Researchers from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in Hatfield and Cambridge University in England, plan to extract DNA from the bones of three of history’s greatest Thoroughbred racehorses–Eclipse, Hermit, and St. Simon. Details of the proposed study were presented at the British Association Festival of Science held at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, in September. By examining the genetic makeup of these horses, researchers expect to gain insight of what makes racehorses legendary.

Eclipse went undefeated during his racing career (1769-1770). He was forced to retired early because few trainers wanted to run their horses against him. Eclipse’s 216-year-old skeletal remains were preserved because of his legendary stature and were kept at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket, England.

“He won 18 races and usually by 10 or 20 furlongs,” said Matthew Binns, the RVC geneticist leading the study, in a BBC interview. “You have to remember that races were much longer in those days (some stretched 2½ miles). He was the greatest in history, and to get a look at his genetic material will be pretty amazing.”

The remains of Hermit and St. Simon have been kept in personal collections and museums. “The Victorians were very keen on turning them (hooves) into ink wells and candlesticks, and there are some of these around from famous old horses,” Binns said