diff --git a/ddtrace/tracer/payload.go b/ddtrace/tracer/payload.go
index 50c078c060..ef08010252 100644
--- a/ddtrace/tracer/payload.go
+++ b/ddtrace/tracer/payload.go
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ type payload struct {
 
 	// buf holds the sequence of msgpack-encoded items.
 	buf bytes.Buffer
+
+	// closed specifies the notification channel for each Close call.
+	closed chan struct{}
 }
 
 var _ io.Reader = (*payload)(nil)
@@ -51,6 +54,7 @@ func newPayload() *payload {
 	p := &payload{
 		header: make([]byte, 8),
 		off:    8,
+		closed: make(chan struct{}, 1),
 	}
 	return p
 }
@@ -81,6 +85,11 @@ func (p *payload) reset() {
 	p.off = 8
 	p.count = 0
 	p.buf.Reset()
+	select {
+	case <-p.closed:
+		// ensure there is room
+	default:
+	}
 }
 
 // https://github.com/msgpack/msgpack/blob/master/spec.md#array-format-family
@@ -109,6 +118,20 @@ func (p *payload) updateHeader() {
 	}
 }
 
+// Close implements io.Closer
+func (p *payload) Close() error {
+	select {
+	case p.closed <- struct{}{}:
+	default:
+		// ignore subsequent Close calls
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// waitClose blocks until the first Close call occurs since the payload
+// was constructed or the last reset happened.
+func (p *payload) waitClose() { <-p.closed }
+
 // Read implements io.Reader. It reads from the msgpack-encoded stream.
 func (p *payload) Read(b []byte) (n int, err error) {
 	if p.off < len(p.header) {
diff --git a/ddtrace/tracer/payload_test.go b/ddtrace/tracer/payload_test.go
index 0dad3e0113..f8b073a3f1 100644
--- a/ddtrace/tracer/payload_test.go
+++ b/ddtrace/tracer/payload_test.go
@@ -18,12 +18,11 @@ import (
 
 var fixedTime = now()
 
-func newSpanList(count int) spanList {
-	n := count%5 + 1 // max trace size 5
+func newSpanList(n int) spanList {
 	itoa := map[int]string{0: "0", 1: "1", 2: "2", 3: "3", 4: "4", 5: "5"}
 	list := make([]*span, n)
 	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
-		list[i] = newBasicSpan("span.list." + itoa[i])
+		list[i] = newBasicSpan("span.list." + itoa[i%5+1])
 		list[i].Start = fixedTime
 	}
 	return list
@@ -41,7 +40,7 @@ func TestPayloadIntegrity(t *testing.T) {
 			p.reset()
 			lists := make(spanLists, n)
 			for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
-				list := newSpanList(i)
+				list := newSpanList(i%5 + 1)
 				lists[i] = list
 				p.push(list)
 			}
@@ -67,7 +66,7 @@ func TestPayloadDecode(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Run(strconv.Itoa(n), func(t *testing.T) {
 			p.reset()
 			for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
-				p.push(newSpanList(i))
+				p.push(newSpanList(i%5 + 1))
 			}
 			var got spanLists
 			err := msgp.Decode(p, &got)
diff --git a/ddtrace/tracer/transport.go b/ddtrace/tracer/transport.go
index 0f804ff65f..9334ca3300 100644
--- a/ddtrace/tracer/transport.go
+++ b/ddtrace/tracer/transport.go
@@ -133,7 +133,6 @@ func readContainerID(r io.Reader) (id string, ok bool) {
 }
 
 func (t *httpTransport) send(p *payload) (body io.ReadCloser, err error) {
-	// prepare the client and send the payload
 	req, err := http.NewRequest("POST", t.traceURL, p)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot create http request: %v", err)
@@ -147,6 +146,7 @@ func (t *httpTransport) send(p *payload) (body io.ReadCloser, err error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	p.waitClose()
 	if code := response.StatusCode; code >= 400 {
 		// error, check the body for context information and
 		// return a nice error.
diff --git a/ddtrace/tracer/transport_test.go b/ddtrace/tracer/transport_test.go
index 6645a0641f..8f626d3527 100644
--- a/ddtrace/tracer/transport_test.go
+++ b/ddtrace/tracer/transport_test.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 package tracer
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"net"
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 )
@@ -270,3 +272,37 @@ func TestCustomTransport(t *testing.T) {
 	// make sure our custom round tripper was used
 	assert.Len(customRoundTripper.reqs, 1)
 }
+
+// TestTransportHTTPRace defines a regression tests where the request body was being
+// read even after http.Client.Do returns. See golang/go#33244
+func TestTransportHTTPRace(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := http.Server{
+		Addr: "127.0.0.1:8889",
+		Handler: http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+			r.Body.Read(make([]byte, 4096))
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusRequestEntityTooLarge)
+		}),
+	}
+	done := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		srv.ListenAndServe()
+		done <- struct{}{}
+	}()
+	trans := &httpTransport{
+		traceURL: "http://127.0.0.1:8889/",
+		client:   &http.Client{},
+	}
+	p := newPayload()
+	spanList := newSpanList(50)
+	for i := 0; i < 100; i++ {
+		for j := 0; j < 100; j++ {
+			p.push(spanList)
+		}
+		trans.send(p)
+		p.reset()
+	}
+	ctx, cancelFunc := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Millisecond)
+	defer cancelFunc()
+	srv.Shutdown(ctx)
+	<-done
+}
diff --git a/internal/version/version.go b/internal/version/version.go
index f9eb5f104c..a442dfc56f 100644
--- a/internal/version/version.go
+++ b/internal/version/version.go
@@ -8,4 +8,4 @@ package version
 // Tag specifies the current release tag. It needs to be manually
 // updated. A test checks that the value of Tag never points to a
 // git tag that is older than HEAD.
-const Tag = "v1.16.0"
+const Tag = "v1.16.1"