Betting online on horse racing is legal in New Mexico. The state’s law also allows casino-style gaming and sports betting at 24 tribal casinos; a lottery, daily fantasy sports, and charitable gaming.
Many providers of online advance-deposit wagering (ADW) cater to New Mexicans, including three of the four biggest operators – TVG.com, TwinSpires.com, and Xpressbet.com – and several smaller providers. These websites offer varying signup bonuses, rewards programs, and other inducements such as free past performances, so shop around before you fund an account.
You must be 18 or older to place online horse bets in New Mexico.
New Mexico Horse Race Betting Sites & Offers
| Racebooks | Welcome Offer for New Mexico | 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 |
| Xpressbet | $100 sign-up bonus | XB Rewards loyalty program |
| 123bet | $1230 new member bonus | Refer-a-Friend bonus: get $50 |
| 1/ST BET | $100 sign-up bonus | Rewards points every Tuesday and other weekly offers |
| DRF | Get a $200 bonus on the first deposit | Earn up to $50 every week |
| WatchandWager.com (21+) | Bonus up to $25 | The weekly 3-2-1 Bonus, no maximum payouts on cashback |
How to claim a horse racing bet promo in New Mexico?
Horse racing betting features for New Mexico
- TVG New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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
- Xpressbet New Mexico 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
- DRF New Mexico Features:
- Unlimited DRF Classic and Formulator Past Performances
- Free Beyer Speed Figures
- Free DRF expert picks
- 1/ST Bet New Mexico Features:
- Up-to-date news about upcoming races
- Unlimited access to the BETMIX products: Toteboarding, Free Daily Race Analysis and “Race of the Day” Past Performance
- Watch and Wager New Mexico Features:
- Horse Racing Contests Daily for free
- Refer-a-Friend Bonus
Horse bet types available online
In New Mexico, 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)
- Win Place (places a win and a place bet in one bet)
- Win Show (places a win and a show bet in one bet)
- Win Place Show (aka “across the board”; combines Win, Place and Show into one bet)
- 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)
- Super High 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)
- Parlays (combine multiple selections on the same ticket, even if the races aren’t in sequential order).
Banking
- Credit and Debit Cards
- ACH Bank Transfer / eCheck
- Wire Transfer
- Green Dot
- PayNearMe
- Check or Money Order
- MoneyGram
- PayPal
- By mail: Xpressbet & Hollywood Races
- Bitcoin: AmWager via BitPay
New Mexico Horse Betting Overview
Horse racing in New Mexico took a big hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the closure of some of the state’s racetracks for nearly two years.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered the closure of the state’s five racetracks and their cojoined casinos in March 2020 as part of a broader order aimed at stemming the rising coronavirus tide.
The Downs at Albuquerque, Ruidoso Downs, and Zia Park were able to reopen for truncated live racing meetings a few months later, albeit with few or no fans in the stands. Though Sunland Park and SunRay Park both remained dark for 20 months before reopening in 2021.
The racetrack closures in the Land of Enchantment were longer than in surrounding states, prompting several major horse trainers to relocate their operations.
The casino closures also hit the racing program. Without revenue from slot machines and tables, purse money was reduced in 2020 to a fraction of what it was the previous year.
It remains to be seen what the long-term impact of the closures will be, but the 2022 season appears on track for a rebound in a state that has otherwise seen growth in recent years after allowing racetracks to add casino gaming in the late 1990s.
Most tracks in New Mexico offer a mix of thoroughbred and quarter horse racing, though Ruidoso Downs exclusively holds quarter horse racing.
The track, about 70 miles west of Roswell, also hosts the state’s signature race, the All American Futurity, the richest race in North America for 2-year-olds of any breed with a $3 million purse as of 2021.
Fun fact about horse racing in New Mexico
The All-American Futurity is the final leg of the American Quarter Horse Association’s Triple Crown. The series, which includes a $4 million bonus for any horse that can capture the All-American after the Ruidoso and Rainbow futurities, has only been swept only once, by Special Effort in 1981.
Popular horse racing events to bet on in New Mexico
- The Ruidoso Derby
- The Sunland Derby
- The Mountain Top Derby
- The All-American Derby
- Rainbow Futurity
- Rio Grande Futurity
- Zia Derby
- Zia Futurity
- The Kentucky Derby
- Belmont Stakes
- Preakness Stakes
- Breeders’ Cup
- Travers Stakes
- Dubai World Cup
- Melbourne Cup
- Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
- Grand National
The most prestigious race for thoroughbreds is the $500,000 Sunland Derby (Gr 3), which returns to Sunland Park, southwest of Ruidoso near the Mexican border, in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 closure. The race, which carries a $500,000 purse, is a stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby typically run in late March.
Horse Race Tracks in New Mexico
- Ruidoso Downs
- Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino
- Sunray Park
- Zia Park
- New Mexico State Fair
FAQs
Yes, you can. The minimum New Mexico gambling age for horse racing is 18 years.
TwinSpires.com, TVG.com, and Xpressbet.com operate in New Mexico.
No, the BetMGM Horse Racing App is not allowed in New Mexico.
New Mexico does not authorize standalone OTBs. That means all horse betting in the state is limited to wagers placed in person at one of the state’s racetracks or through ADW providers.