The Amazing Race

This article is about the reality television franchise. For specific versions and seasons, see The Amazing Race (disambiguation).

File:Amazingracelogo.jpg

Logo of the United States edition of The Amazing Race used from Season 2-13. Logos for the international versions of the show are adapted from this logo.

The Amazing Race is a reality television game show in which teams of two people who have some form of a preexisting personal relationship, race around the world in competition with other teams. Contestants strive to arrive first at "pit stops" at the end of each leg of the race to win prizes and to avoid coming last, which carries the possibility of elimination or a significant disadvantage in the following leg. Contestants travel to and within multiple countries in a variety of transportation modes, including planes, balloons, helicopters, trucks, bicycles, taxis, rental cars, trains, buses, boats, and by foot. The clues in each leg lead the teams to the next destination or direct them to perform a task, either together or by a single member. These challenges are related in some manner to the country or culture where they are located. Teams are progressively eliminated until three are left; at that point, the team that arrives first in the final leg is awarded a grand prize of $1 million.

Created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, the original series has aired in the United States since 2001 and has earned eight Primetime Emmy Awards, including the first seven awards, from 2003 to 2009, for "Outstanding Reality-Competition Program" (Top Chef broke Race's streak in 2010). Emmy-award-winning New Zealand television personality Phil Keoghan has been the host of the show since its inception. The show has branched out to include a number of international versions following a similar format.

The Race

Unless otherwise indicated, the seasons refer to the American version of the series, hosted by Phil Keoghan.

Teams

Four teams from four different seasons. Clockwise from top left: best friends Danny & Oswald of Season 2, married parents Kim & Chip of Season 5, brothers Gerard & Ken of Season 3, and dating couple Lori & David of Season 9.

Typically each cycle of the Race features eleven teams. The teams represent a wide demographic of different ages, races, and sexual orientations. Each team is composed of two people with a pre-existing relationship, such as dating, married, and divorced couples (both heterosexual and homosexual), relatives including siblings and parent and child, lifelong friends, and co-workers. The dynamics of the relationship under the stress of competition is a focus of the show, and often described by the teams during interviews held before, during, and after the teams have raced, and through discussion with the show's host when they arrive at the Pit Stop.

Original Race rules required that teams have a relationship longer than three years, and would not have previous acquaintances with other racers during that cycle. However, these requirements have been dropped in some cases; Dustin and Kandice from Seasons 10 and 11, knew each other from the beauty pageant circuit, and from Seasons 9 and 11, Eric and Danielle, met on the Race, then started dating, when asked to be on the All-Star Season. Individual racers must be of a specific nationality and meet specific age requirements; this is necessary to allow teams to obtain the necessary passport documentation to travel across the world without incident.

The team format has been changed in some seasons. Four seasons featured twelve teams of two, while the "Family Edition" featured ten teams of four players, including young children.

Money

At the beginning of each leg of the race, each team receives an allowance of cash with their first clue. During each leg of the Race, all expenses (food, transportation, lodging, attraction admission, supplies) must be purchased from this allowance. Selected tasks have also required the teams to use their money to complete the task. However, teams are given a credit card which they can use to purchase airline tickets (and in the case of the "Family Edition", the purchase of gasoline). While early seasons of the US version of the show allowed for teams to use the credit card to reserve flights outside of an airport or travel agency, recent seasons have prohibited this use.

The money is usually given in the same currency as the show's nation regardless of location; US versions of the Race will provide racers with U.S. dollars. In one exception, teams were given money in the currency of Vietnam at the start of that leg. The amount of money varies from leg to leg, and has ranged from hundreds of dollars to nothing. Teams are allowed to keep any unused money for future race legs, barring certain penalties for finishing last.

If a team spends all of their money or has it taken away in a non-elimination leg, they may try to get more money in any way that does not violate the local laws. This includes borrowing money from other teams, begging from locals or selling their possessions. Since Season 7, teams are prevented from begging at United States airports. Teams may not use their personal possessions to barter payment for services.

Teams have reported on the existence of an emergency fund of approximately US$200 that is carried by their crew and can only be used in extreme circumstances, but generally not as a means to pay for any activity related to the Race. However, the exact amount is not known, nor are the exact circumstances when it can be used.

Route markers

A standard Route Marker looks like this.

Route Markers are uniquely-colored flags that mark the places where teams must go. Most Route Markers are attached to the boxes that contain clue envelopes, but some may mark the place where the teams must go in order to complete tasks, or may be used to line a course that the teams must follow.

The original Route Markers used in Season 1 were colored yellow and white. They were changed to yellow and red in The Amazing Race 2, which has remained the standard color scheme for them since then. Occasionally, different color schemes are adopted for certain legs, seasons, or versions of the race.

Clues

When teams start the leg, arrive at Route Markers, or complete certain tasks, they will normally receive a letter-sized tear-away envelope that contains their next clue inside a vertical-fold folder. The clues themselves are typically printed on a vertical strip of paper, though often additional information is provided inside the clue folder. After retrieving the clue, teams open the envelope and read aloud the instructions given on the clue sheet and then follow those instructions. Teams are generally required to collect each clue during each leg and keep that information with them until they reach the next Pit Stop, surrendering them once they have checked in.

At Route Markers, clue envelopes are placed inside a box mounted to the Marker. In early seasons, the box contained exactly the number of clues for teams on that leg, allowing teams to indirectly determine their current placement in the leg by counting envelopes. In more recent seasons, extra envelopes are left in clue boxes to prevent this from occurring.

In some cases, clues, most often Route Markers, have been provided by more unorthodox means, such as in an ad in a local newspaper or on some item related to the task just performed. A common unorthodox means in the US version is to place the clue at the bottom of the Roaming Gnome, the mascot of Travelocity, the sponsor of the US version.

Route Information

Route Info are blue cards.

Route Information clues instruct the teams where to go next. The clue usually only provides the name of the team's next destination; it is up to the teams to figure out how to get there. An exception is during the first leg of most seasons, where flights are suggested to the teams to take, together with the air tickets for the aforementioned flights. It is solely up to the team whether to take that flight or take another flight. Route Information clues may make specifications about how the teams have to travel, such as by foot, by train, or by air travel. The Route Info clues can instruct teams to go to several types of locations, including a specific location in another city or country, another location within the team's present city, the Pit Stop of the leg, or the Finish Line of the race. Route Information clues have also provided cryptic clues of the next location, leaving teams to figure out where they must go. For example, teams have been given a small country flag and told to fly to that country, or have been told to travel to the "westernmost point in mainland Europe". In some cases, Route Information will require all teams to complete a non-Detour, non-Roadblock task before getting the clue to their next destination, such as taking part in a ceremonial observation.

Detour

Detour are yellow cards.

A Detour presents the team with a decision between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. The two tasks are named, often based on rhymes or puns, such as "Plow" / "Fowl" to differentiate between a task involving plowing against a task involving corralling ducks. Teams are given several details about both tasks, but may need to travel a short distance by foot or car to the different task locations. Typically, one task is less physically demanding but is tedious or requires some amount of time or thinking to complete, while the other is usually a more physically demanding or frightening option that, depending on the team's ability, may take less time to complete. The decision on which task to attempt lies solely with the team. A team may choose to switch tasks as many times as they wish with no penalty other than the time lost in attempting the tasks and traveling between task locations. Unless otherwise instructed, teams can work together to finish a Detour option. Once a team has completed one of the tasks, they are given the clue to their next location.

Roadblock

Roadblocks are red cards.

Roadblocks are red cards.

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Rob and Alex attempt to eat four pounds (1.8 kg) of meat at an Argentine barbecue during a Roadblock on Leg 3 of Season 7.

A Roadblock is a task that only one team member may perform. A Roadblock clue is given as a cryptic question, such as "Who's really hungry?" or "Who wants to get down and dirty?" Based on this information and observation of any other racers at the task, the team must decide which member is doing the task before reading the rest of the task description. Once a team member has been selected, they cannot switch. The Roadblock task is performed only by the selected racer while their partner waits in a designated area, though the partner is able to supply words of encouragement. Some Roadblocks may involve the non-selected racer, such as when having to lead a camel while their partner rides it, or when helping their partner solve a puzzle. Normally once the racer completes the Roadblock, the team receives their clue to the next Route Marker.

Early seasons allowed teams to distribute the Roadblocks between the team members as they desired, which allowed one team member to do nearly all the Roadblocks. This was changed in Season 6, which limited a single teammate to a maximum number of Roadblocks they could complete thus forcing their partner to perform roughly half of the Roadblocks as well. Subsequent seasons have not explicitly stated this rule but teams have maintained an even distribution of Roadblocks throughout the Race. Racers can be heard saying they've done "all my Roadblocks" or "saving the last one". Since Season 9, the Roadblock limit has been increased to a maximum of seven which can lead to a 6-6 or 5-7 distribution. The only time the limit was not enforced was during the "Family Edition" where some Roadblocks required two people from each 4-person team to participate.

Season 16 featured some twists to the Roadblock concept where during an Intersection, one person from each of the Intersected teams must work together to complete the Roadblock in Leg 4. While in Leg 10, there were 2 Roadblocks in the same single-length leg. One team member had to complete one, while the other had to complete the second Roadblock.

Fast Forward

Fast Forward are green cards.

Fast Forward are green cards.

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Nancy & Emily and Bill & Joe race to complete a coin-counting Fast Forward task during the ninth leg of the first season.

A Fast Forward is a task that, once completed, allows the team that completes it to bypass all remaining tasks in the leg and proceed directly to the Pit Stop. The Fast Forward clue is given with another task clue (usually a Roadblock or Detour) and is a separate task from the others. Only one team may complete a Fast Forward in any given leg, and a team may only complete one Fast Forward in the entire Race. The exception to this rule is in seasons where the Fast Forward is offered in conjunction with the Intersection, in which case a team may win the Fast Forward both as an individual team and as a team working with another as part of the Intersection instructions. Teams that win the Fast Forward are not guaranteed a first-place finish for that leg, and still face elimination if they arrive at the Pit Stop last.

Multiple teams may undertake Fast Forward tasks, but only the first team to complete the task gets credit.

Fast Forwards were initially offered on every leg of the Race, including some that were not shown if no one took the task or if all remaining teams had won their Fast Forward. The number of Fast Forwards available has since been reduced to two on each Race since Season 5, and then down to one since Season 14, to reduce the costs of providing Fast Forward tasks that would not be taken. Season 14 was also the first and only season not to air the Fast Forward only because no one had opted to perform the Fast Forward in that race.

Yield

Yield signs are yellow.

The Yield, introduced in Season 5, allows any one team to force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time. The Yield marker is placed near a Route Marker, and teams would be forced to stop at it to state their intentions to employ the Yield. The clue would say "Caution: Yield ahead!" If a team Yielded another team, they would place a photo of the Yielded team, along with a "Courtesy Of" photo of themselves, on the stand. When the Yielded team arrived at the Yield, they would then turn over an hourglass and wait for the sand to drain before they can continue to the Route Marker. A team may only use their Yield power once on the race, and only one team may be Yielded when the Yield is available, though the same team can be Yielded multiple times during the same Race. If a team loses their "Courtesy Of" photo, they lose their Yield power. If the team that is Yielded has already passed the Yield, the Yield is nullified.

During Season 5, teams were not aware of the upcoming Yield. In subsequent seasons, clues have alerted teams that a Yield would be present at the next route marker. Yields were present in every leg except the last of Season 5, while only three were present in Seasons 6 through 8, and two in Seasons 9 through 11. Yields have not been present in the US Race since Season 11, but are still present within the foreign editions.

U-Turn

U-Turn signs are yellow.

The U-Turn, introduced in Season 12, is similar in format to the Yield; however, it is always placed immediately after a Detour. After completing their Detour option, a team may use their U-Turn ability to force another team to backtrack and complete the Detour option they did not previously complete. Like the Yield, the team placing the U-Turn places a photo of the team they are penalizing along with their own "Courtesy Of" photo on the U-Turn marker stand. Starting in Season 14, teams were met with a new variation of the U-Turn called a "Blind U-Turn." If teams use a Blind U-Turn, they do not have to publicly reveal themselves as the perpetrators with their "Courtesy Of" photo. Like the Yield, if the team has lost their "Courtesy Of" photo, they will be unable to use their U-Turn power for the remainder of the Race, It is possible for a team to U-Turn a team that has already passed (or skipped by means of a Fast Forward) the U-Turn, nullifying its effects. A team can only use their U-Turn power once per Race, regardless of whether they still have their "Courtesy Of" photo with them after using a Blind U-Turn. Teams are warned of an upcoming U-Turn on or the Route Marker after the Detour clue. If there is a U-Turn and a Fast Forward available in the same leg, teams will be made aware that a U-Turn will be available "at some point" during the leg when they leave the Pit Stop due to the fact the team taking the Fast Forward option will have skipped the Detour as well as the U-Turn marker. Season 15 was the first and currently the only season not to air a U-Turn.

Intersection

This Intersection sign appears above the clue box where the teams must join together.

This Intersection sign appears above the clue box where the teams must join together.

The Intersection, used in Seasons 10, 11 and 16, requires each team to pair up with one other team and perform all tasks and make decisions together until further notice. Should there be no other teams present when a given team arrives at the Intersection route marker, they must wait there until another team arrives, though they do not have to partner with that team and can opt to wait for another team instead. Teams are free to choose their partner team if multiple teams are present. Teams are not warned when an Intersection is coming. Normal Route Markers have been included with the use of the Intersection.

Switchback

The Switchback, a twist which appeared in Season 15, is a task from a previous season that is revisited and that the teams must complete. For the Switchback, teams revisited the infamous Stockholm Roadblock from Season 6, except it was made more difficult by having to find just one of seven flags in 186 hay bales, where previously teams had to find one of 20 clues in 270 hay bales.

Race legs

Leg Structure

Each leg of The Amazing Race generally consists of teams leaving from the previous Pit Stop and traveling to a different country, where they perform 2 or more tasks, generally including one Detour and one Roadblock, before being given instructions to the next Pit Stop. When teams are otherwise not performing tasks or traveling during a leg, they are free to use their time as they see fit, though will often resort to eating cheaply or sleeping outside a location to save their Race money.

The Check-in Mat

Teams complete each leg by stepping onto the Check-In Mat at the Pit Stop. All team members must be on the mat to be checked in, which can allow one team to bypass another in the leg final placement if one team member is slow arriving at the mat. The host will proceed to tell each team of their current standing. If the team has failed to do a task that they can correct, the host will tell them they must complete that before they can check in. In other cases, if the failure cannot be easily rectified, or the team has already accumulated penalties, they will be asked to wait out the penalty time to the side, which may allow other teams to check-in before them. Except on pre-determined non-elimination legs and on the final leg, the last team to check-in is eliminated from the Race. This has become dubbed "Philimination" as a portmanteau of the host's name and the word "elimination". If it is determined after teams have checked in that a team should have incurred a penalty that would have affected which team was eliminated, the affected teams are alerted to this after all other teams are checked in. Otherwise, such penalties are announced at the start of the next leg.

In later seasons, the team that arrives first on the mat during any leg besides the last will receive a prize, often trips, personal vehicles, or cash that they can "enjoy after the race". Teams may arrive simultaneously on the mat, which in some seasons has been treated as a tie with any prizes awarded from placement being given to all teams, while in others, has required teams to determine their finish order, with only one team winning placement prize. In this case, the teams will start the next leg one minute apart from each other.

One or more local greeters are present at the mat along with the host, and welcome the team to their country. During the first US season, host Keoghan only appeared with the greeters when the final team arrived to eliminate them. The mat itself is a bathmat-sized map of the world, though during US season 1 and some points during other races, the mat was decorated to represent the local culture.

As each team is checked in, the host will typically conduct a short interview, or a "Mat Chat", with the teams at the mat. Teams are then taken to the Pit Stop lodgings before the next team checks in. Often, in a tight race, multiple teams will arrive at the mat within a few seconds or minutes of each other, and the host will interview them all before they are taken to the lodgings. During the first US season, teams were seen loitering near the Pit Stop, and thus would see the arrival of other teams.

If a team is unable to complete an elimination leg due to injury, or are still performing tasks well after all other teams have been checked-in, the host will go out to the team and announce their elimination. Alternatively, teams may be given a clue that instructs them to go directly to the Pit Stop, bypassing any other tasks that may have been on the leg, where they will be eliminated.

Pit Stops

Pit Stops are the final destination in each leg of the race, and where all non-eliminated teams go after checking in at the mat. Each Pit Stop is a mandatory rest period which allows teams to "eat, sleep, and mingle" with each other. The production staff provides lodging (from simple accommodations as tents or cots to complete hotel service) and food free-of-charge to the teams at the Pit Stops. During the Pit Stop, teams are also interviewed to provide commentary and voice-overs for the completed leg. While teams are restricted to where they can go, teams are free to use the remaining time for any purpose as they see fit. In recent seasons of the U.S. version of the Race, teams have reported that they have been sequestered from other teams during Pit Stops. During Pit Stops, racers are sometimes required to relinquish Race-provided material from the previous legs, including clues, maps, and additional instructions. Teams are responsible for being ready to leave when their Pit Stop time is over, and no time credit is given should a team miss their time to leave.

Pit Stops, mostly in earlier seasons, are normally twelve hours long, such that if a team arrived at 9 a.m., they will depart on the next leg at 9 p.m. When the show encounters production issues or if planned ahead of time, the pit stop is often extended by multiples of 24 hours, such that teams will still leave what appears to be 12 hours later to the television viewer. However, viewers have been able to use dates and times displayed during the show and post-Race interviews to determine where these extended Pit Stops occur and their approximate length. In recent seasons, the Pit Stops have included ones of various lengths between 12 and 24 hours as to prevent teams from loitering at airports or finding flights that may get them too much of a lead on other teams. The longest known Pit Stop occurred during the first US season when production was forced to relocate the Pit Stop in Tunisia due to a sandstorm. This was the first instance of a "mobile pit stop", which also appeared in Seasons 3, 15, and 16, where teams have been transported to another location during the pit stop, without any knowledge of their final destination.

Double-length legs

Some Races have included a double-length leg, also called "to be continued" legs, shown over two episodes or a single two-hour long episode, where teams are not checked in at a Pit Stop but instead given a clue to continue racing. The clues that precede the mid-point of the double-length leg often will hint at a Pit Stop but will not include the normal language found in clues for normal-length legs that direct teams to the Pit Stop. In some cases, the host has been present along with the check-in mat to give teams their next clues. Double-length race legs were born out of necessity during Season 6. Leg 6 in Hungary was originally planned to be two legs, with a non-elimination point between the legs which would have stripped the last team of their money and not given them any at the start of the next leg. Producers discovered during the race that begging is illegal in Hungary, which would have made it nearly impossible for the last place team to acquire the money needed for the upcoming leg, and quickly devised the extended leg to mimic the effects of a non-elimination leg (keeping the same number of teams in the race), and using a simple video message clue to provide teams the goal for the first task of the second half of the leg.

More double-length legs were shown from Season 7 to Season 10, and another in Season 14. In addition, the season finale of the Family Edition contained a double-length leg similar to Season 6.

Non-elimination legs

A number of legs on each Race are predetermined "non-elimination legs", where the last team to check-in is not eliminated. Up through US Season 4, there was no penalty for finishing last on a non-elimination leg. In Seasons 5 through 9, the last team to check in was stripped of all their money and were not given any money at the start of the next leg, forcing that team to literally beg for money from the local population of the city they were in for such expenses as cab, bus or train fare. In addition, from Seasons 7 through 9, these teams would also be forced to give up all their bags, leaving them with only the clothes on their backs and the fanny-pack teams use to carry their passports and Race documentation; this last penalty caused many teams, thinking themselves to be in last, to wear as much clothing as possible before checking in. In Seasons 10 and 11, teams that came in last on non-elimination legs were "marked for elimination"; if they did not come in first on the subsequent leg, they would receive a 30 minute penalty upon check-in at the mat.

The Speed Bump sign appears above the clue box where team who checked-in last in the previous pit stop during a non-elimination leg must do the Speed Bump task on the leg after the non-elimination leg before continuing.

The Speed Bump sign appears above the clue box where team who checked-in last in the previous pit stop during a non-elimination leg must do the Speed Bump task on the leg after the non-elimination leg before continuing.

From Season 12 onward, the penalty for finishing last in a non-elimination leg is that the affected team will have to perform a "Speed Bump" task sometime during the next leg. Teams would be alerted to the upcoming Speed Bump by a Route Marker clue prior to it, while the Speed Bump itself is displayed in a manner similar to the Yield showing the affected team's picture at a stand near to the regular Route Marker. Once the team completes the Speed Bump task, they may receive the next clue that they would have gotten at the Route Marker, or they may have to backtrack to where the cluebox was initially to get their next clue, depending on the task.

In early US seasons, clues that directed teams to Pit Stops could be used to infer if that leg was a non-elimination leg; the normal language that ended each Pit Stop clue—"The last team to check in will be eliminated."—was replaced with "may be eliminated". In later seasons of the Race "may" was used in all legs except the first leg. Since Season 15, all clues leading to the Pit Stop have used the term may be eliminated, including the first leg, as the first leg in Season 15 was a non-elimination leg. On occasion, the second-to-last leg may use the term will be eliminated if there are no more non-elimination legs left in the Race before reaching the Finish Line.

Non-elimination legs give trailing teams a reason to stay in the competition - since there is a chance they might not be eliminated, they will continue to complete tasks and get to the Pit Stop as quickly as possible, to keep from falling further behind.

Surprise-elimination legs

Season 10 introduced the first surprise elimination, when the last team to arrive at a checkpoint midway through the first leg was eliminated on the spot. At the end of the leg, there was a normal elimination at the Pit Stop, making it the first (and currently the only) season that two teams were eliminated in the same leg.

Season 15 made the second surprise elimination, where the last team remaining at a surprise Starting Line task of the Race was eliminated. However at the end of the leg, no one was eliminated at the Pit Stop as it was a non-elimination leg.

Final leg

The final leg of the race is run by the three remaining teams. In earlier US seasons, the leg was a non-elimination or double-length leg, with an intermediate destination in or near the host country (such as Hawaii, Alaska or Canada for the US version) prior to traveling to the final city back in the host country (so far always in the lower 48 for the US version). However, in more recent Races, final legs have been single legs, whereby teams are flown directly from the final foreign country to the final city in the host country.

Teams still must complete all tasks in the final city before they are directed to the finish mat. At the mat, the host and the other eliminated teams celebrate the arrival of the teams. Generally all three teams are allowed to arrive. In rare cases, a trailing team may be so far behind and outside the final city that they are given a clue at their next Route Marker that informs them of the Race results.

Rules and penalties

All teams must abide by the rules set at the beginning of the race. Failure to do so can result in time penalties, which can negatively affect finishing position in that leg of the race. In a non-elimination leg, if the last team to arrive at the mat is checked in before a previous team has completed its penalty, then the remainder of the penalty time will be waited out at the start of the next leg of the race, beginning at the departure time of the next-to-last team.

While the complete set of official rules has not been released to the public, certain rules have been revealed during the various editions of the race:

Rules

• Unless otherwise stated, such as during Roadblocks, team members must stay within twenty feet of each other and stay close to their assigned camera and sound crew. When using any form of transportation, unless otherwise stated, teams must be able to travel with the camera crew. Teams are filmed requesting only two tickets after they have made their initial request for four.
• Teams are required to purchase economy class airfare when they fly, using the credit card provided by the show. Teams may ask the airlines before or during flight to upgrade their tickets to first or business class as long as they only pay economy fare. Teams may be forbidden from flying on certain airlines or restricted to specific airlines in some cases.
• Teams are forbidden contact with friends, family, and acquaintances during the Race, though the Race may provide them with an opportunity to make contact at select times. Unless otherwise stated by the clues, teams are allowed to use the help of locals for navigating and during tasks.
• Teams are free to work together at any point unless otherwise stated by the rules. Excluding the use of the Yield and U-Turn, teams are forbidden from intentionally or unintentionally hindering the performance of other teams such as by taking extra clues from a clue box, taking another team's assigned vehicle, or altering the equipment for other teams at a task.
• Teams are forbidden from bringing maps, guidebooks, cell phones, personal digital assistants and other similar aids at the start of the Race, but may use the provided money to purchase these as they progress during the race. Teams are not allowed to use their personal items to barter for services on the race, though they are not necessarily forbidden from selling their personal items for cash. The teams' bags may be subject to review during Pit Stops by production.
• Teams are expected to keep the Race fanny pack containing their cash, passports and other documents with them at all times. Teams that do not have these upon check-in at a Pit Stop are required to go back and get the fanny pack and/or any missing mandatory contents (e.g., passports) before being checked in. However, not having other non-mandatory items while checking in at the pit stop is not penalized, but the team would have to continue the race without these belongings.
• Teams must complete each challenge as specified by the various clues given to them throughout the Race. Should a team fail to properly complete a challenge, violate any provisions made in a clue or task description, or miss a clue altogether (unless specifically instructed to do so, e.g., by winning the Fast Forward), they must either go back to the location of the challenge and complete the challenge, or incur a penalty when they check-in (see Penalties and time credits below).
• Teams are prohibited from begging where it is illegal. On the U.S. version, teams are additionally prohibited from begging at US airports.
• Racers may not smoke on the Race.
• Teams are required to abide by all local laws of the country they are racing in.

The teams are often given additional rules that apply specifically to a given leg or to a task supplied with one of the clues; these rules are usually not explained to the viewer unless they affect the Race results.

Penalties and time credits

Normally the standard penalty for rule infractions is 30 minutes plus the time gained (if any) for breaking the rule. Other penalty times include but are not limited to two hours for bartering goods for services, up to four hours for not completing any or all parts of a miscellaneous task, four hours for not completing a Roadblock or a Speed Bump, and twenty-four hours for flying outside of economy class unless the upgrade is complimentary on top of the economy class fare paid and for not completing either Detour option. Penalty times are cumulative. If a player is unable to complete the Roadblock, the team is assessed a four hour penalty starting from the time of the arrival of the next team at the Roadblock, after which they are given their next clue to proceed unless they are the last team, in which case their four-hour penalty begins the moment that team gave up on the Roadblock.

If the penalty is known before the racers arrive at the check-in mat, they are forced to wait out that time before they can be checked in; if they happen to be the last team on a non-elimination leg, they will be checked in early, but the remaining time will be applied at the start of the next leg. If the penalty is discovered after racers arrive, and does not affect which team is eliminated, it is applied to the start of the next leg, with the viewers given verbal notification if it affects the departure order. In only one case has a penalty altered who would be eliminated and a special announcement of this change to the affected teams was done after production was able to review the results but before the start of the next leg.

Should a vehicle (including cars and boats) break down through no fault of the team using it, a replacement vehicle is provided for them, but "no time credit is given for their wait in this unlucky situation."

Teams may also receive time credits, applied to the next leg, that result from "production difficulties." These are only revealed to the viewer if they affect the placement at the start of the next leg.

Production

The production of The Amazing Race is a challenge due to its premise being a race around the world. Among the difficult duties that producers face, scoping out locations, designing tasks, selecting teams, and planning logistics for the entire course are the most important to accomplish in pre-production. During the Race, the camera crews need to keep up with the movement of the teams and the host. And when the footage for the entire season has been filmed and edited, team members, production crew as well as the local staff who hosted or facilitated the tasks are obliged to keep the details of the race confidential and not leak out anything that hints at locations, events, or outcomes of the Race. A small exception is the television network that airs the show in a country which hosted one of the legs where they can air teasers such as "Whom among the teams will come here to (the network's home country name)?" However, in recent American seasons, CBS has released a map to show the locations that the racers would be visiting.

The show is broadcast on CBS in the United States. It is simulcast via satellite in various networks around the world.

Through its efforts, the American version has received many accolades, including Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations in categories for audio and video production and editing.

The Amazing Race around the world

Countries and areas with their own version of The Amazing Race

  The Amazing Race (US)

  The Amazing Race Asia

  The Amazing Race Central Europe

  The Amazing Race: A Corrida Milionária

  HaMerotz LaMillion

  The Amazing Race en Discovery Channel

  The Amazing Race: China Rush

  The Amazing Race Australia

The original version of The Amazing Race is the American version, which debuted on CBS in September 2001. In October 2005, CBS optioned The Amazing Race for franchising to other countries. Buena Vista International Television-Asia Pacific (BVITV-AP) and Sony Pictures Television International's AXN Asia announced an Asian edition of the race, billed as The Amazing Race Asia, that same month. Applications ran from February to the end of March 2006. Filming was begun in June. Its first season premiered on November 9, 2006 and concluded on February 1, 2007. Two more seasons were made since then.

During 2005, AXN Central Europe announced a version of the show to be called The Amazing Race Central Europe. Applications were closed with the submission of 2,500 applicants, with filming expected to have occurred in 2006 and broadcast from September 2006. The show has yet to air and has been pulled from AXN's website, fueling rumors of cancellation.

In addition, a South-American independent production company announced in late 2006 that it would be producing a Brazilian version in 2007, to be called The Amazing Race: A Corrida Milionária, and to be aired in a purchased time slot in the Brazilian network RedeTV!. Applications were open from January until July, and filming occurred during August and September. The first season premiered on October 13, 2007 and concluded on January 5, 2008.

On April 8, 2008, Israeli TV network Reshet had announced plans to produce the local version of the show, known as HaMerotz LaMillion (The Race to the Million in English). It was shot worldwide and premiered on February 5, 2009. It ran one season.

On October 15, 2008, a Latin American version of the show was announced by the Discovery Channel Latin America in association with Disney. The show's first season was filmed in early 2009 and broadcasted late in that year across Latin America and the Caribbean. The second season will premiere in 2010.

On March, 2010, a Chinese version of the show was announced by the Disney-ABC International Television Asia Pacific. The show will be broadcasted in International Channel of Shanghai. The show is to be filmed in April 2010 for broadcast in August 2010. The show is produced by Shanghai based international production company Fly Films.

Local name	Region of origin	Years	Network	Host	Seasons aired	Countries visited	Grand prize
The Amazing Race	United States	2001–present	CBS	Phil Keoghan	16	73	US$1,000,000
The Amazing Race Asia	Asia	2006–present	AXN Asia	Allan Wu	4	19	US$100,000
The Amazing Race: A Corrida Milionária	Brazil	2007–2008	RedeTV!	Rony Curvelo	1	2	R$500,000
HaMerotz LaMillion (English: The Race to the Million)	Israel	2009	Channel 2 - Reshet	Raz Meirman	1	7	₪1,000,000
The Amazing Race en Discovery Channel	Latin America	2009–present	Discovery Channel - Disney Channel	Harris Whitbeck	2	9	US$250,000
The Amazing Race: China Rush	China	2010	International Channel Shanghai	Allan Wu	1	1	A World Tour
The Amazing Race Australia	Australia	2011	Seven Network	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
The Amazing Race Central Europe	Central Europe	cancelled	AXN Central Europe	cancelled	cancelled	cancelled	US$100,000

In popular culture

The third season of the Teletoon series, Total Drama Island, is called Total Drama World Tour and it parodies The Amazing Race.

The name of the eighth episode of Total Drama World Tour is a parody of the reality. The episode is called The Am-AH-Zon Race.

30 Rock character Liz Lemon mentions The Amazing Race in the episode "Somebody to Love", when Liz suspects that her new neighbour Raheem is a terrorist only to learn that he was actually auditioning for the race, as well as the episode "Blind Date".

The US version of The Office refers to The Amazing Race in the third season episode "Traveling Salesmen", during which Michael compares their sales calls to the race.

In Zach Galifianakis' stand-up special Live at the Purple Onion the comedian mentions the show in a joke, asking the audience "That show 'The Amazing Race,' is that about white people?"

In the episode "The Turning Point" from The Vampire Diaries Damon Salvatore makes a sarcastic comment to his brother suggesting they should try out for the amazing race. He says: “We're a team. We could travel the world together. We could try out for The Amazing Race!”

In the popular series of Pokemon during the Diamond Pearl Saga, the episode A-Maze-ing Race dub title seems to be a spin in the Amazing Race.

Video game

A video game based on this reality show is being developed by Ubisoft for the Wii. It will be released on October 26, 2010 in North America.

External links

• Official USA websites
  • Seasons 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5
  • Seasons 6 · 7 ·8 · 9 · 10
  • Seasons 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16
• Official The Amazing Race Asia website
• Official The Amazing Race: A Corrida Milionária website Template:Pt icon
• Official The Amazing Race en Discovery Channel website Template:Es icon