| MISTER | Title for the mascots who appear at the beginning of the starred entries |
| SCHUYLERSISTERS | "Hamilton" trio whose names appear at the beginning of this puzzle's theme entries |
| BRA | Item whose types appear at the beginning of this puzzle's theme entries |
| REDRIDINGHOOD | Fairy tale girl, Little ... who appears at the wedding of Sleeping Beauty and the Prince in Tchaikov |
| SANTA | Seasonal visitor who appears at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade |
| WILLPARRY | Protagonist in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy who first appears at the beginning of The Subtle Knife (4,5) |
| SKIRT | Types of this garment are found at the beginnings of the starred entries |
| HOST | Emcee: the circled letters of the starred entries, in clue order, spell out the name of the late star of the puzzle's title show |
| TEASE | Verb for which synonyms can be found at the beginnings of the starred answers |
| HADRONS | They're composed of quarks (particles whose six flavors appear at the ends of the asterisked entries) |
| HORSERACE | What the puzzle's title refers to; the first parts of the starred entries, in clue order, give the order of the top three finishers |
| LORDS | Characters who appear on the 10th day of The Twelve Days of Christmas (5) |
| ITSACIRCUS | Reaction to a frenzied scene, and what could be said of the beginnings of the starred answers |
| SWINGSET | Playground fixture, or an apt description of the beginnings of the starred clues |
| OUTCROPS | Parts of rock formations or mineral veins that appear at the surface of the earth (8) |
| OLLY | One of the mascots of the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney |
| APPROPRIATE | A synonym for the first word in each of the starred entries, as well as for the puzzle's title |
| HORSEMEN | Four ... of the apocalypse who appear in the Bible |
| MOUSE | When spelled out, word that follows the beginnings of the starred answers in a memorable kids' show |
| KICKSTARTER | Crowdfunding choice, and a hint to the beginnings of the starred answers |
