"But that's not fair, Sir Luca." Sigird retorted. "Everyone here has been racing each other since childhood! We all know who's fastest! Everyone would just bet on the fastest centaur—"
"Ah, naive Sigrid." Luca pulled her cheek affectionately. "We already thought of that. Mavis and I came up with the idea of giving hidden disadvantages to each racer. Look at Juno over there."
He pointed at one of the racers preparing for the next heat.
"She's got hidden weights strapped under her armor. She's slower than normal. And Palya, in the corner? Rubber band around her hind leg. They all have different disadvantages."
"So even if you know who's normally fastest, that person might have the biggest handicap. The results are unpredictable."
Sigrid absorbed this. It was...clever. Disturbingly clever.
"But isn't that unfair to the racers? They can't compete at their full potential. And...couldn't they just tell their friends about their disadvantages?"
