Horse Racing.(in a heat race) the space measured back from the winning post that a horse must reach by the time the winner passes the winning post or be eliminated from subsequent heats.
14.
Mathematics. the greatest lower bound of differences between points, one from each of two given sets.
late 13c., from O.Fr. destance, from L. distantia "a standing apart," from distantem (nom. distans) "standing apart, separate, distant," prp. of distare "stand apart," from dis- "apart, off" + stare "to stand" (see stet). The figurative sense is the same as in stand-offish.
Phrase go the distance (1930s) seems to be originally from boxing.