Luke Chadwick 
Rowan Ward 
Tony Reyes Top Sportsbooks To Use For Horse Racing Betting
Horse racing is one of the oldest forms of sports betting around. And to this day, it’s a fabric of the gambling scene — both “offline” and online. Offline, it’s a legal form of gambling in many parts of the world. Online, several betting sites feature a racebook that’s solely dedicated to taking bets on the sport. Speaking of which, we’re about to give you the racebooks most worth your time and money. Start here if you want to get in on the betting fun for horses:
BetOnline Is Top All-Around Sportsbook For Horse Racing
BetOnline is effectively our “Triple Crown horse” when it comes to racebooks. It checks each of the three main boxes that bettors most want out of a sports betting site — top-end sportsbook, killer promotional, and second-to-none reliability.
First things first, BetOnline doesn’t skimp out on its horse-racing selection. You’ll just about find every major race carried on BetOnline’s racebook. And if you want to wager on non-horse racing bets, there’s that too. BetOnline stocks its sportsbook to the absolute brim with betting action — all at fair prices too. Lines are very in-line with what you’d find in a Las Vegas sportsbook.
On to promotions, here again, BetOnline doesn’t short its bettors. Whether you’re a first-time player or a consistent user, there’s at least one BetOnline deal with your name on it. We’ll call one out as a pure example, the welcome bonus. This deal doles out up to $1000 in free-play rewards for new users that leverage it. That sure is a lot of cash you can freely use on your horse-racing bets.
And last of all, BetOnline is one of the must-trusted offshore bookies around. That obviously counts for a lot, especially in an industry sometimes still associated with scams. Instead of spending time worrying about if you’ll get paid out or not, you can use that same time researching a race event instead because BetOnline is as safe as it gets inside the industry.
Why MyTopSportsbooks loves BetOnline for horse racing betting:
- Deep racebook, sportsbook, and casino
- Value-rich betting lines
- $1000 welcome bonus
MyBookie Offers Elite Rebate Program On Horse-Racing Bets
One of the best deals going not just in horse racing, but all of sports betting is at MyBookie. The popular betting site has an eight-percent rebate on bets made inside the racebook. For those unfamiliar, a rebate is another word for refund. So whatever you bet inside the racebook, you’ll be refunded up to eight percent back (e.g. a potential $80 rebate on $1000 wagered).
Get this, MyBookie offers this rebate every day, all year long. Player accounts are credited automatically after midnight every single time. And there are zero rollover requirements on money earned too. For those that bet on horses consistently, this rebate can amount to a massive — and we mean massive — savings.
Now, these are some rules to this rebate. For one, not all horse-racing bets are created equal. A wager on Tracks A-B-C is entitled to a three-percent rebate, while an exotic bet goes to the full eight percent. Similarly, no rebate will be paid on Win, Place, and Show tickets that pay $2.20 to $2 or less. MyBookie lists these details, plus more, in the “fine print” so read carefully.
Why MyTopSportsbooks loves MyBookie for horse racing betting:
- 8-percent rebate on horse betting
- Additional promotional offers beyond racebook
- Clean interface and user experience
XBet Bonuses Go Far In Horse-Racing Wagers
Given the economic conditions globally, most bettors could use some spare bucks to juice their betting bankrolls with. XBet is more than willing to fill that role because this site is pulling out all the stops for its user base. Right now, XBet is giving new sign-ups $500 in free to join its site. Refer a friend to join the site and you can bank another $100 too.
Like MyBookie, XBet also offers a rebate program specifically for horse-race wagering. It comes in at seven percent and also credited to accounts on a daily basis. Pair this rebate deal with the sign-up or refer-a-friend bonus and you could be sitting very pretty money-wise over at XBet.
Why MyTopSportsbooks loves XBet for horse racing betting:
- 7-percent rebate on horse racing
- $500 sign-up bonus
- New bookie that’s rising in popularity
Most Horse-Racing Lines Can Be Had At Bovada
Horse racing is truly a global sport. Casual bettors surely know the Triple Crown events — Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes — but that’s only a tiny, tiny sliver of the action available in the sport. Horse racing stretches to other corners of the globe too, such as Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong, for example. There’s thoroughbred racing or harness. We could go on and on. The point is, there’s an abundance of betting options for horses available at any given time. Your “best bet” at finding all these lines under one roof is at Bovada.
In the past 10 years, Bovada has carved out a reputation for being on the deepest sportsbooks around — and that translates to a huge diversity of horse-racing lines. If it’s a major race, no matter when and where, there’s a strong, strong possibility it’s available on Bovada. Furthermore, these races will offer the full gamut of bet types such as straight, trifecta, superfecta, pick 5, and so much more. You could effecively on use Bovada to wager on horse racing and not miss a single beat.
Why MyTopSportsbooks loves Bovada for horse racing betting:
- Deepest racebook betting menu
- Trustworthy name inside the industry
- Casino that complements sports and race betting
BetUS Offers Rewards For Consistent Betting On Horses
If you’re going to be betting on horses routinely, then it would behoove you to find one of the best online sportsbooks with a full-fledged rewards program. Welp, that’s BetUS and then some. This betting site offers one of the top-rated loyalty programs around — one that’s comparable to the “comps” in Las Vegas. Every bet made on BetUS, whether it’s on horse racing, another sport, or even the casino, gets rewards points. These points can then be exchanged for cashback, which is where the “big money” truly lies.
Why MyTopSportsbooks loves BetUS for horse racing betting:
- Loyalty program across sports and casino bets
- Rewards cashback, sweepstakes entries, and merchandise
- Top-end customer service
How to Bet on Horse Racing
If you want to learn how to bet on horse racing, you should cover a few sections. We will lay all of them out below for you. These include the best horse betting sites, a horse betting strategy, and being familiar with the races you can bet on. Plus, we will cover the different types of horse bets:
- Win bets
- Place bets
- Show bets
- Longshots bets
- Exacta bets
- Exotic bets
- Trifecta bets
- Decimal bets
Most online sportsbooks will offer betting odds for the above markets. While these bets are available to everyone, we would suggest that Exotic and Trifecta wagers are more suited to betting experts or those players with a little bit of betting experience under their belt.
Trusted sportsbook providers will offer more than just odds. Punters should expect the industry’s best bonuses, various cash-out options, and access to different odds formats—as often bookmakers provide only fractional odds for horse-racing markets. On top of that, we expect bettors to demand platforms with high-quality user interfaces with various incentives, such as a weekly rebate, to keep players active and entertained.
Check out our sportsbook reviews listed above to find these types of oddsmakers.
Races You Can Bet On
To make the best bets in horse racing, you will need to keep an eye o the races you can bet on. While there will be plenty throughout the year, the most exciting and the most plentiful come just a few times every year. However, if you want to stay on top of horse race bets, you will never find a lack of action.
These big events are known to be the most exciting minutes in sports. So it is best to prepare well beforehand to make a horse racing best bet. We recommend that you get to know the different horses and jockeys and the tracks. They can vary widely in shape, length, types of obstacles, and types of terrain. Each horse will have its strengths and weaknesses.
Some of the best odds all year are available in the major events listed below. One race we haven’t mentioned is the Breeders’ Cup, which also garners global attention. We should also mention we will provide free picks articles for all of these races and more throughout the year.
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is the biggest horse race for betting around. Known as the most exciting two minutes in sports, this annual event in Lousiville, Kentucky, attracts huge crowds and lots of money in horse betting.
It takes place at Churchill Downs in late Spring. The track is dirt, oval, one mile 7 furlongs long, and 79-80 feet wide. This race is part of the Kentucky Derby Festival and attracts thousands of visitors. The stakes and the odds will be sharp here, so novices beware. It can be a lot of fun and an intoxicating environment. Using a top horse betting site will help you bet from the calm of your home.
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is held on the third Saturday of every May. It is a thoroughbred horse race at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
The left-handed track is 9.5 furloughs on dirt. These are important details for anyone who wants to bet on the Preakness online. The winning purse is currently at $1.5 million. The first Preakness was held in 1873, with the hosting race track changing a few times.
Belmont Stakes
The third and final jewel of the Triple Crown is the Belmont Stakes. It is normally held on one of the first two Saturdays in June. It takes place in Elmont, New York, and is known for its wide, sweeping turns, making it a very different track from the other two jewels.
Very few horses have been able to win all three jewels. Here’s a complete list of all horses who have won all three Triple Crown jewels.
- Sir Barton (1919)
- Gallant Fox (1930)
- Omaha (1935)
- War Admiral (1937)
- Whirlaway (1941)
- Count Fleet (1943)
- Assault (1946)
- Citation (1948)
- Secretariat (1973)
- Seattle Slew (1977)
- Affirmed (1978)
- American Pharoah (2015)
- Justify (2018)
Types of Horse Bets
Getting Started: Finding Your Horse Race Betting Site
Know that you have read this horse race betting guide, and you know the different types of horse bets, and you are familiar with horse race betting terms, you are more than ready to get started. You are prepared to make the best horse bets possible. Check out these safe and fun online racebooks.
Top Sports Betting
Horse Racing Betting FAQ
Find answers to common questions bettors like you have when researching which sportsbook to join.
You can bet on horse races using any of the online betting sites that we have vetted and recommended on this page.
Yes, it is. In almost every US state, you can use an online racebook to bet on horse races.
No horse racing bet will be a guarantee. That is just impossible. Though favorites will have lower odds numbers in American odds.
The smartest horse racing bet is the one that is the most fun. Horse gambling should be seen as a form of entertainment first and foremost.
Horse racing has its own types of bets and horse racing terms. In addition to the ones you will find in any sport, you can also make exotic, place, and show bets.
Luke Chadwik is an experience writer with a focus on European football, but has always had a keen passion for sport and follows all major leagues across the world. When Luke isn't writing about sports, he's focused on his passion for road biking or spending time with his twin daughters.
