One may be dropped in race for staff (5)
I believe the answer is:
baton
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'one may be dropped in race' is the first definition.
'staff' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for baton that I've seen before include "Prohibition" , "Controller of players" , "Piece of equipment" , "A conductor wields it - or a policemen" , "Staff" .)