Being present for a race finishing (9)
I believe the answer is:
attending
'being present' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'a race finishing' is the wordplay.
'race' becomes 'tt'.
'finishing' becomes 'ending' ('end' can be a synonym of 'finish').
'a'+'tt'+'ending'='ATTENDING'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for attending that I've seen before include "Being present at (function/event)" , "Listening or being present at" , "Paying attention" .)