Few states take their horse racing as seriously as New Jersey, which takes in hundreds of millions of dollars on racing action annually. Here, we’ll provide an overview of the New Jersey horse betting landscape and cover some of the keys to know before placing your first bet.
Yes, horse betting is legal in New Jersey. The state legalized both off-track betting facilities and online horse betting as part of the Off-Track and Account Wagering Act (NJSA § 5:5-127-160) in August 2001. Bettors must be at least 18 years of age to participate.
Originally launched in 1999, TVG is now powered by FanDuel after the previous owner, Paddy Power Betfair, merged with FanDuel in 2018. The website offers live streaming of hundreds of races worldwide, and the sports betting platform serves 34 states in the U.S.
A subsidiary of TVG, 4NJBets was founded in 2009. The platform is a pari-mutuel wagering site exclusive to New Jersey players.
MonmouthBets is the only legal fixed-odds horse race betting destination nationwide in the U.S. Mobile betting apps are available for iPhone and Android, and fixed-odds wagering is legal for all New Jersey tracks.
PlayUp is working to become the second fixed-odds operator in the U.S., and it is already offering fixed-odds betting for New Jersey players in both thoroughbred and harness racing markets. It is legal in 27 states and counting.
Pari-mutuel betting means all the bets of a particular type are put into a pool and the payoff odds come from sharing the pool among all winning bets (after accounting for taxes and the house cut).
Unlike fixed-odds betting, where the odds and payouts are determined when placing your bet, you can estimate your pari-mutuel payout but won’t know for sure until the pool closes ahead of the race. Additionally, because it’s a pooled bet, a pari-mutuel wager involves playing against other bettors rather than against the house.
New Jersey racebooks offer several different bet types. Some are more straightforward like the win, place, and show bets, while others are more exotic in nature. Here are the main types you’ll see in each category:
The thrill of horse betting isn't confined to the excitement of live races at the NJ horse race tracks; it also extends to a network of off-track betting facilities.
In addition to the three horse race tracks, New Jersey also has off-track betting available at five other locations. These are:
All of the above tracks are regulated by the New Jersey Racing Commission, which is a branch of the state’s Office of the Attorney General.
Both online and off-track horse racing have been legal in New Jersey since 2001. However, the state re-legalized horse race betting in 1939 after it had been prohibited for the previous 42 years. New Jersey is home to three on-track and five off-track betting locations.
Yes, horse race betting is popular in NJ. According to reports from the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey, the state saw more than $425 in betting every year from 2015-19, with more than 900,000 people in attendance at tracks in each of those years. New Jersey is also home to some of the oldest race tracks in the United States.
You can find the latest New Jersey horse racing promos here at BettingNJ.com. We update this site regularly with the latest NJ offerings, so keep coming back to make the most of your bets!
Fact checked by: Gary Garry
