See a race as a rip-off (5)
I believe the answer is:
cheat
'a rip-off' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'see a race' is the wordplay.
'see' becomes 'C' (the word for the letter, according to Chambers).
'a race' becomes 'heat' (I've seen this before).
'c'+'heat'='CHEAT'
'as' is the link.
(Other definitions for cheat that I've seen before include "fleece" , "Welsh" , "Fool" , "Skin" , "Dishonest dealer" .)