Indiana Horse Betting Racebook Review & Bonus Code

The legal Indiana online sports betting in 2020 was a huge sensation. We almost forgot that the Hoosier State had a rich tradition in horse bets, dating from the 1800s. The racing calendar is packed. You can visit one of the two racetracks in the state, but you can also place off-track bets in casinos and online betting on legit websites.

Let’s focus on the Indiana online horse betting industry. We’ll tell you about the racetracks, off-track and online wagering options, and the types of bets you can place. But first, let’s start with the legal aspects of horse race betting in the state.

What Do the Laws Say About Legal Indiana Horse Racing Betting?

When we talk about this industry, we take live betting in the Granite State as a good example. In New Hampshire, there are no state laws that restrict this form of wagering. Thus, it is 100% legal and liberalized.

The only act that regulates the industry is the federal Race Horse Industry Reform Act from 1993. It’s focused on fair races and fair wagering. With this act, the legislators intended to legalize pari-mutuel betting. It’s a system that collects the money from all the bets in a pool, takes away the house-take and the taxes, and awards the remaining money in the form of payoffs.

In Indiana, the industry is a bit more regulated. There aren’t specific laws that regulate betting activities further than the Race Horse Industry Reform Act. Even before that point, the Interstate Horseracing Act from 1978 allowed pari-mutuel wagering without interference by the state.

We should not confuse sports bets with horse wagers. It’s a different thing, regulated by different acts and bodies. Sports wagering in Indiana was legalized in May 2019 with the Bill H 1015. Horse wagering was legal way before that.

All on-track and off-track wagering facilities are overseen by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission. The authority issues a limited number of licenses, and that’s why we don’t have too many casinos and websites offering their racebooks.

What are the Best Indiana Online Horse Betting Sites?

There are two reliable Indiana racebooks:

BetAmerica

BetAmerica is licensed to offer an online racebook in Indiana through a partnership with Rising Star Casino. It’s been operating since 2008 as one of the most trusted sites for horse race bets.

The racebook covers almost all tracks across the country, as well as international races.

The promo offer for Indiana customers is great: you get a 100% match on your deposit, up to $100. If you become part of the loyalty program, you can join a promo that returns your stake if your horse finishes second.

BetAmerica has great mobile apps that give you an incredible volume of data to analyze.

TVG

This website is run by the Television Games Network. It’s equally impressive as BetAmerica.

TVG streams live horse races online, so you can get the full adrenaline hit even if you don’t witness the event in person. You can bet on a massive selection of U.S. and international races. You can analyze the detailed statistics library to plan your bets.

If it’s your first time using the site, TVG will match your deposit up to $300.

How Does Horse Wagering Work?

Racebooks are very different from sportsbooks. In Indiana, they are based on pari-mutuel wagering, which means that there are no odds placed by the bookie. The bettors wager among themselves. As more players place bets on a particular horse, the odds change. You end up with higher odds on a horse that received fewer bets.

If you want to place a legal wager on horse races in Indiana, you can be guided by two factors:

• Luck – Pick a random horse and bet on it. The concept of “beginner luck” is real!
• Knowledge – There’s a lot of information in a racebook. You can look at the bloodlines, past performances, trainers, and owners of the horse. All these details give you hints on the winning potential. If you get informed, you increase your chances to make the right choice. There’s an insider term for these investigations: handicapping. You get better at it with practice.

Types of Bets for Indiana Horse Betting

If you want to bet on horses in Indiana for the first time, you should understand the betting terms. They seem like insider slang at first, but horse bets are simple in their essence. These are the main terms you need to understand:

Straight Bets

A straight is the simplest form of bet you can place: you predict a horse’s position in the race. There are three types of straight bets:

• Win – It’s the winner; the horse that finishes first in the race. That’s the only desired outcome to cash out your ticket.
• Place – This is a term used for the second place. A place bet is a winner if your horse finishes first or second.
• Show – This bet gives you a better chance to win, but it has a lower payout. If your horse finishes in the top three, you win. If you plan to begin placing bets in the safest way possible, this is the right option for you.

Combination Straight Bets

• Across the Board – This is a combination of the three types of straight bets. For example, if you’re betting on the Breeder’s Cup for the first time, the huge competition may make straight bets challenging. You can increase your chances of winning if you bet a horse across the board. If the horse wins, you win at all three bets (Win, Place and Show). If it ends up second, you collect the payoffs for the Place and Show bet. If it comes third you only collect the Show bet. Since you’re practically placing three bets, it’s a more expensive ticket.
• Win/Place – This ticket combines the Win and Place bets, so you get money if the horse finishes first or second.
• Place/Show – This bet combines the Place and Show wagers.

Exotic Bets

It would be a shame to watch the Belmont Stakes or another high-profile race with a single bet placed. You might be up for an exotic bet, which involves more than a single outcome.

• Exacta (also known as Exactor or Perfecta) – With this type of ticket, you’re trying to guess the horses that will end up in the first and second position, in order.
• Quinella – With a Quinella, you still try to guess the two horses that will end up first and second, but you don’t have to guess their specific position.
• Trifecta – The Exacta is not exciting enough for you? Try guessing the horses in the first three positions, in their specific order.
• Superfecta – If you feel extra risky, you can try a Superfecta bet, which requires you to predict the first four horses in order.

Exotic Bets on Multiple Races

If you want to combine a few races on a single ticket, you’ll end up with higher odds and a better payout.

• Double – You should analyze the participants in two consecutive races and guess the winners in both.
• Classix (Pick 3, 4, or 6) – With Classix bets, you predict the winners of 3, 4, or 6 consecutive races.
• Place Pick All – You focus on two or more consecutive races, but you try to choose a horse that will come to place in each of them.

What is the Triple Crown?

The Triple Crown is a major title that a 3-year-old thoroughbred can get. To earn the title, the horse has to win three leading races: Belmont Stakes, Preakness Stakes, and Kentucky Derby. The most recent winner of the Triple Crown was Justify, who took the title in 2018.

The racebooks will give you odds on Triple Crown bets. This is a hard ticket to win, since the title isn’t reached each year. A single horse must win three long and demanding races within five weeks. The horses are tired, stressed, and may get defocused. But who knows; this might be your year?

How to Bet on Horses

There are three ways to place bets on horses:

• Visit a racetrack, watch a live event place your wagers there. Nothing beats that level of excitement, but it’s not something you could do on a daily basis.
• Visit an off-track betting site. Winners Circle OTB facilities are available in Indianapolis, Clarksville, and New Haven. They feature large screens that let you follow the action. If you want some personal space, you can use a smaller screen. A few casinos in Indiana offer lounges for horse race wagering, too.
• Make a deposit on a licensed website and wager anytime. This is the most convenient form of horse bets. You will benefit from bonus deals, and you’ll never miss a race even if you have to work that day.

How to Read a Program

If you visit a racetrack to watch an event live, you can get a racing program, which gives you a lot of details on the history of the participating horses. To a newbie, this looks like a complete mess of letters and symbols. To someone who understands it, it’s a guideline to their wagers.

These are the most important elements of the program:

• On the top left corner, you’ll see the horse’s name, jockey, owner, race number, and initial odds for the horse to finish first in the race.
• Next to this info, you’ll see details on the horse’s pedigree (the name of the father, grandsire or grandfather; as well as the mother and the grandsire or grandfather on that side). Below those details, the form lists the breed and trainer.
• On the right of this info, you’ll see a capital letter followed by a number. The letter indicates the medication that the horse uses during the race. For example, an L stands for Lasix. The number indicates the jockey’s weight in pounds.
• On the top right corner, you get important stats on the horse’s lifetime results. Then, this info is broken up by races in various conditions and on different tracks.
• At the bottom of the program, you’ll see the results of previous races, with dates and name of the tracks provided.

Are There Any Major Horse Racetracks in Indiana?

There are two major horse racetracks that allow live and legal sports betting in Indiana:

Indiana Grand Racecourse

Located a 30-minute drive from Indianapolis, this impressive venue runs events from April to October. It’s owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment.

The Indiana Derby is the main event of the year. Some of the best three-year-old thoroughbred horses in the country attend it.

Hoosier Park Racecourse

This course doesn’t have any thoroughbred races at the moment, but you can still place live wagers on harness and standardbred racing. The facility also offers simulcasting on races from around the USA.

What About Off-Track Betting in Indiana?

If you can’t travel for live Kentucky Derby betting, does it mean you’ll completely miss the event? NO! Hoosier and Caesars Casino have their off-track wagering facilities, which offer simulcasting on big and small screens.

You can also opt for a Winner Circle OTB venue in New Haven, Indianapolis, and Clarksville.

The Rich History of Horse Racing in Indiana

How did we get to the point of online horse racing betting? It’s a huge progress made through a few important points in history:

• In the 1800s, harness and standardbred races were the main events during the State Fair. Wagering was not permitted yet, since Indiana hadn’t passed laws on pari-mutuel wagering back then.
• In 1993, the Riverboat Casinos Act allowed casino gambling and pari-mutuel horse bets.
• A year later, Hoosier Park opened its doors to the audience. The first thoroughbred race was held in 1995.
• Indiana Dows, which was later rebranded into Indiana Grand, was opened in 2002. Thoroughbred racing was moved from Hoosier Park to Indiana Grand in 2012.

Written by:

Andy Brown

[email protected]

His primary focus is on the regulated US online casino and poker markets. Andy is a skilled recreational gambler for more than 11 years.