Why not do away with the racing part altogether?
Why not show the horses being saddled, and then do a post parade followed by warmups?
While this is happening the public would be betting on the outcome.
But instead of an actual race to determine the outcome:
After warmups, at post time, ring a bell to signal the close of betting. Then have the riders send the field once around the track at a slow gallop --
From there have the stewards judge the horses (subjectively) on different attributes like best turned out, coat, dapples, muscle mass, comportment, etc.
Afterwards, give the stewards a few minutes to finish filling out their scorecards.
Then collect the scorecards and scan them into the tote system. At which point the scores could be tabulated to determine first place, second place, third place, etc.
Have the placing judges double check the scorecards and declare the contest official. Then post the results and payoffs.
Isn't that where we are headed? 
-jp
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