From the world of horse race betting, where lists of winners would be published with non-paying positions printed in a block under the heading “Also Ran”.

also-ran (pluralalso-rans)

1. A person or animal who competed in arace but did not win.
2. (figuratively) Aloser; a person or thing soon to be forgotten.
   • 1960 June 18, “Nerves of Steel”, inThe New York Times:

     It also turned Palmer from analso-ran into a challenger.

   • 1962,Records of the Proceedings and Printed Papers of the Parliament, volume 4, Australia, page261:

     I have 37 actors and actresses I would supply for television and radio work and then I have maybe 150 to 200also-rans who get extra work and television commercials.

   • 1978 April 26,Janet Maslin, “Film: Scorsese and the Band”, inThe New York Times‎^[1]:

     […]some of Mr. Scorsese's accomplishments have been so stunning—that it's impossible to view "The Last Waltz" as anything but analso-ran.

   • 1993, Martin Yate,Hiring the Best, Adams Media, page58:

     And, of course, it is also far easier, quicker, and less embarrassing to dismiss analso-ran over the phone than it is in person[…]

   • 1998, Richard C Dorf,The Technology Management Handbook, CRC Press, page40:

     […]as the drug came out of the R&D laboratory, it could have been just anotheralso-ran[…]

   • 2004 August 9,The New Yorker, page40:

     The transition fromcomer toalso-ran can be quick[…]

• first loser
• nearly man
• underdog

• “also-ran”, inMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.:Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “also-ran”, inCambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire:Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “also-ran” inLongman Dictionary of Contemporary English,Longman.

• nasoral