Had race fixed -- that's a ridiculous pretence (7)
I believe the answer is:
charade
'a ridiculous pretence' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'had race fixed' is the wordplay.
'fixed' is an anagram indicator.
'had'+'race'='hadrace'
'hadrace' with letters rearranged gives 'CHARADE'.
'that's' is the link.
(Other definitions for charade that I've seen before include "Total pretence (as in game)" , "Game in which the answer is acted out" , "Ridiculous pretence" , "Acted riddle - pretence" , "absurd behaviour" .)