Rally of the Twelve Galaxies

The last Rally of the Twelve Galaxies was held in 2499, and opened with over four thousand contestants. By the final stage on Desolation, only Epzo and Angstrom were alive. At this time, the two competitors had been intercepted on Desolation by the Doctor and her three unwitting companions. While the Doctor focused on the mysteries of the planet, accompanied by Angstrom, Epzo tried to strike out on his own, an act which nearly got him killed. In the end, the Doctor and Epzo forced Ilin into accepting Ezpo and Angstrom as joint victors following the actions of both in ensuring the survival of all on Desolation at the time.
The Rally was started by Ilin, under the pompous name of "Rally of the Twelve Galaxies", despite the fact that at the time, the Stenza empire encompassed roughly forty percent of one galaxy, and the whole of the race took place within that territory. Stages were held on planets that had been destroyed by previous Stenza military actions, but other hostile locations were not excluded. (The only off-limits place was Mudewei itself, out of fear that the arctic regions of the planet would become a tourist attraction.)
As a response to public scrutiny, Ilin entered the race himself in its third year, and his deceptive, underhanded tactics allowed him to come out on top. He reinvested the winnings into the race, and his example was followed by contestants for the rest of the Rally's run, to varying degrees of success.

Execution

Contestants are drawn from across all walks of Imperial life, although Stenza generally refrain (challenge is not something undertaken for "fun" in their culture), and Sandibari are too small and too widely considered to be humble non-sophont insects to be invited. Competitors entered in the thousands in hopes of winning the substantial sum that Ilin offered (the last Rally boasted a figure of 3.2 trillion Krin, a larger than average figure in celebration of the last race that was divided between two victors, also highly unusual), but almost all of the contestants die during the course of the race.

We start the race with nothing and barter our way up.

— Angstrom

The last person standing is crowned the victor, and as they say,

To the victor go the spoils.