Even if there were 1 second ticks, there would be a race every second (or minute) to get in queue for specific trades. And therefore the speed race would conti

Even if there were 1 second ticks, there would be a race every second (or minute) to get in queue for specific trades. And therefore the speed race would continue as it is now. It would just happen on the edge of every second instead of continuously. As long as you have markets, you are going to have market makers and takers trying to get edge. It happens on Wall Street and also every other market place you can think of. I agree that there is rent seeking in this setup, but the overall value of free and open markets greatly overshadows that cost.