run for the roses
Churchill Downs classic
Run for the roses refers to the Kentucky Derby, America's most famous horse race, where the winner receives a garland of roses.
By extension, any high-stakes final competition or climactic contest: After months of primaries, it's now a run for the roses.
The phrase emphasizes that this is the culminating event, not a preliminary.
- jockeyProfessional race rider
- morning workoutExercise done after waking
- Kentucky DerbyPremier American thoroughbred race
- thoroughbredOf pure ancestral line
- ambitionDesire for achievement
Churchill Downs · triumph · glory · winner's circle · furlong · racetrack · down the stretch · mint julep · pursuit · Triple Crown · tradition · pageantry · starting gate · derby · prize · determination · betting · spectatorship
run for the rosesalso-ran
Unsuccessful competitor
going through the motions · phoning it in · giving up · throwing in the towel · quitting
run for the rosesdefeat
Victory over another
loss · bringing up the rear · dead last · scratched · disqualification
run for the rosesalso-ran
Unsuccessful competitor
bush league · small potatoes · small-time · bottom of the barrel · participation trophy
runs, runner, runners, other, others, otherwise, another, worded, wordless