Definition of stakes | Bee Dictionary of English

n the money risked on a gamble
n (law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something
n a pole or stake set up to mark something (as the start or end of a race track)
n instrument of execution consisting of a vertical post that a victim is tied to for burning
n the money risked on a gamble
n a strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end so it can be driven into the ground
v put at risk
v place a bet on
v mark with a stake
v tie or fasten to a stake
v kill by piercing with a spear or sharp pole

Saratoga's Travers Stakes was first run in 1864.
But longer term a big issue remains: Investors need to know just what the government's stakes in these banks are worth since that directly affects what the investors' stake is .

Greek PM raises stakes on broadcaster's closure
Greece's prime minister has raised the stakes in a fight with key government allies over his decision to shut "sinful" state-run TV, offering a minor compromise while suggesting he would risk ...
June 14, 2013 - Associated Press via Yahoo! News
Critic of Russia's Putin raises stakes with Moscow race
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny, won an opposition party's backing on Friday in a Moscow mayoral election, raising the stakes in a trial that may put him behind bars for a decade. Alexei Navalny, 37, the most prominent leader of a wave of street protests against Putin's 13-year rule that erupted in late 2011, would be barred from the ...
June 14, 2013 - Reuters via Yahoo! News
Arapahoe Park: Wally Van seeks repeat in Aspen Stakes
With a collective 17 stakes wins, Tulsa Te, Dance to the Star, Wally Van, and E F Five have established themselves as some of the best Colorado-breds in training. On Saturday, the $35,000 Aspen at Arapahoe Park brings all four older horses together. Wally Van is the defending champ in the six-furlong race for Colorado-breds, while E F Five won the race in 2011.
June 13, 2013 - Daily Racing Form

Barack Obama in CNN
The stakes are too high and the challenges are too great to play the same old Washington game with the same old Washington players and expect a different result,Obama told a hugely pro-Obama crowd of Democrats at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner...
President Bush in 940 News
The stakes in November are high. This is an important election. Prosperity and peace are in the balance,Bush told about 2,000 people attending the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Nancy Pelosi in ABC News
The stakes in Iraq are too high to recycle proposals that have little prospect for success,said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leader of Democrats who gained power last fall in elections framed by public opposition to the war.

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