%%
%% Image selected per Image Pickin thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=17105094170.82204800
%% Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.
%%
[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/PawPatrol https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pawpatrol_race.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:That plane is '''so''' against the rules… this is a dog race, Skye, not a dog''fight''!]]
%%
%% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without further discussion in the Caption Repair thread:
%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900
%%
->''I can't slow down this time\\
I gotta rev it up and go\\
I gotta keep it in the lines\\
Tonight there's blood on the road\\
I keep the pedal down\\
They're gonna know how this felt\\
No one gets in to heaven without racing through hell\\
Eye for eye, lap for lap\\
There's no turning back!''
-->--'''[[Music/TupperwareRemixParty TWRP]]''', ''Phantom Racer''

The story (or a segment/side plot) is about a race, or races in general. This works as a plot device for several reasons:

* The concept is readily understandable with little explanation required. Say there's a race in the offing, and you can immediately move on to explain the terms (i.e. the course, the prize, the rules).
* The concept is flexible, with a variety of ways to make the race a challenge and thereby add interest to the race itself. Such terms often include long distances, tough terrain, or some kind of imposed handicap (adhering to certain vehicle specifications, carrying a fragile/awkward object, or even hopping in a burlap sack).
* Racing in a variety of forms has a long pedigree; it may be OlderThanDirt. Yet despite its long history, racing never seems to go out of style, regardless of the changes in society and technology. Not only does the concept get applied to new means of transport as they are invented, but spectators still flock to see humans run in track meets, in what must be the most ancient form of transport that humans have used.
* A race provides a ready-made plot structure, with preparation (rising action), the action of the race itself, and the goal of the prize and the glory of victory (and possibly consequences) for the ending.
* Lots of useful tropes are associated with competition: plucky underdogs, rivalry, favorites, striving, cheating and so on.
* Racing is often a group effort, even if only one person is actually a contestant. Trainers, mechanics, financial backers, friends, family members all play their roles in the cast. This point also applies to human partnerships with animals (such as in horse racing) and even [[SentientVehicle mechanized partners]].

A common feature is a long race with several "stations" where the racers go to rest. These stations often have a GoodGuyBar. Races like this can go across unusual and difficult terrain and have the advantage of being able to dominate an entire movie.

SuperTrope of ChariotRace, WackyRacing and EpicRace. See also TournamentArc and BigGame. Nothing to do with [[RaceTropes racial stereotypes]].

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Anime/SpeedRacer'' and its various adaptations, including the [[Film/SpeedRacer film]].
* ''Anime/SpeedRacerX'' a reimagining of the original ''Speed Racer'' likewise has many big races, but special mention has to go to the Earth Grand Prix final. Starting at midnight on New Year's Eve as the year goes from 2000 to 2001, the race starts in New York, and the racers moves west, traversing a 30,000 km course through 17 countries, until they reach the finish line in Athens.
* ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula''. Taken to ridiculous levels in the TV series, where it features crazy courses like ice grounds, and one race even takes place on the ''Grand Canyon''.
* Part 7 of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun'', features the eponymous Steel Ball Run. The race is a horserace across America from California to New York, with a prize in the millions of dollars and the most gifted jockeys and horse riders of the world gathering to claim the prize. Being Jojo, the race is revealed to be a setup for a grander and weirder plot. Featuring Stands and [[spoiler: the corpse of Jesus]].
* ''Scramble Wars'' transplants characters from series including ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'' and ''Anime/GallForce'' into a world of WackyRacing.
%%* ''Anime/IGPXImmortalGrandPrix''
%%* ''Manga/DashYonkuro''
%%* ''[[Manga/BakusouKyoudaiLetsAndGo Bakusou Kyoudai Let's And Go!]]''
%%* ''Arrow Emblem: Grand Prix no Taka''.
* ''Anime/TransformersCybertron'': The planet Velocitron holds a racing tournament for the Planet Cup trophy; the trophy itself is one of the four [[PlotCoupon Cyber Planet Keys]] and determines the planet's ruler. Given how many Transformers turn into cars, such a plot had to happen at ''some'' point.
* There are a number on instances of these in ''Manga/DrSlump''.
* One of these happens in ''[[Manga/PlusAnima +Anima]]'' where the main character Cooro takes part in a race through a canyon designed for [[WingedHumanoid bird-like +Anima]]. [[spoiler:Said race reveals that it's possible to artificially create +Anima, but this creates an unstable bond between the human and Anima that will eventually disappear, [[BroughtDownToNormal reverting them to ordinary humans again]].]]
* The very first episode of the ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}'' anime series is about Mametchi participating in a race where there are several events placed along the way that the racers have to complete to move on.
* ''Anime/UmaMusume'' is based on Japanese horse racing, and most races in this anime happen on racecourses and have a significant audience.
* ''Manga/{{CITY}}'' has the Annual City Cup, a footrace that acts more like a giant version of a Sports Day team race in structure. Volume 8 is devoted to the whole ensemble participating in some way with this race, while it was only set up the way it was this particular year because its sponsor had a crush on one of the contestants.
* One occurs in ''Anime/CarnivalPhantasm'', with all kinds of land based vehicles ranging between a bicycle, a lorry and a tank. As expected, it gets out of hand very quickly
* ''Manga/{{Lady}}'': In the GrandFinale, [[spoiler: Lynn rides Andrews in the Olympic games's qualifier race, competing against everyone else from her school, as all the friends she's made throughout the series watch in anticipation. Lynn wins, not only receiving the Lady's Crest, but another unintended reward - her RacistGrandpa who refused to acknowledge her entire life for being half-Japanese, Duke Warbawn, finally accepting her.]]
* ''Anime/RedLine'' revolves around the fastest, most dangerous, and most prestigious race in the galaxy. It's not entirely legal, so the chosen site pulls out all the stops to keep the event from taking place.
* The ''Anime/{{Pecola}}'' episode "The Cube Town Tri-Brag-a-Thon" is about the people of Cube Town preparing for the Cube Town Triathlon. As Coco prepares Bongo to race, Rudy keeps bragging about how he could win the first part of the race with a bag of flour strapped to his back, the second part of the race by pulling his friends in the rowboat he has to use, etc., which comes back to bite him when Coco and the others actually challenge him to win the race under those conditions.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': The Season 2 finale, "Race of Champions", is about the heroes participating in a car race. Big M., the show's villain, naturally tries to screw them over during the race.
* Episode 241 of ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' has the goats participating in a dragon boat race. The wolves go into the giant Chinese rice dumpling serving as the prize for winning the race, hoping that the goats will win so that they can pop out of the dumpling when the goats take it home with them.
* ''Animation/PleasantGoatFunClass'':
** In ''Sports are Fun'' episode 15, the goats and Wolffy participate in a dragon boat race again, this time with them actually learning about how the sport works as they go along.
** In ''The Earth Carnival'' episode 17, the goats and Wolffy all have a race down a river, with Miss Earth teaching them about the science behind rivers as they go along.
* ''Animation/SimpleSamosa'':
** "Bantantra Divas" is about the gang preparing for the "Bun Pratigotiya", an annual race where the participants ride buns down a trail of butter.
** "Dhakkad Race" has Jalebi and the rest of the gang racing in the Dakkad Rally monster truck race.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* The [[ComicBook/ArchieComics Archie's RC Racers]] plotline was a cross-country RC car race between Archie and Reggie's teams, with Mr. Weatherbee, Ms. Grundy and Svenson as chaperones. [[spoiler: Technically, the race ended in a tie, but since the pets of both teams were unwittingly riding the cars, the prizes were donated to an animal support foundation.]] A subplot was dealing with Beach Blanket Babbette, who owned a rival electronics company and wanted to stop the race so she could StartMyOwn.
* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} and the Chariot'' Race is about a chariot race through Italy, which Asterix and Obelix participate in.
* The first ''ComicBook/ClemHetherington'' book has the titular Ironwood race, in which, for four days, teams of archaeologists gather in the desert to race in cars and dig up four artifacts hidden by Brecht Ironwood.
* ''ComicBook/TeenTitansGo'': Kid Flash versus Más y Menos in Issue #34.
* There have been ''many'' comics over the years in which Comicbook/{{Superman}} races Comicbook/TheFlash. Mostly it's a tie, but sometimes they figure that since Flash's ''only'' power is being "the fastest man alive", he should probably actually be that.
* An issue of ''Comicbook/{{Quasar}}'' has a cosmic race between all Marvel's speedster characters, which is won by a man from another universe, clad in the remnants of a red and yellow costume, who thought his name might be something like "Buried Alien".
* ''ComicBook/{{Varmints}}'' has the Crooked Butte Dirtbag Derby. The prize is a meeting with the local crime king, Pa.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eastern Animation]]
* The whole plot of ''Animation/AdventuresOfCaptainVrungel'' centers around a global regatta, which is being hosted by the prestigious Yacht Club. The titular Vrungel decides to participate and takes his student, Lom, as first mate, but the third member of the crew Vrungel adds, Fuchs, is secretly smuggling the stolen Venus de Milo statue which he had recently stolen, causing a whole lot of trouble for the three along the way.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'':
** In [[WesternAnimation/Cars1 the original movie]], Lightning [=McQueen=] is a stock car. The film's climax occurs during a race.
** ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'' uses an international race as a backdrop for a ''Film/JamesBond''-inspired MistakenForSpies plot.
** ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'' uses the Florida 500 as the major final battle during the climax. Lightning has to win this race or he’ll have to retire from racing forever.
** The spin-off film, ''WesternAnimation/{{Planes}}'' has the Wings Around the Globe Rally that Dusty participates in.
* ''Animation/HappyHeroes2TheBattleOfPlanetQiyuan'' begins at a big race for all the Supermen (not just the main team), but derails into Happy S., Big M., and Zelia finding Supermen from Planet Qiyuan.
* The ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' film ''WesternAnimation/RaceForYourLifeCharlieBrown'' has the boys and the girls participate against a trio of bullies in a raft race down the river at Camp Remote.
* The Random Roster Race from the ''[[FictionalVideoGame Sugar Rush]]'' game in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph''. This is a crucial plot in the movie, as Vanellope has to win not only for Ralph to retrieve his medal from the ''Hero's Duty'' game (which she had mistaken for a coin to pay the entry fee), but [[spoiler:Turbo, under the alias of King Candy, had reprogrammed the game to make Vanellope a glitch so he could rule. If Vanellope passes the finish line, the game will reset and everything will be back to normal]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/BiteTheBullet'' is about a 700 mile horse race in the latter years of TheWildWest.
* ''Film/TheCannonballRun'', a 1981 comedy based on the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an actual cross-country outlaw road race from the Red Ball Garage in New York City (later Darien, CT) to the pier at Redondo Beach, California, just south of Los Angeles.
* Wanting an exciting climax for his movie about Australian surf lifesavers, scriptwriter Peter Schrek decided to create ''The Coolangatta Gold''. Not only did they hold the event for real to get scenes for the movie, [[{{Defictionalization}} it went on to become a regular sports event]].
** ''Film/TheGumballRally'', a 1976 action/comedy based on the same race.
* ''Film/{{Winning}}'' (1969) stars Paul Newman as a race car driver whose competitive nature threatens his marriage.
* ''Film/ChariotsOfFire'' is a biopic about track athletes Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, who competed for Britain in the 1924 Olympics.
* The eponymous Galaxy 5000 race from the Creator/ChuckECheese movie ''Film/ChuckECheeseInTheGalaxy5000'', where racers from different planets gather on the Planet Orion to race each other in space jets to win pride for their home world. Chuck E. enters the race to win the prize money, 30 keylar ($52,000 US dollars), to help his friend, Charlie Rockit save his family farm.
* ''Film/DeathRace2000'', a race set in the [[{{Zeerust}} far off future year]] of 2000, this race rewards drivers for hitting as many pedestrians as possible.
* ''Film/TheGreatRace'' (1965) is Creator/BlakeEdwards' comedy film about a long distance auto race in 1908. ''Really'' long distance. New York to Paris, traveling '''west'''.
* ''Film/{{Hidalgo}}'' is about a survival race across the desert.
* ''Film/HighwayToHell'' climaxes with Charlie and Rachel in a car race against the Hellcop to escape Hell.
* ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'' (1963) has a dying robber tell several witnesses of his fatal accident about $350,000 he hid after stealing it years earlier. An impromptu race develops and HilarityEnsues.
* In ''Film/JustTheWayYouAre'', Susan participates in a race for skiers with broken legs. All the other racers wipe out, usually within a few dozen feet of the starting line. Susan wins the race by moving as slowly as possible and being the only person to make it to the finish line.
* ''Film/TheLoveBug'' films, featuring Herbie, a [[SentientVehicle sentient '63 Volkswagen Beetle]] that loves to race and helps out its owners with their financial and romantic problems along the way.
* ''Film/Marathon2005'': After Cho-won passes out during his first attempt at a marathon, he starts training towards the Chuncheon Marathon. The climax of the movie takes place during that marathon.
* ''Film/MidnightMadness'' has five teams race around Los Angeles to one destination after another, picking up hidden clues to arrive at the hidden finish line.
* ''Film/RatRace'' features six contestants who are selected by a group of compulsive-gambler multi-millionaires to compete in a race from Las Vegas to Silver City, New Mexico for a two million dollar prize... hilarious hijinx ensue.
* ''Film/{{Secretariat}}'', the 2010 biopic about the legendary record-smashing thoroughbred that swept the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973.
* ''Film/ThoseMagnificentMenInTheirFlyingMachines'': a race from London to Paris.
** The sequel ''Monte Carlo or Bust'' (aka ''Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies''): an auto race across Europe.
* In the documentary ''Film/TruthIn24'', the race in question is the 2008 [[EpicRace 24 Hours of Le Mans]].
* ''Film/TysonsRun'' has Tyson training for the Standbridge Marathon, which he hopes to win.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/BenHur'', Lew Wallace's 1880 novel (adapted for stage and film), Judah Ben Hur and Messala play out their conflict in a famous ChariotRace.
* ''Literature/MasterOfTheWorld'', a thriller by Creator/JulesVerne, features a big automobile race in Wisconsin.
* ''Literature/NationalVelvet'' (1935 novel, 1944 film, and 1960s TV series) centers on a fourteen-year-old girl's effort to train a horse to win an endurance race.
* ''Literature/PugsOfTheFrozenNorth'' has The Race To The Top Of The World, which spans the distance between Sika's village and the Snowfather's palace. Whoever wins the race will have their wish granted.
* Laura Hillenbrand's 2001 book ''Seabiscuit: An American Legend'' about the Depression-era underdog thoroughbred, which became a film in 2003.
* Creator/MatthewReilly's novel ''HoverCarRacer''. Which is about hover car racing, funnily enough.
* ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'': The plot of "Thomas and Bertie" (Train vs. bus) and "Percy and Harold" (Train vs. helicopter).
* ''The Great Balloon Race'', a 1976 children's book by Belgian author/illustrator Gommaar Timmermans.
* ''Literature/RunWithTheWind'' is a Japanese novel (adapted into a manga, movie, stage play and anime) that follows an inexperienced university track team's efforts to try compete at Hakone Ekiden, a prestigious university relay marathon event held every year in Japan.
* ''The Race'' is about a coast-to-coast airplane race taking place when fixed-wing aviation is in its infancy (1909). One of the entrants has just left her husband and the protagonist must protect her from him during the race.
* The plot of "Literature/TheHareAndThePineapple" is that the pineapple challenges the hare to a major race, twenty-six miles, which takes even the fast-moving hare two hours to complete.
* The first ''Literature/{{Brotherband}}'' book features a foot race as one of the challenges between the three brotherbands -- Jesper is chosen to run as the fastest of the eight Herons. [[spoiler:The race has a SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome as Jesper's speed comes from practice evading pursuit as an ImpossibleThief: he doesn't have the endurance for a long cross-country run and is eventually defeated by trained athletes Henjak and Tursgud.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* This trope is the entire point of Series/TheAmazingRace obviously.
* In one episode of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', Tom and B'Elanna participate in a race with the ''Delta Flyer''.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' had the season 7 episode "Space Race", with Colonel Carter as guest engineer on another planet's ship.
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'':
** One episode focuses on a betting-heavy footrace between Father Mulcahy and a sprinter from another unit.
** The episode with the MASH Olympics had several different kinds of races, including a race on crutches, a nurse-carrying race and an obstacle course as the final race.
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': Al enters the Senior Olympics (while not old enough to qualify), and the final event is a footrace.
%%* ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'' had more than a few of them over the course of the series.
%%* ''Series/TheAmazingRace'' is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* The ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' episode "Subway Wars" has the gang discover that Creator/WoodyAllen has been spotted at a restaurant downtown and decide to go there to see him. They then get into a discussion about the fastest way to cross the city [[note]] Ted suggests the bus, Robin suggests a taxi, Lily suggests the subway, Marshall suggests running, and Barney keeps his plan (faking a heart attack and being taken to the nearest hospital by an ambulance) secret [[/note]] and hold a race to see whose method works best. [[spoiler:Robin wins, but "Woody Allen" turns out to be Maury Povich.]]
* The episode “Jag-athon” in ''Series/{{JAG}}'' is about a 10k charity run in which old rivalries resurface and wagers are made.
* ''Series/{{Curfew}}'' featured one that lasted most of the first season. The race is run all night from London to Scotland with first prize being a one-way trip to the organizer's private island and sanctuary from the oppressive government and monsters that plague the country.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
* The Greek heroine Atalanta long escaped marriage by defeating potential suitors in footraces. Meleager got help from the goddess Aphrodite in the form of three golden apples, which he threw at key points in the course to distract Atalanta so he could win.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pinball]]
* A side mode in ''Pinball/{{Monopoly}}'' has you controlling Uncle Pennybags (in the car token) racing against the dog token. Shooting any target advances Pennybags, and a "power-up" can be obtained that shoots you ahead a bit.
* "The Great Camel Race" from ''Pinball/TalesOfTheArabianNights''. The player must make key shots to help his steed pull ahead of the others.
** "Bronto Race" from ''Pinball/TheFlintstones'' works in a similar fashion.
* Unsurprisingly, this is the point of ''Pinball/{{Indianapolis 500}}, Pinball/{{NASCAR}},'' and ''Pinball/{{Victory}}''.
* The "Crash and Burn" table in ''VideoGame/EpicPinball''.
* ''Pinball/{{Corvette}}'' has several Challenges, where the player and a sexy model race their corresponding Corvettes, as well as the Drag Race VideoMode.
* The Rally Race and Drag Race modes in Creator/SternPinball's ''[[Pinball/MustangStern Mustang]]''
* In ''Pinball/FullThrottle'', the player must win a series of motorcycle races to become the World Champion.
* "Desert Run" from ''VideoGame/ObsessionPinball'' is based on the Paris-Dakar cross-country desert rally.
* ''Pinball/{{Checkpoint}}'' has the player compete in a series of rally races around the world.
* VideoGame/ProPinballBigRaceUSA. Exactly what this game is.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* In ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'', this is the plot of the third arc, ''Petals to the Metal.''
* The third segment of the ''Podcast/TwilightHistories'' episode “The Moon” is set in a world where the Space Race ended in a tie when America and the Soviet Union landed on the Moon at the same time in 1955. Since then, the two nations compete in a literal space race each year. The winner gets to determine lunar policy for the next lunar year.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* In the ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' episode "Movement", the children invite the title character to join them for the potato sack race so BJ and Baby Bop decide he'll need their help. They show him several ways to get ready for the big race by warming up and stretching. By the end of the day, everyone finds out that there are many fun ways to exercise.
* ''Series/FraggleRock'': In "Wembley and the Great Race," Gobo and Wembley are competing against each other the Rockbeetle Race, where the participants roll mossballs (giant balls of moss) with their noses, jump up, and shout, "Rockbeetle!" all the way to the finish line.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Virtually any RacingGame with a plot, as well as most {{Driving Game}}s in general.
* The Race segment of ''VideoGame/{{Mafia}}'', which doubles as ThatOneLevel due to the game's car controls not really being suited for controlling ''racing'' cars.
* ''[[VideoGame/ChoroQ Choro Q HG 4]]'' has this as an actual plot and goal: Two friends are working from being the bottom to top racers.
* The ''VideoGame/FZero'' franchise is all about races run by futuristic anti-gravity machines. The original F-Zero and X have minimal plot so they barely count, but ''VideoGame/FZeroGX'' does have a story mode where races are important, particularly the one pictured as the page image.
* ''VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameForAttractivePeople'': ''Homestar Ruiner'' is all about Strong Bad facing off against Homestar in the Race to the End of the Race, a weird obstacle course race. Playing as Strong Bad, you have to sabotage the race to ensure first that Homestar doesn't win, and then that he does.
* ''VideoGame/TheSaboteur'' has two:
** The first is an early mission where Sean must enter and win a Grand Prix race in Germany. The race ends when the German champion shoots out Sean's tire and makes him crash.
** The second has Sean enter another Grand Prix race in Paris. This time, his car is laden with explosives so he can take out the Nazi high command.
* ''VideoGame/{{Poptropica}}'': Monkey Wrench Island's plot is you and Amelia participating in a race. When your plane is sabotaged, you have to get help from monkeys to repair it and win the race.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The ''Website/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'' short story ''The Multi-Dimensional Race'' obviously features such a race as its main showpiece; it is, in this case, organized by the respective SoleSurvivor[=s=] of two races of aliens who have been at war for generations, as a way to finally, ''finally'' have a winner and call it a day. The protagonist is drafted in by the two as the judge.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/BarbieLifeInTheDreamhouse'' TV special ''The Amaze Chase'' has Franchise/{{Barbie}} and her gang compete in a reality show similar to ''Series/TheAmazingRace'', in which they travel to different landmarks to complete various tasks.
* WesternAnimation/BozoTheWorldsMostFamousClown takes a car for a test drive and winds up in a car race in "Hot Rod Bozo."
* The first episode of ''WesternAnimation/BudgieTheLittleHelicopter'' centers on a race between Budgie and Pippa.
* ''WesternAnimation/CareBears1980s'' has an episode called "The Great Race" about the Care Bears and cousins participating in a race, and Beastly participating in it and trying to win himself.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Droners}}'' is all about drone racing in the SolarPunk future.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/JellyJamm'' episode "A Day at the Races", Bello, Goomo, Mina, Rita, and the King all compete in a simple race where they have to reach the finish line in their vehicles. The King cheats by distracting the other racers so that he can get ahead of them, and he also makes fun of them in the process.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/LittleBear'' episode "Little Bear's Sweet Tooth", the sack race is the first game of the Harvest Day picnic. [[CheatersNeverProsper Mitzi cheats by swinging on the trees and is disqualified so Owl and Emily's Granny teach her a lesson.]] After this, the winners are Cat and Emily.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has done this three times:
** In the episode "Fall Weather Friends", Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle participate in an annual race called the Running of the Leaves. Rainbow and Applejack are trying to prove who's the more athletic of the two. [[spoiler:It turns out that they tie for last place because they focused on their rivalry instead the race. Twilight, on the other hand, ends up in fifth place.]]
** In the episode "May the Best Pet Win!", Rainbow Dash holds a race through Ghastly Gorge because she wants a fast pet that can keep up with her, and she claims that the pet that crosses the finish line with her wins. [[spoiler:It isn't one of the speedy birds that won the race that becomes her pet - it's the turtle that insisted on participating and saved Rainbow when her wing was trapped beneath a boulder and carries her across the finish line.]]
** In the episode "Gauntlet of Fire", Dragon Lord Torch declares that according to dragon law, he must step down from his position as Dragon Lord, and summons various dragons, including Spike, to compete in a competition called The Gauntlet of Fire to determine his successor. Whichever dragon is able to navigate through the Flamecano and be the first to retrieve the Bloodstone Scepter wins and becomes the new Dragon Lord. [[spoiler:Spike wins the race, but he passes the scepter and title of Dragon Lord to his new friend Ember.]]
* The first episode of ''WesternAnimation/NiHaoKaiLan'', "Dragonboat Festival", is about the gang participating in a race where they row dragon boats to Dragon Lagoon, where they get to meet Mr. Dragon.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' episode "Eda's Requiem" has Luz and King training for the Gland Prix (basically a FlyingBroomstick race between the three {{Wizarding School}}s) as the b-plot, with them hoping to use the first prize reward of a TV interview [[spoiler:to get a message out to King's DisappearedDad.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol'' has a Movie "READY, RACE, RESCUE" where Marshall is competing against the Cheetah in the Adventure Bay 500 & Around the World Road Rally.
** Has the episode "Pups Great Race" where the Paw Patrol and [[spoiler: Alex Porter]] race around Adventure Bay.
* ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} has at least a couple of these. "Double Cross Country Race" (1951) and "Floppy Jalopy" (1960) has him in a car of dubious quality against Bluto/Brutus and his muscle car.
* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'':
** In the episode "Kid-Kart Derby", Jet races against Mitchell in the annual Boxwood Terrace Kids' Soapbox Derby.
** The episode "Space Race" has Celery racing against her brother Zucchini.
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' episode "Kindergarten Derby" focuses on said derby, where the older kids each pick a kindergartener to sponsor for the race.
* ''WesternAnimation/SecretSquirrel'' and Morocco Mole competed in a race against an arrogant rooster, Hot Rodney. The rooster won the race, but Secret and Morocco got the last laugh.
* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': One episode featured a race where first and second prizes were places at Royal Prep's derby Racing team. Sofia entered the race despite being told that sport was for Princes and not for Princesses.
* ''WesternAnimation/StuntDawgs'': One episode features a relay race between the Stunt Dawgs and the Stunt Scabs where five members from each team use their vehicles and the winning team gets ten million dollars. The Dawgs intend to donate the prize to a charity that helps homeless kids.
* ''[[Creator/{{Terrytoons}} The Adventures of Lariat Sam]]'' story arc "The Great Race for Office Space" climaxes in a horse race between Lariat Sam with his horse Tippytoes and the villain Badlands Meeney with his horse (which is really his minion J. Skulking Bushwhack in a horse costume).
* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry: The Fast and the Furry'' has Tom and Jerry racing around the world, with the prize for winning the race being a mansion.
* ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'' and expys ''Yogi's Space Race'' and ''The Fender Bender 500''.
** Also Jay Ward's ''Tom Slick,'' a segment of his ''WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle'' series.
* Warner Bros. cartoons: ''Porky's Road Race'' and the triumvirant of Bugs Bunny-Cecil Turtle cartoons (''Tortoise Beats Hare, Tortoise Wins By A Hare, Rabbit Transit''). ''WesternAnimation/TheWildChase'' is the inevitable Road Runner/Speedy Gonzales matchup.
* ''WesternAnimation/WelcomeToTonkaTown'': “Race Day In Tonka Town” naturally involves one, a relay race competition between the inhabitants of Tonka Town and the inhabitants of V8ville.
* ''WesternAnimation/WorkItOutWombats'': "Racecar Wombats" centers on the first ever Treeborhood Derby. The wombats want to participate, but their racecar can't fit through the doorway. Eventually, they do make it to the race on time, and everyone wins.
[[/folder]]

----