one-horse race
No real competition
A one-horse race is a competition with only one viable contender—the outcome is predetermined because no real challenger exists.
The term comes from horse racing but applies to any contest lacking genuine competition: The election was a one-horse race from the start.
Compare with *two-horse race*, where only two competitors have a realistic chance.
- shoo-inInevitable victor
- done dealFinalized, irreversible agreement
- landslideMass of earth falling
- horseraceEquestrian speed competition
- uncontestedFacing no rivals
walk-over · easy win · certainty · dead cert · domination · competition · sure thing · safe bet · in the bag · point-to-point · anticlimax · monopoly · cakewalk · predictability · lopsided · inevitability · obviousness · preordained
one-horse racephoto finish
Race decided by camera
neck and neck · dead heat · nail-biter · too close to call · cliffhanger
one-horse racetoss-up
Outcome with equal chances
unpredictable · wide open · anybody's guess · coin flip · wild card
horse, race, ones, horses, raced, races, racing, racer, racers