Horse race betting is one of the oldest, most widespread wagering branches in the world and the US. In fact, it has been available and legal in the state of New Jersey since the late 1800’s when the first race tracks opened. However, betting on equine events has taken on an entirely new dimension thanks to local online gambling platforms; To learn about the best betting sites in New Jersey and what you can expect from them, stick with us!
User-friendly interface Seamless transition from DFS to sportsbook with one wallet Promos and free plays for existing members FanDuel Sportsbook is a very good online sportsbook that seems to have a lot to offer every player. Players have a good range of sports to bet on, and some competitive odds to enjoy using. This is a sportsbook that seems to do what it can to beat the competition. It has a great level of security and some good deposit and cash out options.
Since when is it legal to bet on horse racing in NJ? | It first became legal on June 11, 2018 (Assembly Bill 4111 signed into law). |
Since when is online horse racing legal to bet on in NJ? | Online betting became legal in this state in 2013 |
What is the minimum age to bet? | 18 years (21 is required for online bookies or racinos) |
How many local race tracks exist in the state? | 3 |
Most popular main event | The Hambletonian Stakes |
What is the average tax rate on equine race? | 24% federal and 3% state tax for individuals |
Do you have to be present in the state to wager? | Yes |
Equine race betting in New Jersey perfectly combines tradition and modernity. While racetracks have been around for over a century, online gambling sites have existed only for a few years. We took the time to analyze and separate the best betting platforms in Garden State.
This betting site is powered by the TVG network, which makes it a prominent name in the NJ sports betting world. NJ residents can rely on this site as it is recognized as a legitimate platform by the NJ Gaming Enforcement Division, thanks to Betfair’s license.
This platform allows you to place bets on over 300 tracks worldwide while providing HD live streams of the events.
Key points:
Main Bonus | 100% deposit match-up of up to $250 |
Apps | Android and iOS |
Best event | The Kentucky Derby |
Main highlight | Tips and predictions that help you make a bet |
New Jersey
Monmouth Bets is an online platform connected to the Monmouth Park track in New Jersey. This is a legal and legitimate site to place bets on, primarily thanks to the TVG network which is a notable name in the world of equine race wagering.
As far as the license is concerned, this is yet another New Jersey site that operates under a Betfair license, issued by the NJGED. This is a platform that allows you to place bets on over 300 tracks from around the world while providing you with HD live streams of the events.
Key points:
Main Bonus | $50 bonus for new members |
Apps | Android and iOS |
Best event | Monmouth at Meadowlands |
Main highlight | Categorization of race types |
While Fanduel is primarily known as one of the most popular online sportsbooks, it is also one of the best-equipped horse bookies available to New Jersey players. It offers a large assortment of wagering opportunities, and it is powered by the 4NJ Bets, and TVG by proxy, which makes it legitimate.
Key points:
Main Bonus | Get back up to $200 if you don’t win your bet |
Apps | Android and iOS |
Best event | Breeders’ Cup |
Main highlight | FanDuel HD TV |
While New Jersey has a long tradition of equine track betting, doing so online has been legal only since 2018, when the PASPA was overturned. Horse race betting in NJ is the responsibility of 2 different bodies of authority- the New Jersey Racing Commission and the NJ Gaming Enforcement Division.
Betting on these events through an online site has been legal in New Jersey since 2018. That said, you must be physically present within the state’s borders to bet legally. Furthermore, the legal age limit for betting is 18+, slightly more lenient than the limit for sports wagering.
Online horse betting in NJ is so popular for many reasons, and one of them is the incredibly low tax rate for winnings, which is set at 3%.
To be able to place a bet online in the state of New Jersey, you must fulfill two general requirements. You must be 18 years old or older and a resident.
Features | Online betting | Land-based betting |
Convenience | ✅ | ❌ |
Bonus offers | ✅ | ❌ |
Better odds | ✅ | ❌ |
Security | ✅ | ❌ |
Social aspect | ❌ | ✅ |
Quick payouts | ❌ | ✅ |
Horse racing is quite an old and well-developed branch of wagering, evident in the number and variety of bets available. You can take your pick from standard and exotic bets, depending on your personal experience and preferences. Exotic bets can be divided into single-race exotics and multi-race exotics.
Type | Description |
Win | This is the simplest, most basic bet in horse racing. All you have to do is pick one that you think will win the event and bet on it. If you choose the winner, you also win. |
Place | The place bet is an excellent option if you aren’t completely sure your choice will be the winner. This bet provides you with a winning opportunity if your horse finishes in the top 2. |
Show | The show bet builds on the Place bet. You will be able to cash out if your chosen horse is in first, second, or third place. That way, most of your bases are covered. |
Exacta | This is a single-race exotic bet that’s best suited for horse wagering aficionados. To win, this bet requires you to pick the top 2 finishers in the correct order. |
Quinella | The quinella is a simplified version of the exacta. To win this bet, you simply need to pick the top 2 finishers, even without guessing the correct placement. |
Trifecta | The trifecta is a single-race exotic bet that is even more advanced than the exacta. To be a winner, you need to guess the top 3 finishers in the exact order they will finish. |
Superfecta | The superfecta is one of the most complex single-race bets around as it requires you to guess the top 4 finishers in the right order. However, due to its complexity, this bet has a minimum limit of $0.10 |
Super Hi-five | This is an exotic bet best suited for expert bettors as it requires you to predict the top 5 finishers and the order of finishing correctly. The minimum bet is usually around $1. |
Double | This multi-race exotic bet requires you to select the winners of 2 back-to-back events. This bet has a relatively low minimum limit of around $1. |
Pick 3 | Like the name suggests, you need to pick the winners for three races in a row. This is a bet with a minimum limit between $0.50 and $1. |
Pick 4 | This exotic bet requires a certain level of expertise as it requires you to choose the winners of 4 consecutive competitions. Due to its level of difficulty, this bet has a $0.50 minimum limit. |
Pick 5 | To win this bet, you will need to pick the winners of 5 straight races, which is no small feat. So, even though the minimum allowed bet is as low as $0.50, the winnings are pretty impressive. |
Pick 6 | The most difficult multi-race exotic bet is the one that requires you to select the winners of 6 events in a row. To make this bet, you’ll need to meet the minimum bet requirement of $0.20. |
There are two main categories when it comes to the types of odds you can expect to find while betting on equine events.
Odds in this betting branch are divided into fixed, and pari-mutuel odds, and which kind you choose depends entirely on you.
Fixed odds are the most common and traditional form of placing bets, as it has the longest history. Regarding these odds, the bookmaker, usually the online sportsbook or the track itself, provides you with fixed odds for a specific event.
If an equine that's about to race on the Meadowlands Park track has a 5/1 odds of winning, and you wager on it, you will receive your stake 5x. To simplify it, if you bet $10 on a horse with 5/1 fixed odds, and it wins, you will win $50.
Pari-mutuel is a system in which all bets on a particular event are put in a single pool. Once the house take has been deducted, the pool total is calculated and split by the odds. This approach is slightly more complicated than the simple fixed odds option.
So, if the total bet pool is $1000, and there are six possible outcomes in the race, the total bet is split according to the odds of each outcome. These winnings are multi-tiered, which is where the pari-mutuel title comes from.
Winnings from equine race wagers are considered taxable income in New Jersey and on a federal level.
Tax | Rate | Note |
New Jersey State Tax | 3% | Only for winnings of $600 or more |
Federal tax | 14% | Only for winnings of $600 or more |
There are three options for you to choose from when deciding where to bet on equine competitions in the Garden State. The first and most obvious choice is the horse tracks within the NJ borders. You can choose from Monmouth Park, Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment, and Freehold Raceway.
You don’t need to be on the track premises to bet on horses. You can also go to one of many off-site land-based betting shops throughout NJ. Shops popular amongst players, such as Favorites at Hillsborough, Favorites at Woodbridge, and Winners, stand out.
Finally, the quickest and most convenient way to bet on equine events is via one of NJ top sportsbooks online. The two most prominent options are 4NJBets and Monmouth Park Bets. Of course, you can also turn to other popular sportsbooks like Fanduel that offer these types of bets in collaboration with 4NJBets, TVG, and Betfair.
This type of betting is fairly straightforward, regardless of your previous experience and the types of bets and odds you choose. If you opt to place your wagers at a land-based operation – a track or an off-site shop -, you can look up the odds displayed at the location, decide which bet to make, and place it.
When it comes to online betting sites, the process is even simpler. All of the wagering opportunities, as well as the odds, are displayed clearly.
So, you just need to create an account, add your chosen bets to the bet slip, and make the payment.
While there are numerous events throughout the year in the Garden State, some still stand out from the rest. If you are looking to bet on the biggest events of the year, you should keep an eye out for the following:
As there are three tracks in NJ, there are plenty of events to look forward to in the future. All three tracks are hosts to competitions every Saturday and Sunday (with certain exceptions) from 12:30 p.m. (EST). See the table below for a better perspective.
Upcoming Race Events | Dates |
Events on the Meadowlands Racetrack | Every weekend in December except for the 23rd and 24th |
Events on Monmouth Park track | May through October, 2023 |
While most sports betting sites do offer bonuses and promotions to draw players in, those offers are not specially tailored to players from New Jersey.
If you bet on the Monmouth Park Bets site, you can expect a $50 welcome offer as a newly registered player in the Garden State.
While equine betting can be an extremely entertaining hobby, you should always strive to be as safe and responsible as possible when placing bets.
Only a secure and legal equine race betting site can operate under a license issued by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. To ascertain whether a site is legitimate, you can either look for the NJDGE logo stamp on the website, or you can visit the NJDGE website and look at the odds-maker yourself.
Players from the state of NJ can only place bets with bookies licensed by the NJDGE, so you should research the available options. This research will also come in handy when trying to find the best odds for certain events.
It is always important to be in control when betting online, regardless of the type of bet you are making. That is why you should turn to the self-exclusion tools available if you need to step back from wagering.
In order to improve your chances of winning, it would be best to make different kinds of bets, instead of focusing on just one. You can choose different types of bets from the variety of single-race and multi-race options, and you can pick a different betting system every time you wager.
Instead of betting on a horse to win a single race with a fixed odd system, you can opt to wager on winners of back-to-back races with a pari-mutuel system.
Betting on equine NJ events online is convenient, practical, and exciting. You can follow several different competitions at once, keep up with the changes in odds, and even change your bets or cash out as you please; While there are only so many sites available in the state of NJ, the quality opportunities and possibilities for growth are there.
Absolutely! It has been legal since 2018. This is still a growing branch of online betting, but numerous opportunities exist to win big.
Definitely not! One of the main conditions for NJ wagering is that you be physically located within the state’s borders.
The age limit for equine race wagering in the state is 18+, which is more accessible than sports betting which requires an age of 21+.
Certainly! The law allows you to bet on any racing event available on the betting sites licensed in NJ.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement issues the licenses. This gaming body is responsible for all the betting rules and regulations in the state.
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