The Best Online Horse Betting Sites
Horse racing is as much an art as it is a sport. For bettors, it’s an unbridled experience with many chances to make picks on the best equines in the world. Online betting is big business and it can be hard to narrow down the type of bets to make and which racebooks are worth it.
Playing the ponies has been a popular pursuit of racing bettors for centuries, whether at the local racetrack, off-track (OTB) or even in Las Vegas. Nowadays, you can make Kentucky Derby picks from your phone. To give you an idea of which racebooks are hot to trot, we’ve created this handy guide to horse racing sports betting.
Bovada Racebook
One of the best horse racing betting sites around, Bovada is the Secretariat of racebooks. Geared to bettors of all levels, you’ll find odds and lines on everything from the Kentucky Derby to Del Mar and Saratoga. Available in English and Spanish, you’ll love making your picks at this book due to how easy the site is to navigate. If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind betting experience, this is the racing site for you.
- 50% Welcome Bonus
- Bet on Props and Head-to-Heads
- All Major US Tracks Covered
BetOnline Racebook
No list of the best horse racing gambling sites would be complete without a mention of BetOnline. Offering a wide range of exotic bets, this racebook is perfect for novices and seasoned pros. With clean graphics and daily races available for bettors, this is the go-to book for those looking for a simple and fun gambling experience.
GTBets Racebook
Horse racing at GTBets is where you’ll find both high and low betting limits, and a great monthly rebate on losses. Without fancy graphics or a cluttered interface, bettors are treated to a fun wagering experience that caters to ace horse racing enthusiasts and beginners looking to bet on their first Kentucky Derby.
5Dimes Racebook
Without any bells and whistles, 5Dimes has become one of the more popular horse racing sites around. They offer not one, but two different racebooks which gives keen bettors a chance to wager with different bankroll benefits. There’s the Rebate giving you up to 9% rebates on your daily equestrian bets and the Plus 10% which provides track odds plus 10%.
Finding the Best Horse Racing Gambling Site
There are so many websites for online racing jockeying for your business that it can be hard to determine which one is right for you. Similar to online sportsbooks, trust is of the utmost importance for bettors when it comes to online racebooks. Odds Shark has vetted the betting sites that we list above so you can be rest assured that they’re all thoroughbreds ready to compete in the Kentucky Derby of wagering.
The online racebook reviews located here are to help you determine the best place to bet on horses. Our main objective is to use our vast experience in the online betting industry and knowledge of the various operators to help make your decision easier.
Triple Crowns: Kentucky Derby Odds and More
While many people like to bet on the Kentucky Derby along with other Triple Crown events (the Preakness and Belmont Stakes), there are other exciting races worth wagering on like the Breeders’ Cup in addition to any of the hundreds of others at North American tracks and around the world.
The sites we mention on this page are studs. Each racebook features odds and lines on all important racing happenings, whether you’re looking to make a trifecta bet on a Santa Anita race or an exacta wager for the next Oaklawn event.
Making a Deposit at Horse Betting Sites
Before you can rein in your bets, you’ll need to make a deposit. The majority of horse racing betting sites allow you to use credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express), e-wallets (Neteller, Skrill, PayPal), Interac, money order, and cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dash).
Bonuses and Rewards
Most online horse betting sites provide more than Kentucky Derby odds, they also give you rewards before you make your picks. At Odds Shark, we think you should look a gift horse in the mouth and evaluate the rewards offered at your racebook of choice. While some sports betting sites offer terrific bonuses, others have great rebates and cashback on your wagers. The best online racebooks will provide a stable of customer service perks and other horse racing benefits as additional considerations because they want to keep your business by helping you grow your bankroll.
Horse Racing Sports Betting
You may not have access to a lucky horseshoe, but you do have access to Odds Shark’s horse race betting pages.
Win, Place, Show
Win, place and show bets for racing are similar to the moneyline in football and basketball. Instead of betting on one of two teams to win, you wager on a horse to dominate the race. If you don’t want to pick an outright winner, you can bet on a horse to place which means that your chosen stag has to finish either first or second. Finally, a show bet requires you to wager on if your horse will finish either first, second or third. These are very popular bets during the Kentucky Derby.
Horse Matchup
For a matchup bet the field is narrowed and you only have to choose between two horses instead of every single one in the race. You need to pick which of the two horses will finish ahead of the other. It doesn’t matter if the horse you pick wins the race, it only matters if they beat the other one.
Let’s pretend you’ve chosen Man o’ War over American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby. (Yes, we are aware that this matchup will never happen, but we love those horses.) If you correctly predict that Man o’ War will outrun American Pharoah, you’ll see success.
Future Wagering
A futures bet requires you to pick a winner months before the race takes place. Like betting on a potential Super Bowl champ in September, if you can correctly forecast which horse will take the Kentucky Derby in January, you could see yourself with a huge payout in May.
Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 6
This is a grouping of racing bets similar to a parlay. Pick 3 bets require you to select the winner of three races in a row and Pick 4 bets entail four successive winners. Not for the faint of heart, Pick 6 bets are more advanced since you must predict the outcome of six consecutive races.
You can also make a daily double wager which only requires you to pick the winner in two consecutive races. If you’re a novice bettor, the daily double may be a good place to start since the stakes aren’t as high.
Exacta Bets
To make an exacta bet, you will need to predict the top two finishers in a race in the correct order. A more advanced version of this bet is a trifecta in which you’ll need to guess the first-, second- and third-place horses in the correct order.
You can also make a quinella bet which requires you to select two horses to finish first and second. Unlike with the other exotic bets mentioned above, you don’t need the horses to finish in the correct order, lowering the stakes.
Handicapping Horse Racing
The key to betting on horses is to understand the subtleties of this equestrian sport since the stakes will vary from derby to derby. However, you don’t have time to go to High Horse University to major in racing so we’ll help you with handicapping techniques.
- Pace: This refers to a horse’s running style. Pressers and stalkers tend to come from behind. Conversely, front-runners start strong and continue on a steady pace throughout the race. Finally, closers start slow and find their footing – or more aptly, hoofing – as the race comes to an end.
- Form: Oddsmakers look to past performances to determine a horse’s form. Horses with the lowest odds generally have the sharpest form, i.e., they’re known to be fast and agile.
- Position: Like with motorsports, track positioning can make a difference. Horses that start near the inside of the track have a shorter distance to run than horses racing closer to the outside. But, they are at risk of being cut off by faster horses.
- Horse type: Make sure you know what kind of horse you’re betting on because a thoroughbred is different from a quarter horse.
- Class: Horse racing has different tiers. High-caliber horses compete against their own. However, class movements are common in equine racing since horses can get stronger or weaker over time.
- Conditions: Some horses excel when the track is slick, whereas others succeed when the track is dry. Check the weather before the race, especially the Kentucky Derby.
- Jockey: There are good jockeys and there are great jockeys. If you’re betting on a horse that is steered by the LeBron James of jockeys, then there’s a higher chance of seeing a payout.
- Line movements: If you notice that the odds are shifting toward a certain horse, it’s probably because the public is heavily betting on that particular stud. Generally, this happens when a horse is the favorite and oddsmakers need to create an equal betting field which is why the line moves.
Whatever you are looking for in an online racebook, do not settle for anything less than one that caters exactly to your needs and provides you with all the features you require as a horse bettor. In time you could become the Seabiscuit of betting on horses.