The race to be early, perhaps (5)
I believe the answer is:
relay
'the race' is the definition.
(relay race is a kind of race)
'early perhaps' is the wordplay.
'perhaps' indicates anagramming the letters.
'early' is an anagram of 'RELAY'.
'to be' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for relay that I've seen before include "track event" , "article in bank" , "supplementary store of anything" , "Broadcast" , "Pass on - put down again" .)