Home to the oldest racetrack in the United States, New Jersey boasts a rich horse racing history.

The NJ horse racing industry dates back to the 1830s at Freehold Raceway, a track that continues to operate almost 200 years later. Currently, you can watch and bet on live standardbred and thoroughbred racing at three racetracks in the Garden State.

How To Download A Horse Racing Betting App. If you decide to download a horse racing app rather than betting through your browser, you just need to follow these 6 easy steps. Choose from the list of best horse racing betting apps.

There’s also legal off-track and account wagering in New Jersey so you can watch and bet on horse races from across the globe at Atlantic City casinos with racebooks, off-track wagering facilities around the state and online sites like TVG.

This page includes a complete overview of horse racing in New Jersey, including everything you need to know about the state’s racetracks, the most popular races in the country, and how you can bet on horse racing, online and off, right here at home.

Best racing site for betting in NJ

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• Online horse betting at TVG. New Jersey’s Off-track and Account Wagering Act makes account wagering on horse races perfectly legal in the state. That means NJ residents 18 years old or older are free to.
• What to Look for in a Live Streaming Horse Racing App. There are a lot of things that our staff looks for when reviewing an online gambling app for horse racing enthusiasts. Because streaming is such a big part of the sport, the criteria we use for rating these apps is slightly different than that of the other types of gambling apps.

How to bet on horse races in NJ

Horse racing dates back to the 1830s at Freehold, but it was still illegal to bet on horse races in New Jersey until 1939 when voters backed an amendment allowing pari-mutuel betting at in-state racetracks.

Six decades later, New Jersey lawmakers passed the Off-trackand Account Wagering Act in 2001. This made it perfectly legal to bet on horse races in four types of places:

• Online at TVG
• NJ racetracks
• Casinos with racebooks
• Off-track wagering facilities

Online horse betting at TVG

New Jersey’s Off-track and Account Wagering Act makes account wagering on horse races perfectly legal in the state.

That means NJ residents 18 years old or older are free to open an account and bet on local and simulcast races from around the world.

When you join TVG and have your account setup, you can place bets:

• Online using the 4NJBets / TVG racing app
• At a self-service machine inside an NJ racetrack
• Over the phone

Opening a TVG / 4NJBets horse betting account

You can open a TVG account to bet on horse races using just a minimal amount of personal information, including:

• Your name
• A valid email address
• Your phone number
• Your date of birth
• A personal password
• Your current address

Funding your TVG horse betting account

Once it’s open, you’re going to need to fund your account before you can place bets. Fortunately, TVG offers a variety of deposit options for you to choose from, including: BetCash (ACH/eCheck), Debit/Credit Card, TVG Prepaid Card, PayNearMe, PayPal, Gift Cards, Wire Transfer, Deposit at the track, Money orders and checks.

New Jersey racetracks

Close to a dozen racetracks have come and gone in NJ’s almost-200 year history of live horse racing. Today, three racetracks remain in the Garden State, offering live standardbred and thoroughbred racing, simulcast racing and pari-mutuel betting on all of it.

Freehold Raceway

Races have been held at what is now central New Jersey’s Freehold Raceway since the 1830s. The track was officially established in 1853, making it the first racetrack in the United States.

• Live Racing: Standardbred
• Dates: Jan. 1-May 31, September-mid-December
• Simulcast: Open seven days and nights per week for year-round thoroughbred and standardbred (harness) racing simulcasts
• Location: 130 Park Ave., Freehold, NJ 07728
• Contact: 732-462-3800
• Owner: Penn National Gaming and Greenwood Racing

Meadowlands Racetrack

In East Rutherford’s Meadowlands Sports Complex, the Meadowlands has live thoroughbred and harness racing. Notable annual races include the Hambletonian.

• Live Racing: Thoroughbred and standardbred
• Dates: Year-round
• Simulcast: Open seven days and nights per week for year round thoroughbred and standardbred (harness) racing simulcasts
• Sports Betting:FanDuel Sportsbook at the Meadowlands
• Location: 1 Racetrack Dr., East Rutherford, NJ 07073
• Contact: 201-843-2246
• Owner: Jeff Gural

Monmouth Park

Monmouth Park features thoroughbred racing on the Jersey Shore. Notable annual races include the Haskell Invitational.

• Live Racing: Thoroughbred
• Dates: Early May to Labor Day
• Simulcast: Open seven days and nights per week for year-round thoroughbred and standardbred (harness) racing simulcasts
• Sports Betting: Monmouth Park Sports Book by William Hill
• Location: 175 Oceanport Ave., Oceanport, NJ 07757
• Contact: 732-222-5100
• Owner: New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority

Atlantic City casinos with racebooks

The Off-track and Account Wagering Act makes it legal for Atlantic City casinos to open racebooks and offer pari-mutuel wagering on simulcast races from NJ racetracks and horse racing facilities across the globe.

Currently, only one casino has:

Borgata’s Race & Sports Book

The only place in Atlantic City where you can bet on horse racing. Located across from the Borgata Hotel Casino North Entranceand Poker Room. Formerly known as the Racebook, Borgata’s Race and Sports Book now takes sports bets as well.

Features 100 seats with individual flatscreen monitors, 10 betting windows, and self-serve kiosks for horse racing bets.

Plus, the Boot and Whip bar features a video wall displaying live events and races.

• Location: 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, NJ 08401

Licensed off-track wagering facilities

The Off-track and Account Wagering Act makes it legal for off-track wagering facilities to launch in the state and offer pari-mutuel wagering on simulcast races from NJ racetracks and horse racing facilities around the world.

The NJ Racing Commission lists the following licensed off-track wagering facilities:

Favorites at Egg Harbor

• Location: 6055 Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor, NJ 08235
• Phone: 609-804-6240

Favorites at Hillsborough

• Location: 150 Route 206, Hillsborough, NJ 08844
• Phone: 908-722-1415

Favorites at Gloucester

• Location: 1300 Blackwood-Clementon Rd., Clementon, NJ 08021
• Phone: 856-441-4253

Favorites at Toms River

• Location: 1071 Highway 37 West, Toms River, NJ 08755
• Phone: 732-240-1210

Favorites at Woodbridge

• Location: 3 LaFayette Rd., Fords, NJ 08863
• Phone: 732-512-5000

Winners Bayonne

• Location: 400 Route 440 North, Bayonne, NJ 07002
• Phone: 201-437-5780

How to bet on horse races in NJ

Betting on a horse race is much easier than it may seem. Sure, there are some complicated names for the bets you can place, but they’re all relatively straightforward.

Whether you’re betting on a live standardbred or thoroughbred race at one of the three racetracks in NJ, or a simulcast race at the track, an Atlantic City casino racebook, an off-track wagering facility or online with 4NJBets — the following basic and more advanced bets are available:

Straight bets

Straight bets are about picking winners, and who might finish in the top three in any race. Basic straight bets include:

• Win: Bet on a horse to win, and if it does, you get paid at odds set once all bets are in.
• Place: Bet on a horse to finish first or second, and if it does, you get paid at odds set once all bets are in.
• Show: Bet on a horse to finish first, second or third, and if it does, you get paid at odds set once all bets are in.
• Across the Board: Three separate bets on the same horse including a bet to win, place, and show.

Exotic bets

Exotics offer a little more variety, and often bigger odds, but these bets are still primarily about picking winners, and who might finish in the top three in any race. These bets include:

• Exacta: Bet on two horses to finish first and second, in that order, and get paid out at big odds. The exacta can also be boxed, which is like two separate bets flipping the order of finish.
• Quinella: Bet on two horses to finish first and second in any order and get paid out at odds that are slightly less than the exacta.
• Trifecta: Bet on three horses to finish first, second and third, in that order, and get paid out at even bigger odds. Trifectas can also be boxed, which is like making separate trifecta bets changing the finishing order of the three horses.
• Superfecta: Bet on four horses to finish first, second, third and fourth, in that order, and book a big payday. Superfecta bets can be boxed, but boxing starts to get a little expensive with four horses.

Wheeling

You can wheel any of these exotic bets. This is like fixing the finishing position of some horses and adding bets with more horses for later finishing positions to make various winning combinations.

You ‘key’ the horses you like at the top and mix in more possibilities to save money over boxing while giving you additional opportunities to win.

The Triple Crown

The biggest event in US horse racing is actually three events. The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, or just the Triple Crown, is a trio of races held annually from May to early June featuring the top three-year-old thoroughbreds.

The horses vie to become a Triple Crown winner by winning all three:

• Kentucky Derby: The first leg normally held on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs racetrack in Kentucky. It is also known as The Run for the Roses. The Derby is typically run on a 1 1/4 miles track. The 2020 Kentucky Derby was rescheduled from May 2 to Sept. 5, 2020.
• Preakness Stakes: The second leg typically held two weeks after the Kentucky Derby at the Pimlico Race Course in Maryland. The Preakness is typically run on a 1 3/16 miles track. The 2020 Preakness Stakes, originally set for May 16, 2020, has been moved to Oct. 3, 2020
• Belmont Stakes: The jewel of the Triple Crown typically held at Belmont Park, New York, in the first week of June. If a horse has won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, media coverage tends to explode for this race. The longer 1.5 mile race is also known as The Test of the Champion. The 2020 Belmont Stakes will be run before the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes for the first time ever after being moved to June 20, 2020. Plus, it will be run on a 1 1/8 miles track as a result of the change in timing.

Only 13 horses have won the Triple Crown. The first Triple Crown winner was Sir Barton in 1919.

Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978 and there was a 37-year drought following his win. American Pharoah broke that 37-year streak in 2015. Justify took the title in 2018 and was the last Triple Crown winner.

Twenty-three horses have won the first two legs but failed to complete the Triple Crown by winning the Belmont Stakes.

The Haskell Invitational

The Haskell Invitationalis a race for three-year-old thoroughbreds that typically runs in July at Monmouth Park in New Jersey following the Triple Crown.

The race has been around since 1968 but became an invitation-only $1 million stakes race for three-year-olds on a 1 1⁄8 miles track in 1981.

The 2020 edition is the 52nd Haskell Invitational Stakes and it is scheduled for Saturday, July 18, 2020.

The Hambletonian Stakes

The Hambletonian is an American harness race for three-year-old standardbreds. It is the first leg in the Triple Crown of Harness Racing. The race is typically run at Meadowlands Racetrack on the first Saturday in August with a $1 million purse.

The 95th Hambletonian is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020.

NJ horse racing history

Historians claim there has been horse racing in New Jersey since the late 1700s and early 1800s. Freehold Raceway, which started hosting races as far back as the 1830s, is considered the oldest racetrack in the US.

Large racetracks in Ho-Ho-Kus, Clifton, North Bergen, Paterson, Vernon and Long Branch began operating in the 1860s and 1870s. The Long Branch Racetrack, now Monmouth Park, opened as New Jersey’s first grand racing venue in 1870.

New Jersey made it illegal to bet on horse racing in 1894, but the sport did not leave the state.

Races were held at various tracks, including Weequahic Park in Newark and the Long Branch Racetrack in Oceanside.

Following the 1939 amendment that allowed pari-mutuel betting, Garden State Park in Cherry Hill opened in 1942, followed by Monmouth Park at Long Branch and Atlantic City Race Track in Mays Landing in 1946. These three tracks made up New Jersey’s Golden Triangle of thoroughbred racing.

The launch of Atlantic City casinos killed the action at Garden State Park and the Atlantic City Race Track and both eventually closed. However, Monmouth Park and Freehold Raceway remained in operation.

The Meadowlands started hosting harness and thoroughbred racing in the late 1970s and continues to do so today.

We will start this journey with a look at the best horse racing apps
available to players right now. These apps have been reviewed by our team of
experts, who look at everything from the information delivered to a bettor
through the app to the promotions being offered by the site to entice you to
place a wager. Some of these companies are not just in the horse racing
business, also offering a full suite of gambling options to users of their apps.
What we can tell you is that each of these apps below has been given high praise
by our team, and therefore we are happy to recommend them to any of our readers.

For the longest time, horse racing was very much a niche sport. Some big
races were on TV and attracted a critical mass of viewers, but most of the races
were limited in viewing to people who went to the track. As a result, betting on
the sport was also a niche product, reserved mainly for those who followed and
understood the business the best.

There are a couple of contributing factors to the growth of betting on horse
races – internet betting and off-track viewing. First, being able to go to an
off-track betting facility meant that people didn’t have to travel to the track
itself to bet on a race and also had access to racetracks from far away so there
were more betting options. Internet gambling meant that potential bettors didn’t
even have to leave their homes to make a wager on a horse race. These two things
in conjunction helped to bring a whole new group of bettors into the horse
racing industry.

The move from PCs to mobile devices for almost everything we do add yet
another layer of optimism to the horse racing world. With phones and tablets
having the same computing power as laptops and PCs, horse racing enthusiasts
could now stream the races on their devices. Add in the new horse racing betting
apps, and you have a recipe for an explosion in the number of bets being placed.

However, this is still a niche market outside of the Triple Crown races, so
operators and the horse racing community need to take advantage of the mobile
penetration to give prospective gamblers what they need in the palms of their
hands. This page is going to take a look at horse racing apps – what is out
there today, what they may look like in the future, and some of our top picks
for apps you can try from your mobile device.

Types of Horse Racing Apps

Today, the mobile industry is dominated by two platform providers: Apple and
Google. Between iOS and Android-powered devices, we suspect the majority of our
readers are covered by the information on this page. When it comes to the
operation and management of apps on the platforms, there are some differences
that could alter your decision on what app to download. Let’s have a look at the
different types of apps that we have encountered – each has its own page with
more detail on it for you to explore.

iOS Horse Racing Apps

Apple has always been very conservative about what apps it will approve to be
in its App Store. Gambling apps have historically had trouble being approved,
but the pari-mutuel nature of horse racing has given it a little more wiggle
room. Still, sites that offer more than just horse betting in their iOS apps are
lagging behind in markets like the United States. This section of the site will
look at what options are available for bettors in the US and around the world,
and the best iOS horse racing apps that you can try.

Android Horse Racing Apps

While Google also took a hardline stance on approving gambling apps in the
early days of their Android platform, the company has also loosened its approval
process. This means that in most countries, you will find horse racing apps and
sports betting apps readily available in the Google Play Store, and our Android
horse racing apps page will cover the differences in these apps as well as which
may be the best for the type of gambler you are.

Horse Racing Live Streaming Apps

Separate from the horse racing apps focused on betting are those that provide
the live streaming of races from around the world. These apps may have links to
betting sites but are for the most part dedicated to showing the races
themselves. While some gambling apps are starting to combine the two (see
below), we will still look at these live streaming apps on their own, reviewing
what you should be looking for when searching for a place to watch a race from
your phone or tablet.

The Future of Horse Racing Apps

With the rise of these native apps for mobile devices, the future of horse
racing apps is really dependent on where the technology takes us next. Here are
a few things we are keeping an eye on for our readers.

Augmented Reality

Online Horse Betting Sites Reviews

With the rapid growth of this market, we can see a real future for augmented
reality when it comes to horse racing. Imagine walking up to a TV screen showing
a race and having your device bring up the possible betting options without
having to search for the race online. Or what about combining AR with the live
stream on your phone? Both of these could be available sooner than later if the
popularity of games like Pokemon Go is any indication.

Virtual Reality

Horse racing is one of the most exciting sports to watch in the world. For
only a couple of minutes, each race provides drama right from the starting gun
to the finish line. With virtual reality, you could find yourself on board the
horse you have bet on, watching the race in real time from the jockey’s eyes.
This would bring a whole new level of excitement to the industry and would no
doubt make it more interesting for a new demographic of potential bettors.

Virtual Horse Racing

This already exists – you bet on a computer-generated race that happens at a
gambling site – but there is so much more room for growth on this side of the
business. The best part about virtual racing is that there is no rest required
for the horses. This means an operation could set up a year’s worth of virtual
racing to take place in only a couple of days. Artificial intelligence can build
statistics on these virtual horses, giving bettors a real handicapping system to
work with that is similar to the actual races.

All of these potential avenues for the industry are very exciting, and they
all tie back to one common fact – these would all be best delivered via mobile
apps. We are very bullish on where the horse racing industry is headed, and we
know we will be updating this page often with news and innovation as the growth
curve continues upward.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Do Some Horse Racing Apps Not Have the Track I Am Looking For?

While horse racing is popular in many countries, there are some sites that
don’t like the idea of taking wagers on tracks they aren’t familiar with. To
protect themselves, some horse racing apps will limit the maximum bet at a
particular track, while others will simply remove them as a betting option. Our
reviews of the horse racing apps for both iOS and Android will let you know if
any track, in particular, is missing that catches our eye.

I Am Living in a Remote Area. Can I Use a Horse Racing App?

For sure you can! Apps like horse racing apps are perfect for people who
don’t live anywhere near a track. The only potential issue is with connectivity
– if you don’t have a WiFi signal or a strong cellular connection, you may find
delays in updated odds and in making bets, which can mean a lot when we are
talking about races where horses get scratched on a regular basis.

Where Can I Find the Best Handicapping Information on Horse Racing?

There are lots of great handicapping websites online, and you can access both
free information as well as paying for more details via a subscription. Many of
the sites you are betting at through the horse racing apps will also offer
handicapping information, although it is always good to check with an
independent source as well.

Horse Betting Online Sites

I Don’t Understand All the Bets in Horse Racing – How Can I Learn More?

Best Horse Betting Online

Well, here is something we can help with! We have a team that includes a
bunch of degenerates…uh, we mean experts in all kinds of sports betting, and as
a result, we have created a series of sports betting guides for you. Our horse
racing betting guide covers everything from basic strategy and definitions of
all the different bets to how to use the information you are given in a racing
form to make the most out of your betting dollars.