Improved a dad, these ties (4,5)

I believe the answer is:

dead heats

'ties' is the definition.
(dead heat is a kind of tie)

'improved a dad these' is the wordplay.
'improved' indicates an anagram.
'a'+'dad'+'these'='adadthese'
'adadthese' with letters rearranged gives 'DEAD-HEATS'.

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.

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