IDEAL LATENCY FLOOR

The invention relates to a system and method for providing a latency floor for an electronic trading venue in which market participants who can respond within the value the floor and choose to compete in a specific race to make or take a price may each have a substantially equal chance of winning that race. The system may detect and distinguish individual “races” that occur on an electronic trading venue. Upon detection of the first order (or message) in such a race, the system may create a batch and a timer for that race. As orders pertaining to that race are received, they are added to its batch. Upon the timer reaching a predetermined value, typically the value of the floor, the race is determined to have ended and the orders are drained from the batch for processing (e.g., against the instrument's central limit order book (CLOB)).