Soak laces he tangled in race (12)
I believe the answer is:
steeplechase
'race' is the definition.
(steeplechase is a kind of race)
'soak laces he tangled' is the wordplay.
'soak' becomes 'steep' (steeping is a kind of soaking).
'tangled' indicates an anagram.
'laces'+'he'='laceshe'
'laceshe' anagrammed gives 'lechase'.
'steep'+'lechase'='STEEPLECHASE'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for steeplechase that I've seen before include "Horse race with ditches and hedges" , "Race over fences" , "Running event over hurdles and water jumps" , "Type of horse race" , "run?" .)