Connecticut has no live racing, but it does allow parimutuel wagering at numerous off-track-betting facilities and online.
Most online wagering providers of advance deposit wagering (ADW) on horse racing accept Connecticut residents as customers, including the four biggest – TwinSpires.com; TVG.com; Xpressbet.com, and NYRABets.com – as do smaller operators like AmWager.com and DRFBets.com.
These sites offer a variety of signup bonuses and reward-for-play incentives, as well as a range of ancillary handicapping products, so it pays to shop around before settling on a service.
You must be 18 or older to place online horse bets in Connecticut.
Connecticut Horse Race Betting Sites & Offers
| Racebooks | Welcome Offer for Connecticut | Other Promos |
| TVG | Get up to $200 back | Get a $25 Bonus for every friend you refer |
| TwinSpires | $200 sign-up offer | Free play daily & weekly options |
| Nyra Bets | $200 deposit match | Odds boosters, daily offer |
| Xpressbet | $100 sign-up bonus | XB Rewards loyalty program |
| AmWager | $300 deposit match | Daily cash rewards |
| FanDuel Racing | Get a 100% bonus up to $50 | 10% bonus on win bets |
| DRF | Get a $200 bonus on the first deposit | Earn an additional card for every $50 wagered |
| 1/ST BET | $100 sign up bonus | Rewards points every Tuesday and others weekly offers |
How to claim a horse racing bet promo in Connecticut?
Horse racing betting features for Connecticut
- TVG Connecticut 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
- Twinspires Connecticut 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
- Nyra Bets Connecticut 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
- Xpressbet Connecticut Features:
- Horse racing’s leading loyalty program (receive two XB Rewards Points for every dollar you wager)
- Cash prizes in regular handicapping contests
- Deposit by mail
- Bet the horse races over the phone
- AmWager Connecticut Features:
- Unlimited Favorites Tracks
- Dutch Wagering Modifiers
- Fair Value Exacta Grid (allows you to quickly see exacta bets that have been over bet or under bet based on the win pool)
- FanDuel Connecticut 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 Connecticut, 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
- ACH Bank Transfer / eCheck
- Wire Transfer
- Green Dot
- PayNearMe
- Check or Money Order
- MoneyGram
- PayPal
- By mail: Xpressbet
- Bitcoin: AmWager via BitPay
Connecticut Horse Betting Overview
The Constitution State hasn’t always been bereft of live racing action.
The state has had multiple horse racing tracks over the years, including Charter Oak Park, a harness racing track that opened in 1874 near Hartford and was a big hit, according to newspapers of the time. It closed in the 1930s, and live racing in the towns of Middletown and at the Danbury fair was discontinued, the Harford Courant reported.
Jai alai and dog racing also developed into popular diversions and by the 1970s they were the only live options in the state. But competition from tribal casinos in the 1990s slowly drove them out of business, with Milford Jai Alai being the last fronton to close in 2001 and Plainfield Greyhound Track vanishing just a few years later.
In addition to two mega tribal casinos — Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun – Connecticut law allows charitable gaming, the state lottery, and, as of 2021, sports betting for residents 21 and older.
Fun fact about horse racing in Connecticut
When live parimutuel opportunities ended with the closing of the Plainfield Greyhound Track, Hartford Courant sports columnist Jeff Jacobs blamed then-Gov. Lowell Weicker: “He fried the frontons. He euthanized dog racing,” he fumed in a column.
Popular horse racing events to bet on in Connecticut
- The Kentucky Derby
- The Kentucky Oaks
- Preakness Stakes
- Belmont Stakes
- Black-Eyed Susan Stakes
- Travers Stakes
- Dubai World Cup
- Melbourne Cup
- Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
- Grand National
Horse Race Tracks in Connecticut
- Milford Jai-Alai (closed)
- Plainfield Greyhound Track (closed)
Unfortunately, at the moment there are no horse racing tracks currently operational in the state.
FAQs
Yes, it is legal to bet on horse races online in Connecticut.
Yes, you can. 18 years is the minimum gambling age in Connecticut to bet on horses online.
TwinSpires.com, NYRABets.com, TVG.com, Xpressbet.com, AmWager.com, Racing.FanDuel.com, DRFBets.com, and some others operate in Connecticut.