Hutt Flats was a desert region situated on the planet of Tatooine. In prehistoric times, it formed the bed of Lake Anre, which flowed via subterranean streams into the Northern Dune Sea. During the last decades of the Galactic Republic era, podracing circuits traversed the flats, originating from the Mos Espa Grand Arena, which was constructed within the region's limits. The Boonta Eve Classic podrace's concluding segment was the Hutt Flats, and it was here that Anakin Skywalker and Sebulba clashed in their respective vehicles on the race's third lap. Following the entanglement of the two pilot's vehicles, Sebulba's engine detached, causing his vehicle to crash and enabling Skywalker to secure the win.
The Hutt Flats, formerly the location of the prehistoric Lake Anre, comprised a vast, level desert extending beyond one end of Ben's Mesa mountain, bordered on multiple sides by towering cliff walls on the planet of Tatooine. One access route to the flats was the Devil's Doorknob canyon entrance, connecting the desert to the Corkscrew canyon. Furthermore, a canyon cutting through the Waldo Flats region provided another opening into the Hutt Flats, linking them to Mushroom Mesa.
Sometime after Lake Anre's desiccation, resulting in the flats' formation, the Mos Espa Grand Arena was erected in one corner of the flats, and a podracing track was established, using the flats as its final stretch. Given that the Hutt Flats represented the ultimate portion of any race on the circuit, it frequently elicited aggressive behavior from podracers as they competed for final standings. Sebulba, a Dug podracer who competed during the final decades of the Galactic Republic, often leveraged the size and weight of his substantial podracer to attempt to force rival pilots out of races while traversing the flats, frequently amusing the spectators.
Thirty-two years prior to the Battle of Yavin, the Boonta Eve Classic podrace was held at the Mos Espa Grand Arena, incorporating the Hutt Flats as both the initial and concluding segment of each of its three laps. Racers proceeded directly from the arena through a small section of the flats and into the Waldo Flats canyon before navigating around Ben's Mesa and re-emerging into the flats via the Devil's Doorknob. During the race's second lap, Neva Kee, piloting a Xamster, departed the circuit while in the Hutt Flats and vanished without a trace, his whereabouts remaining unknown after the race.
During the race's final lap, the two leading contenders, Sebulba and Anakin Skywalker, entered the flats simultaneously, contesting for the lead. As he had previously done, Sebulba attempted to ram Skywalker's smaller vehicle. Piping from the Dug racer's pod became entangled with the machinery of Skywalker's engines, trapping the two vehicles together. In an attempt to break free, Sebulba dislodged a component of his podracer, and seizing the opportunity, Skywalker accelerated away, tearing parts from Sebublba's vehicle and causing the left engine to detach from the pod and the remaining engine. Both engines quickly impacted the flats' surface and exploded, while the pod containing Sebulba was propelled forward, leaving the Dug alive but effectively eliminated from the race. Skywalker proceeded to win the race, allowing the five other pilots who completed the third lap to traverse the flats and secure their respective positions.
The Hutt Flats made their debut in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, where the desert area served as the backdrop for the podrace's finale, although it was not explicitly named. The location was subsequently identified on a map of the complete podracing circuit from the film, featured in the Star Wars Legends reference book Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Episode I, authored by Kristin Lund and published in 2000. The name's canon status was confirmed through its usage in the Star Wars: Complete Locations reference book, released in 2016.