The old system went out with the new Season Style regatta. Now we have up to 9 chests that don't get opened until after the race. Previously up to 12 would open (depending on the number of racing members) and we could choose from 9 chests. We could also choose to pay Tcash to refresh any number of unwanted chests, in the hope of something better. At least this way, when our actual prizes were poo (and they frequently are) we could at least find something worthwhile in the remaining chests. No such luck now!
Like you, I can no longer see the point in spending a whole week working for exactly the same rewards that come by train every 2 hours, so I'm no longer racing.. and I don't miss it.