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Home » Online Betting Sites » Horse Racing Betting Explained

Horse Racing Betting Explained

By Chris Wassel
Updated May 22, 2025

Everyone talks about baseball being an American past time, but horse racing belongs in the same sentence. The sport is revered in America to this day for its old-school ways and yes, betting opportunities — especially during peak season with the Triple Crown, Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes grabbing a lot of attention. Betting just goes hand-in-hand with horse racing.

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For this reason, we’ve created an entire guide to horse racing betting. It’s jam-packed with information so keep on reading!

Horse Race Betting Sites

With so many betting sites for horse racing, it can be difficult to widdle down the options. We’ve gone through a number of sites to recommend the very best horse race online betting sites. It wasn’t easy, but we feel these next few are most worth your money:

Bovada Horse Betting

Bovada is the biggest name in online horse betting. Their site is very complete and easy to use. They even offer horse racing FAQs to guide newcomers. They keep up-to-date information about upcoming races and the biggest ones of the year.

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Bookmaker Horse Betting

Bookmaker is a great option for making the best horse bets. It is a modern sportsbook that accepts over forty types of cryptocurrencies.

If you bet with Bitcoin, your deposits come in faster. With the excitement and the ever-changing odds of this betting-heavy sport, having your funds available for you to use quicker could help you stay ahead of other bettors.

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EveryGame Horse Betting

EveryGame is a solid online betting site. With sleek casinos and a superb sportsbook, you can’t go wrong. Check out their “hottest bets” on their horse racing homepage.

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BetUS Horse Betting

BetUS is great for anyone new to horse race betting. They have their own guide and layout the rules quite nicely.

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BetNow Horse Betting

BetNow has great odds. They bring them in from over 200 tracks from around the world. What more could a horse bettor want?

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MyBookie Horse Betting

MyBookie keeps it simple. They offer odds and futures on all the major horse races.

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Horse Racing Terms

Horse races have its own vocabulary — one very different from other betting sports. It can be overwhelming to grasp at first so that’s why we’re here. Here’s what to know:

  • Flat Racing: Flat Racing is the most common type of racing worldwide. The most prestigious races, such as the Kentucky Derby, are flat races. They tend to be made of turf or dirt.
  • Jump Racing: Jump racing involves obstacles that horses have to jump over. These types of races are then divided into steeplechasing and hurdles. Hurdles are obstacles more than 3.5 feet.

    Steeplechasing involves a variety of obstacles over longer distances. This is considered a much harder type of race. So, only experienced horses tend to participate in these difficult races.

  • Thoroughbred: Thoroughbred horses are the most select of all. They can be traced back to three specific sires: the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian, and the Byerley Turk. They can measure between 15 and 17 hands. One hand is equivalent to four inches. Artificial insemination is not allowed, for a horse to be considered thoroughbred.
  • Standardbred: They come from thoroughbreds, morgans, and extinct breeds. They are typically bred for harness racing and are known for their bravery.
  • Arabian Horse: Arabian horses were bred by the Bedouin to accompany these nomadic people over long distances. That’s why these horses are ideal for endurance racing. These horses were introduced to the United States in 1725, and have become a favorite.
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