Wilder race, by and large (9)
I believe the answer is:
generally
'by and large' is the definition.
('generally' can be a synonym of 'by and large')
'wilder race' is the wordplay.
'wilder' becomes 'gene' (gene wilder).
'race' becomes 'rally' (rally is a kind of race).
'gene'+'rally'='GENERALLY'
(Other definitions for generally that I've seen before include "In most cases, usually" , "most of the time" , "For the most part" , "Usually, as a rule" , "as usual" .)