Get our 2026 Belmont Stakes coverage including, Picks and Odds

Betting on the ponies has changed in many ways in the last 20 years. There are more different betting options to choose from, more information available on every horse and more choice thanks to widespread simulcasting. One of the biggest recent changes, though, and the one that will likely have the biggest impact on betting well into the future is online horse wagering. Betting horses online has generally been a little bit behind online sports betting, but the original sites have been joined by several major sports books and exchanges offering betting on horse racing and recent major investment by Churchill Downs Inc. That has all helped to greatly increase the options for online horse wagering.

Though the wagers themselves and the mechanics of betting are generally the same online as they are at the track, there are differences between the two that you need to be aware of. Some are good and some are bad. First, some of the positives:

1) No line-ups - There is nothing more frustrating on a busy day at the races than making your pick only to get locked out because you get stuck in line behind some moron that can't decide which horse he wants to throw his $2 to show on. When you are betting online you can wait until the last moment to see how the lines move and still be sure that you will be able to place your bet. If you're having a bad day this might not be such a good thing - sometimes getting locked out is the only good thing that happens all day because that ends up being the only bet you don't lose.

2) Choices - Depending upon who you use to make bets online, chances are pretty good that you can bet on pretty much any track that is running in North America. You will probably even be able to bet on tracks that you couldn't find on a map if your life depended on it. Past performances and analysis are easy to find for any track online, so the ability to bet on several tracks makes online horse wagering very attractive for some. This can especially be true if you favor one particular kind of bet - if you like to bet two year old maiden races, for example, then you may only find two or three per week on your home track, but you can find more than that each day if you are betting online.

3) Time - Though there is no better way in the world to spend a day than at the track, sometimes we don't have the time to make it all the way there, or maybe the horses aren't running close to you. Thanks to betting online you can bet quickly and easily no matter where you are. As long as your boss doesn't have a real eagle eye you can probably even get away with betting at work.

4) Bonuses - Depending upon the site you use there may be bonuses for depositing certain amounts, special deals for playing certain tracks or refunds on some of your losses, depending upon how much you play. If the bonuses fit with your play then they can add significantly to your bottom line without requiring you to change what you do and how you do it.

5) Video - Though you can learn so much from a racing form or program, there is nothing as valuable as seeing a race itself. You can often see something that isn't obvious on paper but which can make a big difference on the outcome of future races. Many of the online betting providers keep databases of video of past races, so you can take the time to go back and watch earlier races of the horses in a key race before you make your bet. You can't do that when you are at the races live.

There are a few potential issues you have to keep in mind to avoid problems when you are betting horses online:

1) Capped payouts - You need to be very aware of the terms of the site you are using before you make a bet. Some of the sites, especially the sports books that offer action on horse racing, will set a maximum payout for a particular bet. You can imagine how frustrated you would be if you were to hit a Pick 4 that paid out at 600/1 only to discover that the place where you made the bet limited the payouts to a maximum of 300/1. Besides the frustration those caps can have a huge impact on your ultimate bottom line. You need to make sure that the site you are using is a good fit with the type of bets you like to make.

2) Too much choice - Though the ability to bet on a lot of different tracks can be great, it can also be deadly if it is not paired with discipline and good decision making. There is no bigger waste of money than making bets on horses at a track you know nothing about if you haven't done your homework. You might as well just play the lottery. If you are going to bet online you need to make sure that you have the self control to only bet in situations where you think you have an edge.

3) Funding delays - If you go to the track to make your bets and you come across a situation that is worth a significant bet it is simple to access more of your bankroll to make the bet. If you are betting online it is not always that simple. It can take a while to get money from your bank or credit card online, and that means that you can miss a juicy opportunity. If you are serious about online horse wagering then you will want to make sure that you have a sufficient online bankroll to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.