Small bears in horse race (6)
I believe the answer is:
stakes
'horse race' is the definition.
'stakes' can be an answer for 'race'. I am not sure about the 'horse' bit.
'small bears' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'bears' becomes 'takes' ('take' can be a synonym of 'bear').
's'+'takes'='STAKES'
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stakes that I've seen before include "Posts; bets" , "Wagers with pointed poles" , "Hazards" , "Pointed sticks or shares in enterprise" , "Monies risked on gambles" .)