Meanings
alternative no horse in that race
- idiomaticNo vested interest in the outcome of a contest or debate.
I have no horse in this race; I just want to see justice done.
2 more examples
The assessment is unbiased (I have no horse in this race) but that does not mean it is the only possible one, since empirical software engineering, the objective study of software processes, is still a science in progress.
2014, Bertrand Meyer, Agile!: The Good, the Hype and the Ugly, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBNOther than that business relationship, he had no horse in this race.
2020, Dan Bongino, Follow the Money: The Shocking Deep State Connections of the Anti-Trump Cabal, Post Hill Press, →ISBNSynonyms: no dog in this fight
Synonyms & antonyms
nounNo vested interest in the outcome of a contest or debate.
Origin
From betting on horse racing; someone who has not placed bets on any of the horses in a particular race will have no vested interest in any of them winning.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
no horse in this race. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20horse%20in%20this%20race
“no horse in this race.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20horse%20in%20this%20race. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “no horse in this race,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20horse%20in%20this%20race.
Source: no horse in this race on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.