a cutscene. Can understand it glitching out here as I thought it bugged out on me too =S crazy stuff.

Oh that's hilarious, one of the races on Skellige, mid race guess what? A BUG! The horse keeps sprinting (legs moving) but you come to a complete dead stop whilst everyone else goes past you - like you just hit an invisible wall. To that guy earlier, sorry but this game is BUGGY AS HELL!!
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By AG Bucky Barnes on 08 Jun 2015 11:38
Guys, it's not exactly glitched. When you go to the Isle of Mists, it says it will void some sidequests. I'm fairly certain it voids the Velen races for some reason. I loaded up my only save from before that quest and I was able to do them.
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By OOOHHH YEAAHHH on 11 Jun 2015 03:06
Well I already mentioned progressing the story may affect them in all my replies but I also have zero idea where they are story wise since they didn't mention.

Hence having zero clue if it's about progress or if it's glitching (giving I ran into many prior to that story progress point it wouldnt surprise me.
Mine was voided before getting to it lol.)

But yes, I'll say again with you that it could also be progress related lol.
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By Flezza on 11 Jun 2015 09:25
Lol woah there dude. I did not mean anything by it. "As hell" is something I just say a lot. Maybe it's just a thing with me and my friends. Maybe a north east England thing. No idea. Whichever I certainly didn't mean the game was bad/terrible/broken/unplayable. Yes majority of bugs are minor and most don't affect achievements or your ability to play but there are a good few minor ones (I've ran into a few waypoints being completely off/people not turning up/actually getting stuck in the air a few times too myself. Nothing fast travelling, reloading or ignoring the waypoint hasn't fixed). Certainly, as you said, with the scope there aren't an overwhelming amount.
Although my friend did manage to run across a glitch where the 7th race would do nothing but black load screen then kick him to an angry dwarf like he'd lost the race so he wasn't able to complete it. Reloading back a bit fixed it for him but still. That could null the achievement also. Which is why I added the warning about that race potentially glitching. So like the last race, it could glitch there to null the achievement for you.

I wont be doing another playthrough for a while either so I wont be able to check this either. I could always try reloading to an earlier save again. If I have one not miles back of course. Though again that might not be for a little while so!

Lol yes they are a good developer. I wouldn't ever claim to say otherwise. I would also be surprised if they didn't patch it but i sort of have to say "may" since I actively don't know 100% that they would/will. It is more than likely it will be at some point though.
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By Flezza on 04 Jun 2015 12:11
I personally have no clue, not sure if anyone else might be able to help though.

Does the achievement have 100% done on it (if so probably delayed unlock), if not it is possible one hasn't registered for some reason. Can you repeat the races? Honestly, haven't been on in a while so I am not sure if you can or not (I know race 7 would be impossible for sure) but if it is possible to redo perhaps you could try them again see if the one that didn't register hits.

If you can't do so after you win then I am honestly stumped and other than reloading an older save and retrying the last race(s) again or doing it annoyingly on a NG/NG+ I have no clue how to help!

I do hope it's just unlocked and not bugged for you though.
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By Flezza on 19 Feb 2016 05:26
Buggy? Considering the size and scope of this game I don't think you can say it's buggy as hell! There are a few minor bugs but the only achievement breaking one is the last race for this achievement.

I'm almost certain the problem is caused by starting the Heroes' Pursuits by 1st starting a race by randomly finding the start of it and not by talking to the Freya Priestess with the Horseshoes. If you then go and do the "In Wolf's Clothing" side quest you will notice the same Freya Priestess is standing to the left of Josta in the temple.

To ensure the achievement you would need to start the Heroe's Pursuits by going and talking to Horseshoe lady at her exclamation mark in Larvik and don't do the "In Wolf's Clothing" sidequest until you have finished all the pursuits including the final. I haven't tested this as It will be a while before I do another play through so probably best just to do all the races before doing anything else in Skellige. The reason I am quite sure about this is I watched a video of horshoe lady and read on another site of someone testing the glitch by saving before and after doing In Wolf's Clothing the lady who you have to talk to is then gone. In the temple where the priestesses are there is one that looks the same. NPCs are often copied but It sounded like for some reason the Wolf's Clothing quest pulls her away. Also starting the races from a race start position and not from horseshoe lady in Larvik.

Hopefully it gets patched but either way, I'm planning to do another playthrough when the expansion comes out so can just get it then. It is a big time commitment though so I can understand many people not wanting to do another run through the whole game!
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By JayD101 on 04 Jun 2015 11:40
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There is a misconception that this achievement can be missed if you do not complete the 3 races at Crow's Perch prior to visiting the Isle of Mists. Many quests become unavailable at that time, and add a failed entry to the journal. The Races: Crow's Perch quest simply vanishes entirely.

It cannot be completed between your visit to the Isle of Mists and the end of the game. However, the quest will re-appear in your journal in the post-game, after you re-appear in Kaer Morhen following the credits.

For this reason, the only way that you can fail this quest is by failing race 7 (the race for Cleaver in Novigrad), which you get only one attempt at. If you do not win that race, you may not re-attempt it.

However, if you did not complete the Crow's Perch races early in the game (Like I did not), you may still do them after completing the game. They are then particularly easy since they are short enough to not run out of stamina with the best available saddles from Hearts of Stone or Blood and Wine.
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01 Feb 2018 14:17

2 Comments
Oh man if this is true I will hug you(maybe I'll just give you a thumbs up). I've done the Isle of Mists but haven't completed the story and was feeling bummed that the races were gone, now I need not despair.
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By pezboyben on 07 Mar 2019 13:11
Alright I'm back, thumbs up from me, after completing the story the Crow's Perch races reappeared, I completed the three of them and the achievement popped. I also slept in the bed in Corvo Bianco first for a stamina boost just to make it even easier, had way more than enough stamina to sprint the whole race.
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By pezboyben on 24 Mar 2019 07:12
Warning: This achievement is missable.

I would recommend doing them before the point of no return since it appears some races may not be available after endgame. Better safe than sorry!

There are 11 possible races for you to complete in the game. I've included a video by Powerpyx (all credit to them for the video) showing the locations of each to help you all out as well. I believe you can simply go to the areas in the video and do the races (I did for several and it was fine), however, you can also pick them up as missions from notice boards throughout the game.

1-3) Velen - Crows Perch: You get to pick which order you race the people in.
4-6) Novigrad - Vegelbud Residence: You don't get to pick your opponents this time AND you have to have done most of the mission "Get Junior" before you are able to unlock these races. Once it is unlocked there will be a crier in Hierarch Square announcing The Great Erasmus Vegelbud Memorial Derby and you can pick up a flier to start the quest.

Race 7 is obtained after Race 6 is complete. It is also the one that makes this achievement potentially missable. I recommend saving after race six to make sure you don't miss your invitation. After completing race 6, start to leave the area and you will be approached by someone and given a message. You must read the message from Carlo Varese (Cleaver) and visit him in Novigrad in order to take part in this race. It is possible to fail this race, so a save prior to doing it (ie, just before talking to Cleaver) is a good idea.

8) Skellige - Rannvaig
9) Skellige - Fayrlund
10) Skellige - Blandare/Palisade

11) Final race is in Skellige - Larvik

You can do the first three Skellige races (Heroes Pursuits) in any order, and race 11 will unlock after beating all three.

The main tips for horse racing usually involve sprinting and trying to position yourself in front of your opponent to prevent them passing when you need to recharge stamina. Luckily most races are repeatable to give you several tries. Completing Races also gives you better gear, but what you should focus on is getting the best saddle for the purposes of this achievement since it is the piece of gear that gives Roach additional stamina.

If you have any of the paid DLC you can get especially good saddles:

Hearts of Stone has the best saddle in the game as possible reward for the very end (though you may want to pick another end for RP reasons) at 100 stamina. There is also one you can get fairly easily from this DLC by winning a race against an Ofieri merchant - the Ofieri stock saddle at 85 stamina.

All the saddles added by the Blood and Wine expansion have 90 stamina.

If you don't have any paid DLC the best saddle you can quickly and easily get for the harder races is the Undvik Saddle (75 stamina) from the free Skellige Armor DLC which can be bought from the armorer at Kaer Trolde. There is a saddle from the base game with the same amount of stamina (the Mastercrafted Calvary Saddle) but it's a bit of a bear to track down.
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07 Mar 2020 00:00

*Missable Trophy*
There are 11 horse races that you need to win. 3 in Velen, 4 in Novigrad, 4 in Skellige. It's recommended that you complete them in the order shown in this video guide as some races can only be played if you won certain other races already. The races in Velen are all at the same location and the track is the exact same. There’s a note for them on the quest board in Crow’s Perch which will lead you to the races (if it’s not available to you then keep playing the story for a bit). The first 3 of Novigrad are also in the same place, at the Vegelbud residence (complete “Get Junior” Main quest to unlock). Keep talking to the quest giver to ride against the other opponents. After winning the 3 Vegelbud races someone will talk to you and give you a note that you must read. This will bring you to the final Novigrad race. If you lose it, you cannot repeat it! Make a backup save before this race, or reload your latest auto save to avoid missing out. Also, Race: Crows Perch is missable if you go to the Isle of the Mist before completing it.

The ones on Skellige all have their own unique location. See the video guide below for all their starting points:

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There are 11 horse races that you need to win.

-3 in Velen
-4 in Novigrad
-4 in Skellige

It's recommended that you complete them in the order shown in this video guide as some races can only be played if you won certain other races already.

The races in Velen are all at the same location and the track is the exact same. There’s a note for them on the quest board in Crow’s Perch which will lead you to the races (if it’s not available to you then keep playing the story for a bit).

The first 3 of Novigrad are also in the same place, at the Vegelbud residence
(complete “Get Junior” Main quest to unlock).
Keep talking to the quest giver to ride against the other opponents. After winning the 3 Vegelbud races someone will talk to you and give you a note that you must read. This will bring you to the final Novigrad race. If you lose it, you cannot repeat it! Make a backup save before this race, or reload your latest auto save to avoid missing out.
Also, Race: Crows Perch is missable if you go to the Isle of the Mist before completing it.

The ones on Skellige all have their own unique location. See the video guide below for all their starting points:



My Personal method to "cheat" during the race was whenever Roach ran low on stamina and the person I was racing was right behind me, I would slowly turn my horse sideways and block the path, effectively jamming my opponent from passing me. Once my stamina had regenerated I raced past them quickly and more often than not won the race.
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11 Oct 2016 22:11

In total, there are 11 horse races in the Northerm Realms. Winning each of the horse races will net "upgrades" to your horse, Roach. Such upgrades include saddlebags that allow you to carry up to 100lbs of extra weight in your inventory, racing saddles that will give Roach more stamina, and blinders so Roach won't get frightened by monsters so quickly.

The first 3 races are located in Velen and their side quest can be triggered by visiting the notice board in Crow's Perch and reading the note that mentions "Horse Races." The 4 races in Novigrad are split between two locations, but their side quest can be triggered by visiting Hierarch Square (Novigrad) and picking up the Memorial Derby flyer from a Merchant after completing the main story quest entitled "Get Junior." After winning the third race, one of Cleaver's guards will invite you to an exclusive race. If you lose this race, you must reload your previous save file (or previous auto-save checkpoint) and try again since it cannot be repeated. The remaining 4 races are located in Skellige, and their side quest, "Heroes' Pursuits," can be triggered by entering the first race just outside the quaint village of Rannvaig on Ard Skellig.

All in all, some of the races have an entry fee and some of them don't, so be prepared with some crowns before traveling to these races and expecting to enter right away. Also, make sure to keep Roach in the center of the road at all times during the races, watching for dips and obstacles where he might leap. Once all 11 races have been completed, the achievement will finally be yours. Go ahead and utilize the video guide below for the locations of all 11 races across Velen, Novigrad, and Skellige.

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You can miss the trophy!

It is not known whether it is a bug or by design, but the Races in Velen can be skipped. From the journal, after completing the main storyline, even if the quest has already been taken, it simply disappears and cannot be taken again. I recommend completing races as soon as they open
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05 Jun 2015 01:42

12 Comments
Advice on the horse racing itself. When the horse’s energy drops, you can block the path of your opponents so that they don’t overtake you while the horse’s energy is restored.
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By Luxor32 on 06 Oct 2015 10:45
Now (apparently with the new patch) the quest for horse racing when completing the quest for a maniac is turned off only temporarily, because the estate is involved in this quest. When you kill the maniac, horse racing will be available AGAIN.
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By Rinlan_Darius on 05 Oct 2015 18:19
Before the race, I recommend visiting a merchant from Ophir and winning a saddle with +85 energy from him in a simple race (and at the same time buying Ophir bags and blinders).
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By Tabitha on 23 Apr 2016 07:21
The Vegelbud races (Novigrad) will disappear if you first go on the quest to look for the maniac who attacked Priscilla, namely after you return to the morgue after collecting evidence and research.
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By katt_fox on 14 Sep 2015 10:07
The races in Velen do disappear as the story progresses. BUT! Yesterday, after completing the main story, these nets appeared again, and they appeared with a notification! (Version of the game "Edition of the Year")
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By Eugenius_Wolf on 13 Oct 2016 11:59
Horse racing in Vegelbud appears as you complete the sub-quest "Cabaret", which becomes available after the release of Buttercup.
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By overclockeralexq on 12 May 2018 17:00
Clearly in my video guide at 29:22:

https://youtu.be/ngBmEloCcHg
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By Zardarius on 06 Apr 2016 11:01
Horse racing in the Wegelbud residence will become available after the Ciri scene in Novigrad!!!!! You need to pick up the quest on the square in Novigrad!
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By Genius_MG on 06 Apr 2017 11:09
If you miss the race in Velen, the trophy does not drop.
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By Maksim4ik on 04 Aug 2015 14:47
The races in Velen disappear, I just chose another save and completed only them, the trophy fell out.
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By Tatyana909099 on 21 Mar 2023 04:12
Horse racing in the Wegelbud residence will only become available after Buttercup is released.

py.sy. Let’s not forget about the horse races in Skellige, because in the printed guides (which I reviewed quite a bit) they decided not to mention them, dutifully copying the previous authors and ending at the Novigrad horse races (they bring a letter of invitation exactly after the Vegelbud races)
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By Kaspersky on 09 Jul 2015 17:43
For those who missed the trophy in the main game, like me, I will write which races you need to complete and when they open

So, we start a new game+ and skipping all the dialogues, get to Velen as quickly as possible and go straight to the Bloody Baron, after talking with him we go to the notice board in his castle and get the first horse races: “Horses: Swirls” (that’s what the quest is called, I think) )

Here we have 3 simple competitions, we quickly go through them and hit the road to Novigrad .

Then we need to go through the story quest to save Buttercup, and when we save him, we immediately run to him in “Sage and Rosemary”, talk to him, and get the quest “Cabaret” , as we complete it we find ourselves in the possessions of the Vegelbuds, and here we immediately go to the yellow exclamation mark and talk to the head of the races, he gives us the quest “Horses: Horse Races of Erasmus Wegelbud” , we also go through 3 simple competitions, each time re-negotiating with this leader, each race costs 100 gold.

After we have completed these races, a man from Tesak’s gang comes up to us and gives us a letter of invitation to an illegal race. We immediately run to Tesak and agree on a race. Here I advise you to save and concentrate as much as possible, since these races are the most difficult in the game and cannot be replayed, but you must definitely win, these are the ones I failed in the main game, which is why I did not receive a trophy .

After a successful race, we take $700 and go straight to Skellige , namely to the village of Lavrik, which is located on a small western island, we approach the notice board and receive the quest “Race of the Daredevils: For the Glory of the Goddess!” , talk to the priestess of Freya and get three more quests with single simple jumps:

"Daredevil Races: Fyrsdal"
"Daredevil Race: Ferlund"
"Race of the Daredevils: Kaer Trolde"

After you've completed them, go back and complete the final race in the game and get the trophy!

To get the trophy you definitely don’t need to go through the race with Eskel, and apparently other micro races in the game too, but I didn’t skip the race with Morvran Vorhees in the quest to find Dandelion.

Also, look for a good saddle from blacksmiths or immediately put on good saddles that you win in races, I also advise you not to miss the race with Morvran Vorhees, as he gives a good saddle /
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By Simplewer on 13 Aug 2020 09:57
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If you missed the trophy, it's okay!
You start a new game, only add stone hearts and all races are open again! 30 minutes and the achievement is ready. You can also combine the achievement for two witcher orders without potion signs, etc., since your hero is already level 30.
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29 May 2016 18:23

1 Comment
I confirm that I did not win the cleaver race. Having finished the main plot, I went through all the races again. The trophy fell out.
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By daneyzheli on 23 Jan 2020 22:18