The Best Episodes of The Amazing Race
Last Updated: Feb 12, 2019
This reality television game show pits 11 teams against each other in a worldwide, 30 to 40-day journey through diverse cities and countries spanning the globe. The first team to reach the final destination will be rewarded with $1 million.
#1 - You've Just Made Me a Millionaire
Season 5 - Episode 12
The teams set off from the Coconut Palace in Manila, Philippines, knowing that one team will be eliminated. Intense battles and struggles ensue as the teams make their way to El Nido on two charter flights, then struggle with a challenge that involves finding an island with the flag of the Philippines. The mistake of one team costs them dearly, but in the end, a Roadblock that involves rapelling up a high cliff proves the undoing of another. The remaining teams head into the final leg, which finds them all on a flight to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. There, they all struggle to hike up a long hill and then receive a clue telling them to head to Olympic Park. There, they face a detour: Slide or Ride, in which they must either complete a luge course in 34 seconds, or complete a challenging biking course in three minutes. One team attempts and fails the bike course, but all teams eventually end up completing the luge. The teams then make their way to the final destination of Dallas, Texas, wh
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#2 - The Final Push
Season 12 - Episode 11
Ronald Hsu & Christina Hsu, TK Erwin & Rachel Rosales and Nicolas Fulks & Donald Jerousek are the three teams racing for the top prize of one million dollars. TK and Rachel have issues with a Detour, while Donald comes down Nicolas after he makes a mistake. Meanwhile, Ronald watches as Christina hangs on for her life in a challenging task.
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#3 - Beacon of Hope (1)
Season 22 - Episode 11
After the final four teams go bog snorkeling in Belfast, Ireland, one team's race comes to an end; the three remaining teams scour historic landmarks in Washington, D.C.; the winning team is determined. Part one of two.
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#4 - Amazing “Crazy” Race (2)
Season 23 - Episode 12
The final teams take part in a human bowling competition in Tokyo; one team wins $1 million.
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#5 - Taste Your Salami
Season 20 - Episode 4
The eight remaining teams depart the Pit Stop at Escalinata de Antequera in Asuncion, Paraguay. An unexpected beheading occurs as teams polish off a dirty task, and a random act of kindness leaves one team in tears.
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#6 - Take Down That Million (2)
Season 21 - Episode 12
The final four teams race through France and then fly to New York City, where they face a Houdini-inspired challenge before running to the finish line to claim the $1 million top prize.
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#7 - Do You Believe in Magic?
Season 24 - Episode 12
The teams race through Las Vegas, where they face a final challenge designed by magician David Copperfield.
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#8 - If I Were In Town, I Would Ask For Your Number (2)
Season 11 - Episode 8
The teams continue in the second part of a double-length episode. Departing from the Pit Stop nearby the Jan III Sobieski Lozenki statue in Warsaw, Poland, the teams learn that they must travel by charter bus to Auschwitz, Birkenau. The charter buses carry three teams and leave four hours apart. Upon arriving at the Auschwitz concentration camp, teams are required to light a candle and have a moment of silence for the victims of the Holocaust. It's a very emotional moment that teams find themselves reflecting on and in some cases relating to personal experiences, or past history of their own families. Teams then proceed forty miles to a theatre in Krakow where they find themselves facing an Intersection, requiring them to pair up with another team. Two teams work this great advantage by partnering for a Fast Forward, but one loses a sizable lead by being forced to wait for the trailing charter bus. All teams ultimately find themselves heading to the Pieskowa Skała castle. Those that did not claim the Fast Forward must first complete the Roadblock before checking in, but one is too late and is eliminated from the race.
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#9 - All or Nothing
Season 25 - Episode 12
The final teams race to the finish line in Los Angeles.
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#10 - Amazing “Crazy” Race (1)
Season 23 - Episode 11
The final teams take part in a human bowling competition in Tokyo; one team wins $1 million.
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#11 - Beards In the Wind
Season 23 - Episode 4
Racers take a plunge into the Arctic in Svolvaer, Norway; Marie and Tim have a tough decision to make.
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#12 - 5 Continents...10 Countries...And More than 59 Thousand Miles!
Season 9 - Episode 12
As the final stretch of the race begins, the teams travel 75 miles to the Royal Kraal and receive clues on T-Mobile Sidekicks. They're directed to fly over 7,000 miles to Tokyo, Japan and then locate the world's busiest intersection in Shibuya, Tokyo and find a clue on a giant screen. The clue directs them to a statue of a dog named Hachiko, and then to a Detour --- Maiden or Messenger. Maiden requires them to transport a maiden a third of a mile, while Messenger requires them to assemble folding bikes and then deliver messages to two buildings. After completing this task and sleeping in capsules at the Capsule Land Hotel, the teams travel to the Fujikyu Highland amusement park where a Roadblock requires one member of each team to ride on three rides and search for a clue. The clue takes them to the Pit Stop at Lake Yamanaka, where they then use a duck boat to cross to the Big Swan. On the second leg, the teams are directed to fly 9,000 miles to Anchorage, Alaska. A scramble for flights eventually ends with all teams making it on the same flight to Anchorage. Once in Anchorage, the teams travel 30 miles to Mirror Lake. There, a Detour involves a choice of Drill It or Deliver It. As Deliver It is snowed out, all teams choose Drill It, which requires them to drill ten holes in a lake and then use a shack to cover at least two of them. After completing this task, the teams head to Kincaid Park, don snowshoes and hunt for a clue. This clue directs them to fly to their final destination city --- Denver, Colorado --- the same town in which they started. Ultimately, the teams find themselves back at the Red Rocks Ampitheater. The difference between winning and losing comes down to a Roadblock that requires the teams to find a flag for each country they visited and place them in the correct order. Their teammate is allowed to assist verbally, but not physically.
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#13 - Accidental Alliance
Season 24 - Episode 9
Tension rises as the finish line gets closer; three teams form an alliance.
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#14 - Do It for the Hood! Do It for the Suburbs!
Season 15 - Episode 5
The seven remaining teams depart the Souk Madinat Jumeirah pitstop, staying in Dubai. The Roadblock involving retrieving a watch to use to unlock a briefcase and Detours of weighing a half-millon dollars in gold or assembling a dozen hookahs are made even worse by stifling 130° heat. But Mika faces the ultimate test of courage when a six-story waterslide clashes with her dual fears of water and heights.
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#15 - Donkeylicious
Season 24 - Episode 8
Six teams encounter a double U-turn; one team considers a major decision.
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#16 - The Gladiators Are Here!
Season 24 - Episode 7
The racers square off with Roman gladiators in a medieval detour; three teams make a deal in hope of avoiding elimination.
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#17 - Part Like the Red Sea
Season 23 - Episode 9
The final five teams make mistakes while under pressure in Bandung, Indonesia; a relationship suffers.
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#18 - Hi. I'm Sorry. I'm In a Race.
Season 17 - Episode 12
The final three teams soar to new heights over Southern California, competing in the final leg for a shot at the million-dollar prize and, for two teams, the chance to become the first ever all-female team to win the series.
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#19 - Man, They Should Have Used Their Fake Names
Season 9 - Episode 10
The teams receive a clue instructing them to travel fifteen miles from their Pit Stop at the South Breakwater to the Silver Bells Tower. Tensions ensue when Eric and Jeremy cancel other teams taxis and then shift the blame to Joseph and Monica. However, it doesn't affect placings as all teams make the same flight to Darwin, Australia --- 1,700 miles away. The teams wade through crocodile-infested waters for a clue and then travel 50 miles to an airfield in the town of Batchelor. One team just manages to reach a Yield before another and then Yields the team they beat. In a Roadblock, one member of each team must take part in a tandem skydive. The teams then travel to the Magnetic Termite Mounds where they face a Detour choice of either Wet or Dry. Some teams fall behind after choosing the extremely challenging Wet task, requiring them to hike and swim one mile through treacherous wilderness. The other two teams choose Dry and duplicate a note on a didgeridoo. While one team arrives comfortably in first place, the rest find themselves facing a three-way foot-race.
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#20 - Beacon of Hope (2)
Season 22 - Episode 12
After the final four teams go bog snorkeling in Belfast, Ireland, one team's race comes to an end; the three remaining teams scour historic landmarks in Washington, D.C.; the winning team is determined. Part two of two.
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#21 - Working Our Barrels Off
Season 22 - Episode 10
With a chance to compete in the finale on the line, the final five teams race through Scotland, where they encounter a double U-turn that puts two teams in jeopardy of elimination.
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#22 - They Don't Even Understand Their Own Language
Season 16 - Episode 11
The Final 4 teams struggle with the language barrier in Shanghai while sorting through hundreds of golden Buddhas and thousands of Chinese stamps in their pursuit for a spot in the Final 3.
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#23 - We Got a Chance, Baby!
Season 27 - Episode 12
The final 3 teams race to Long Island, New York where, after five continents, 10 countries, and more than 34,000 miles, one will be crowned winners and awarded the $1 million prize.
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#24 - It Was Like a Caravan of Idiots
Season 14 - Episode 4
The eight remaining teams set off from the Vila Panoramic and receive a clue instructing them to fly through Moscow to Krasnoyarsk, Siberia and then travel to the hydroelectric dam depicted on the back of Russia's ten ruble note.
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#25 - Mow'em Down Like Grass
Season 7 - Episode 8
The teams travel from their Pit Stop at the Khwai River Lodge to Lucknow, India. The teams then take a series of flights, some prescheduled and some that they have to schedule themselves to make their way to Lucknow, India. Some teams stick with the pack and secure a later flight, while two less-liked teams manage to make their way onto a slightly earlier flight. Once in Lucknow, the teams all choose not to Yield each other and then do a Roadblock that involves searching heavy steel boxes for one of ten clues. Some teams get lucky and find them quickly, while one has a real time of it, but makes it out okay in the end. The teams face a Detour with a choice of Solid or Liquid. All teams pass on Solid, which involves smashing coal and instead choose Liquid, which requires them to make tea deliveries to five people at a local business. As one team lags behind, they receive a standing ovation when they reach the Detour clue. A surprise waits for the teams as they make their way to a locati
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