The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word STARTER
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
T
A
R
T
E
R
More clues leading to the result STARTER
- Opening course for Aintree official?
- Course race official
- Course includes minimalist art, erroneously
- Track official whose report is eagerly awaited
- Sulphur and more acid in dish
- Dish to get the runners moving?
- Time to interrupt one looking rudely – race official
- No substitute for an appetiser
- First course more piquant after seconds
- Course official who controls race, initially?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "race official" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case race official = starter.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does STARTER mean?
STARTER noun- Someone who starts something.
- Something that starts something.
- The first course of a meal, consisting of a small, usually savoury, dish.
- (team sports) A player in the lineup of players that a team fields at the beginning of a game.
- A dog that rouses game.
- A short length of rope formerly used for casual chastisement in the Navy.
- A railway signal controlling the starting of trains from a station or some other location, more fully called a starter signal or starting signal.