Colorado Horse Betting Offers

Colorado has one remaining horse racing track, but there are still plenty of places to play the ponies in the state.  

The state has a robust off-track betting network, many of them at the state’s casinos, and allows online betting on both human sports and horse and dog races. 

Most advance deposit wagering (ADW) sites offering online parimutuel betting on the latter accept customers from Colorado, including the four biggest: TVG.com, TwinSpires.com, Xpressbet.com, and NYRAbets.com. Many smaller operators like 123bet.com and WatchandWager.com, also do business in the state. 

In late 2021, the state also was considering adding fixed odds-wagering on horse racing. If the state’s Department of Revenue follows through on the plan, Colorado would be just the second U.S. state to offer the alternative to parimutuel wagering. 

You must be 18 or older to place online horse bets in Colorado.

Colorado Horse Race Betting Sites & Offers

How to claim a horse racing bet promo in Colorado?

This is how to claim a horse racing bet promo in Colorado.

Step 1

Pick Horse Betting Site

Visit one of the legal horse betting sites in Colorado, like TVG or WatchandWager.com.

Step 2

Open an Account

Click the Sign-up button to register an account.

Step 3

Deposit and Bet

Make an initial deposit and place your bets.

Step 4

Get Bonus

Following terms and conditions, and wagering requirements apply. Get your welcome bonus!

Horse racing betting features for Colorado 

• Nyra Bets Colorado Features:
  • Free live video streaming (HD live and replay) on Thoroughbred, Harness and Quarter horse racing and race replays nationwide
  • Free handicapping tips
  • Swap positions quickly for Exacta, Tri & Supers
  • Weekly live money handicapping contests with cash prizes
• Twinspires Colorado Features:
  • First Race Freeplay: get $100 in Free Bets
  • 15% boost on a winning Trifecta bet every Tuesday
  • Exacta insurance: get a bet back of up to $10
  • Live races and highlights of previous races, both on the website and the app
  • Bet Back offers (receive a refund for your bet if the horse you bet on to win the race finishes in second or third)
  • Daily Double bets
• TVG Colorado Features:
  • TVG Expert Picks for everyday
  • Free Past Performances Program
  • Live streams from tracks around the US and beyond
  • Money Back Special on select races
• Xpressbet.com Colorado Features:
  • Horse racing’s leading loyalty program
  • Cash prizes in regular handicapping contests
  • Deposit by mail
• WatchandWager.com Colorado Features:
  • Horse Racing Contests Daily for free 
  • Refer-a-Friend Bonus
• FanDuel Colorado Features:
  • Cash in with Win Bet Insurance
  • Live streaming (+200 tracks around the world)
  • Best bets of the day

Horse bet types available online

In Colorado, you can place different types of horse wagers. The most popular online bets are

• Win (the horse you bet on must come first)
• Place (the horse must finish first or second)
• Show (the horse must come either first, second, or third)
• Exacta (you bet on horses to come first and second in that order)
• Quinella (the same as exacta, but horses can finish in any order for you to win the bet)
• Trifecta (three horses should finish first, second and third in that order)
• Superfecta (the same as trifecta but here you bet on four horses)
• Pick-5 (you have to choose the winner of five races in a row)
• Grand Slam – Pick a horse to finish in the top three in three straight races, capped by the winner of the fourth race in the sequence. 

Banking

• Credit and Debit Cards
• Bitcoin: AmWager via BitPay.
• ACH / eCheck
• Green Dot
• PayNearMe
• Check or Money Order
• Paypal

Colorado Horse Betting Overview

The state had many small “bush tracks” over the years, in keeping with its western equine roots. Many of their names are lost to history, but one was Gateway Downs Holly, near the Kansas state line, which hosted racing from 1965 to approximately 1995, according to the blogger “Colorado Connie,” who writes frequently on racing in the Centennial State.

It also had a really grand racetrack, Centennial Park., which opened in 1950 in Littleton and was once known as “the Santa Anita of the Rockies.” The track, one of the first in the nation to offer parimutuel wagering on horse racing, operated until 1983 before being plowed under for a condominium development. 

What is now known as Bally’s Arapahoe Park Racetrack in Aurora offers thoroughbred, quarter horses, and Arabian racing. It typically holds live racing from mid-August through mid-October and operates as a horse and dog racing simulcast site for the rest of the year. 

The state also once had five dog tracks, but none remain in operation.

Fun fact about horse racing in Colorado

Pat Day, the Hall of Fame jockey who won more than 8,800 races in his storied career, was born in Brush, Colorado, though it’s not believed he ever rode at Memorial Park, a fair racetrack that operated there from 1952 to 1967, since he would have been just 14 when it closed. 

Popular horse racing events to bet on in Colorado

• Mile High Futurity 
• Mile High Derby
• Gold Rush Futurity
• The Kentucky Derby
• Preakness Stakes
• Belmont Stakes
• Rocky Mountain Derby
• Molly Brown Stakes
• Firecracker Stakes
• The Breeders’ Cup
• Dubai World Cup
• Melbourne Cup
• Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
• Grand National
• The Galway Races

Horse Race Tracks in Colorado

• The Arapahoe Park Classic

Live racing is held during the summer season at the Arapahoe Park Racetrack in Arapahoe County, Colorado. Live horse races are on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Both local and off-track betting is available on-site. 

More recently, Arapahoe Park rebranded to Bally’s Arapahoe Park, replacing the exterior entrance sign, and introducing the all-new interactive Bally Bet sports betting app.

FAQs