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Glite Dictionary
selling race

selling race

9.7
A horse race where the winning horse is put up for auction immediately after the race
  • noun
  • Jargon
translation icon : carrera de venta
  • The trainer decided to enter his least promising horse in a selling race at the local track.

Examples

  • Many owners prefer entering their horses in a selling race to reduce ownership costs.

  • The selling race attracted many buyers this year.

  • After winning the selling race, the horse was immediately put up for auction.

  • Have you ever witnessed a selling race?

  • The standout horse in the selling race was sold for a record price at auction.

  • After winning the selling race, the owner had to put the champion horse up for sale.

  • Participants in the selling race eagerly anticipated the auction of the winning horse.

Synonyms

claiming race
vsselling race
  • Jargon
1 9.4

A race for horses where owners set a price so other people can buy any horse after it

sells horses by auction rather than at a fixed price set beforehand

Surface Forms

selling race singular
selling races plural

Morphology

sell + race

The term is compositionally built from 'selling' (related to sell) + 'race', so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely infer it refers to a race that involves selling (i.e., horses being sold). However, the exact technical sense — that the winner must be offered for auction immediately after the race — is specialized racing jargon and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, making the expression only partially transparent.

Etymology

Selling race comes from a clear racing rule: after the race the winning horse must be put up for sale at auction, so you can picture the winner being led straight from the track into an auction ring. So, a selling race literally means 'a race where the winner is offered for sale'.