Orse racing is an ancient game with a rich history dating back thousands of years. For as long as horses have been domesticated, folks have been rushing them. The tradition continues today, with important horse racing events held regularly around the globe.
In the USA specifically, you can find horse racing tracks in the majority of states. And of course, where there is competition, there’ll be individuals gambling on the result. Up till recently, all horse racing gambling happened at the monitor. The world wide web has changed everything and people can just as easily place real money wagers online.
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One of the pleasant things about online horse racing is that you are able to bet on races which happen around the country. If you live on the West Coast and need to wager on a race that is taking place on the East Coast, that’s no problem. Internet betting brings the action for you.
The best aspect of all is the fact that it’s all legal. Most states in the USA allow online horse race gambling. So provided that you do not reside in one of the few restricted states, you are able to bet to your heart’s content. You may even watch the races live in your own computer and see how your stakes pan out in real time.
Of the racebook websites listed on this page, all function in accordance with the law in the United States. You don’t need to see offshore betting sites to bet on horses. Websites we recommend are all licensed and regulated to conduct business in the US.
The Legality of Online Horse Racing
Online horse racing betting is legal in most states at the USA. Horse and greyhound racing both received specific exemptions from anti-gambling prohibition which has been passed at the national level in 2006.
A few states have opted from online horse betting, but many Americans are free to bet on horses they all desire. You’re able to see the chart below to get a list states that let online horse gambling, and those that DO NOT allow online wagering. If you reside in one of those states, you’ll have to visit a track in person, or use a licensed off track facility. Everyone else is welcome to join and wager at licensed and controlled online racebooks.
Why is online horse racing gambling legal in the United States?
Online gambling law is murky and convoluted, but the general arrangement is that almost all forms of gambling, gambling and poker are outlawed. The Wire Act of 1961 was utilized as the basis for anti-gambling authorities, and then the UIGEA of 2006 further strengthened that line of thought.
Horse racing in particular has receive two noteworthy exceptions in national law. First was that the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 (IHA). Although the IHA was composed well before the advent of the world wide web, it has played an instrumental part in providing us valid online horse racing gambling today.
Simply speaking, the IHA made it legal to put interstate wagers on horse races as long as such gambling is permitted in both states. This piece of legislation is why off-track betting parlors (OTBs) situated in 1 state may take wagers on races occurring in a different nation. Back when the IHA was composed, it was with OTBs in mind.
Legislators updated the Interstate Horseracing Act in 2000 using a minor change to the definition of an»interstate off-track wager» to incorporate the words»or other electronic media.» This opened the door for legal online horse racing betting.
The 2nd significant exemption for horse racing came in 2006. That year, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in an effort to crack down on illegal online gaming. The UIGEA basically made it illegal to allow banks and other financial entities to do business with offshore gaming sites. This did not technically make it illegal for citizens to put bets on the internet, but it rather made it very difficult to transfer money to and from betting websites.
However, horse and greyhound racing obtained specific exemptions from the UIGEA. It was a small controversy at the time, but many senators were able to make sure carve-outs for racing betting. This setup the frame for your system we have today: valid online horse gambling.
The only catch is that the person states have been given the choice to»opt out» of online horse racing. Several nations took that route and also the citizens of these states aren’t allowed to combine or place wagers at horse gambling websites. The fantastic thing is that only a few states decided to determine.
The Way Horse Racing Betting Works
This is the primer manual for actually placing bets on horse races. The stakes outlined below can be placed both on site and on the internet. The very best way to begin is to try out a number of the basic bets . As you become familiar with how it all works, it is possible to progress up to more complicated wagers.
Before we get into each kind of wager, I’d love to offer you a general overview of the way the betting system works with horses. Horse wagering is categorized as a kind of»parimutuel wagering.» This is a bit different than sports betting, so read carefully if you are new to horse gambling.
In parimutuel betting, all bets on a particular race are pooled together. The racetrack then sets aside a proportion of the pool to maintain for its own income and operating expenses. This is known as the»vig.» This system makes sure that the racetrack earns its cash regardless of the outcome.
The percentage taken out of the pool varies depending on the track and type of bet set. Usually, you can expect to see a vig of anywhere from 15% to 30%.
Following the vig is taken out, the rest of the cash from the swimming pool is used to pay the winners out. The payouts in a horse race shift constantly up before the beginning of the race. As fresh wagers are accumulated, the offered payouts vary to account for the new betting action.
This is why preferred horses provide lower payouts. More people tend to wager on the favorite, therefore when the preferred wins, the section of the pool delegated to this horse needs to be split up among more people. When a longshot horse wins, there are inclined to be fewer individuals financing that horse, therefore every person accumulates more winnings.
Kinds of Bets
There are all types of different bets which can be placed on a single race. The general rule is that the more difficult the wager is to triumph, the higher it pays. By way of instance, a straight bet on a single horse to win pays pretty well, but a bet on exactly the finishing order of the top 3 horses pays much better.
Here are the most Frequent types of horse bets:
Straight Bets
There are 3 distinct kinds of bets that are straight. These wagers are fairly simple and behave as a great starting point for novices.
Win: This is a wager on a single horse to take 1st Location Place: A bet on a single horse to shoot either 1st or 2nd place Prove: A bet on a single place to take 1st, 2nd or 3rd Location Exotic Bets
Exotic bets are somewhat more complex than straight bets. Within an exotic bet, you create multiple selections which include more than 1 horse and maybe more than one race.
Exacta: A bet on two horses to take 1st and 2nd place. Your horses must finish in that Specific order to acquire Quinella: A bet on two horses to take 1st and 2nd but the order doesn’t matter
Trifecta: A wager on three horses to take 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in that exact sequence Superfecta: A bet on four horses to take 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place in that Specific sequence Daily Double: A wager in which you pick the 1st place finishers of two Distinct races
Select 3: A wager where you pick the 1st place finishers of three successive races
Select 4: A wager where you pick the 1st place finishers of four consecutive races Boxing Horses
Boxing is useful once you know a few horses are solid favorites, but are not sure which order they’ll finish. You can»box» these horses to cover every possibility.
Quinella Box: You select three horses and you’ll win if any two of those horses finish in 1st and 2nd place. A quinella box horses #3, #4 and #5 would cover all possible results: 3-4, 3-5, 4-3, 4-5, 5-3 and 5-4.
You could also box exactas, trifectas and superfectas in this manner.
Keying Horses
You can key horses when you’ve got a strong feeling that a horse will finish first but you are not as certain about the horses that will take 2nd and 3rd place. To put it differently, you’ve got one»key» horse picked to win the race and some other horses which will come in later that one.
So let’s say you create a $1 trifecta key of #1 over #2, #3 and #4. In this example, you want the #1 horse to win, then any of those other three horses to finish in 2nd and 3rd place in no specific order.
Getting Started
Now that you have a grasp on the fundamentals of horse betting, you can apply that knowledge to gambling on the internet. In practice, it is essentially the same idea. The sole difference is that instead of talking to a cashier in the racetrack, you choose your wagers onscreen with your mouse and keyboard.
1. Produce and Fund Your Betting Account
The first thing you are going to have to do to bet online is register for an account at an authorized horse racing site (see my three picks near the top of the page). All you have to do is see the race gambling site of your selection, click a few of the big»join now» buttons and fill out the new account type. It should be pretty self-explanatory.
The next step is to fund your account. You do that by logging into your account at your gambling site and then hitting the»deposit» link on your account area. If you’ve not created a deposit before, you’re likely going to receive a pop-up asking you to deposit.
Then, you can Pick from a number of deposit methods:
Wire transfer
Credit cards and debit cards
Check or money order
E-Check
Green Dot Moneypak
Notice: The Green Dot Moneypak is a form of prepaid voucher which you can purchase at stores like Wal Mart and Walgreens. You pay money for the Moneypak and redeem that Moneypak on line by typing in the special number on the back of the card. Essentially, it’s a simple way to fund your account with money.
2. Place Your Bets
After you have an account financed with cash, you should start putting your wagers. Click on the»bet now» button, which will take you to an area that shows a listing of all of the monitors supported by your gambling site. Click on the title of a monitor and then you’ll see a list of upcoming races and also the horses competing in every race.
Every betting site does it a little differently but generally speaking, you will find a screen that lets you select your bet amount, the type of bet and the horses that will be competing. As you make your selections, you should observe a bit slip that reveals a list of your current bet. You’ll also have the choice to box and secret your horses in this time.
When you believe you’ve got your wager all setup, you’ll see a»verify» or»submit» button near the wager outline box. Hit that button and it will ask you one more time if you are sure that this is your bet you would like to place. If everything looks good, click the confirm button and your bet will go live.
After you submit your wager, you can return and put more wagers, watch the race live on the website or go about your day as normal. The website will track your bet and pay out your winnings if applicable. If any one of your wagers are winners, the betting site will instantly credit your account with all the money. You can then cash your winnings out or utilize them to place more wagers.
Betting Promotions
The best horse betting websites compete heavily with one another for your enterprise. All of them know it doesn’t take much effort whatsoever for a customer to switch to a rival. Thus, they all offer their own rewards promotions and programs in an effort to boost customer loyalty.
You won’t go wrong with any of those horse betting websites on this webpage, but you may want to check out their promotions to see which ones seem the best for you. Here’s a look at what every gaming website has to offer:
BetAmerica.com Promos
Right off the bat, BetAmerica provides all new customers a 100% match deposit bonus worth up to $300. It follows that some amount you deposit will be doubled for up to $300 in extra cash. The bonus money is published at a rate equal to 10 percent of every wager you place at BetAmerica.
BetAmerica also allows players to make their own gaming tournaments. This is a exceptional idea in which you’ll be able to produce your own handicapping championship where you define the buyin, demanded deposit, bet types, date and payouts. You may then invite your friends or let anybody join. BetAmerica also picks one tournament weekly and guarantees at least $250 in prizes for free.
On chosen»bonus tracks,» BetAmerica provides 3% cashback on all wagers, with no maximum cashback figures. You might even refer friends to BetAmerica and get $50 when your friends sign up and make a deposit.
BetAmerica.com Review.
TwinSpires.com Promos
TwinSpires takes a slightly different approach using its promos. Rather than focusing on long-term promos that seldom change, TwinSpires constantly releases new, short-term promotions. All these promos revolve around specific betting events in which you are able to earn more loyalty points and receive payout bonuses for placing bets on big racing events.
Player points are summed up at TwinSpires by placing wagers and participating in the frequent promos mentioned previously. You can redeem these points for wagering credits, gifts from Brisnet.com and for free entrance to racetracks.
Additionally, new customers are welcomed to TwinSpires using a $100 signup bonus. This bonus is granted if you sign up, make a digital banking deposit and wager at least $500 during your first month. Meet those requirements and you will receive $100 added to your betting account.
Twinspires.com Review.
TVG.com Promos
TVG is somewhat weak on the other hand, but it will offer a few perks to customers. All new players qualify for a $150 signup bonus that’s released in $50 increments directly to the real money account. For your first three months, you will get $50 added to your balance should you wager at least $250 in any single month.
TVG also has an ongoing promotion where you earn 1 point for each dollar wagered. As time passes, you may accumulate these points and will finally redeem them for money rewards and Skymall gift certificates. The rate of yield is a bit on the low side, but it does come in handy after a few months of heavy gambling.
TVG.com Review.
Major Horse Racing Events
People today gamble money on horses year-round, but a huge portion of gambling action revolves around major horse racing events.
The Triple Crown
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (Triple Crown for short) is a set of three different races. This is the biggest racing event of them all and it is restricted especially to 3-year-old horses. That makes it a once-in-a-lifetime event for every racehorse.
The pinnacle of horse racing glory is to win all three events in the Triple Crown. It’s exceedingly tough to win a Triple Crown since each race is of a different length, and horses typically fare better at a certain lengths than at others. Add to the fact which every horse only gets one chance ever to win, and you may imagine it does not happen often. In the United States, only 11 horses have made Triple Crown glory.
And just to clarify a thing — that the expression»Triple Crown» means different things in different nations. Every horse racing nation has its Triple Crown series of occasions. So if you overhear someone talking about the Triple Crown and they cite the Epsom Derby, this person is speaking about the UK’s variant.
The three events that make up the Triple Crown in the USA are:
Kentucky Derby
Preakness Stakes
Belmont Stakes
Kentucky Derby
When: First Saturday in May
Where: Louisville, Kentucky
Length: 1.25 miles
The first event in the show, the Kentucky Derby, is the single most celebrated event in all of horse racing. It’s held at Churchill Downs every year since 1875 and even non-horse racing enthusiasts dress up in flashy clothes and outlandish hats to observe. Even in the event that you can not make it to Churchill Downs, the odds are you can find a Kentucky Derby party in your city.
Preakness Stakes
When: Third Saturday in May
Where: Baltimore, Maryland
Length: 9.5 furlongs (1 and 3/16ths miles)
After the Kentucky Derby comes the Preakness. This one doesn’t draw as much of a crowd because the Kentucky Derby, but it is still a massive event in its own right. This is also where you’ll begin to see some of the drama that accompanies the possibility of a Triple Crown. All eyes are on the winner of the Kentucky Derby.
Belmont Stakes
After: Three months after the Preakness
Where: Elmont, New York
Length: 1.5 miles
And the last leg of the Triple Crown is the Belmont Stakes. At 1.5 mph, this is the longest race in the sequence. This one is run three months after the Preakness and positions somewhere in the top 5 with regard to attendance and viewership. But this race becomes the largest of them all whenever there’s a horse which has taken 1st in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, providing that horse a shot in the coveted Triple Crown title.
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday prior to the Kentucky Derby each year in the same racetrack in Louisville. The Kentucky Oaks is a very popular race that regularly attracts a crowd of 100,000. The winner gets a $600,000 purse and the famous garland of lilies known as the Lilies for the Fillies.
Breeders’ Cup
The Breeders’ Cup is a set of 14 races held across one weekend every November. This event is generally held in a different track in the USA each year. It is one of the most-watched events in horse racing, with over $25,000,000 in prize money up for grabs.
The largest event in the Breeders’ Cup is the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which is a 1.25 mile race worth $5,000,000. The smallest event in this series is currently worth $500,000; every other occasion is worth $1 million or more.
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is the oldest thoroughbred racing event in the USA and is now 1.25 miles in length. The race is open to 3-year-olds just and has a purse worth $1,000,000. Only 1 horse in background (Whirlaway in 1941) has ever taken the Triple Crown and the Travers Stakes.
Big Players in the Industry
This segment will cover some of the big players in the US horse racing market. More importantly, we’ll go over some of the important betting websites and clarify how they all fit into the large picture.
TVG and Betfair
TVG is short for the»Television Games Network» and it’s a television network devoted solely to horse racing. It began broadcasting in 1999 and has become the greatest horse racing network in the USA. TVG also facilitates offtrack betting through the internet, phone and at times even via boxtop sets on your tv.
The television part of TVG displays live horse races, analyses, gaming tips along with other programs that cover the wide topic of horse racing. TVG also functions a US-based site which it is possible to visit to see live races and place wagers on your PC.
In 2009, TVG was bought by Betfair, a UK-based gaming site based in 2004. Betfair is famous for its exchange-style betting system where people can buy and sell»shares» in places online sports bets. In this way, gambling at Betfair is similar to trading options.
Betfair doesn’t conduct business with customers in the United States, but it keeps TVG alive as a separate thing. You likely won’t see any references to Betfair if you see TVG, but Betfair does possess the provider.
TwinSpires
TwinSpires is a US-based horse betting website owned and operated by Churchill Downs. TwinSpires is available to clients in the United States and provides betting options on tracks across the nation. It’s a free-to-use service which supplies a vast selection of wagers, live races and signup bonuses to get new clients.
TwinSpires is one of the largest horse racing betting sites and includes a clean history. In case you decide to wager here, you’ll be in good hands. The business is licensed to take and handle real money betting in the united states.
BetAmerica.com
BetAmerica.com is your youngest horse racing game wager website but it has grown quickly and now functions as a substantial player in the online gaming marketplace. BetAmerica is licensed from the North Dakota Racing Commission and accepts wagers from customers in most US states.
Like the other race betting sites on this webpage, BetAmerica offers a variety of racing wagers, live streaming video and simulcast selections for all members at no cost. What makes BetAmerica unique is that it offers online greyhound betting along with its horse racing choices.
Online Horse Racing Betting in a Declining Industry
Major horse racing events draw remarkable audiences to this day, however, the sport as a whole has experienced a slow, steady decline over the past couple of decades. Betting handle is down considerably since the 1970s and many horse racing tracks are affected financially.
You can point to many different reasons for the decline. Americans have more gambling options, other sports have grown in popularity, it is easier to sit and watch TV and so on. Now, you can get the public to listen into the Kentucky Derby, but other races are generally the domain of serious horse racing lovers.
Racetracks first looked into adding other gambling games to their premises as a way to bulge earnings. We can observe this with state legislatures eventually opening to the concept of all ontrack slot machines. The paths which have been able to add slots have benefitted greatly from the new earnings.
Likewise, tracks are based more and more on off-track gambling — especially online betting. The horse racing industry still retains considerable clout in politics, and that is probably one reason why horse racing obtained a carve-out in the UIGEA in 2006.
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