American Standardbred

The American Standardbred is a horse breed featured in Red Dead Redemption. It is among the top tier of horse available. Among the top three, the American Standardbred has the greatest speed, making it the fastest breed in the game (Or the second, if the player has got the War Horse DLC code from pre-ordering the game) however their health and stamina is weaker by comparison. They are completely black.

Locations
They are found in West Elizabeth in the area east of Manzanita and south of Beecher's Hope. They have also been found in the Tall Trees area by the lake, usually in a pair, sometimes with other horses, sometimes not. (If found in Tall Trees, hitch it by the pier at Aurora Basin immediately, or a bear will quite likely maul your new stallion before you can react). A group of four were found in the area east of Bearclaw Camp and Northwest of Theives Landing. They are very rare so it can take a very long time to find one. They are prominent at night time between 9pm and dawn, though most players have spotted them during the day. The American Standardbred is unlocked at level 40 in free roam.

Deed
A deed for this horse can be purchased at any general store for $1500 ($750 with high enough honor), but only after you have successfully broken the horse at least once. Deeds are permanent items, meaning they are not single use items. You can use a deed as many times as you like, and it will still remain in your inventory. Usage of a deed will allow you to respawn your horse in the event it is killed or if you would simply like to switch horses.

Trivia

 * The breed was developed in America, the result of crossing a Thoroughbred stallion imported in 1788 named Messenger with several local harness mares.
 * The breed was developed to produce horses with exceptional trotting speed.
 * The Standardbred of today is the fastest harness racing horse in the world.
 * When looking for the Standardbred, it is often easy to confuse this breed with another breed that looks black, but in reality is dark brown. The Standardbred is completely black in any lighting and does not have any shade of brown.

Achievement
The player is required to tame an American Standardbred to complete the following trophy/achievement: