Oklahoma gambling laws allow betting on horse racing at off-track wagering facilities in Oklahoma City, Claremore, and Tulsa or via online advance-deposit wagering (ADW) services.
Because of the state’s horse racing history, many ADW providers accept Oklahomans as customers, though two of the four biggest operators – TVG.com and NYRABets.com – do not. Among the choices residents have are the other two biggest operators – TwinSpires.com and Xpressbet.com – as well as smaller providers like DRFBets.com and WatchandWager.com.
These sites offer a variety of signup bonuses and rewards for play, so it plays to shop around before voting with your wallet.
You must be 18 or older to place online horse bets in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma Horse Race Betting Sites & Offers
| Racebooks | Welcome Offer for Oklahoma | Other Promos |
| TwinSpires | $200 sign-up offer | Free play daily & weekly options |
| Xpressbet | $100 sign-up bonus | XB Rewards loyalty program |
| 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 | Bonus up to $25 | The weekly 3-2-1 Bonus, no maximum payouts on cashback |
How to claim a horse racing bet promo in Oklahoma?
How to claim a horse racing bet promo in Oklahoma?
- Visit one of the legal horse betting sites in Oklahoma, like Xpressbet.com or Nyra Bets.
- Click the Sign-Up button to register an account
- Make an initial deposit and place your bets
- Follow terms and conditions, and wagering requirements apply.
Horse racing betting features for Oklahoma
- TwinSpires Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma Features:
- Unlimited DRF Classic and Formulator Past Performances
- Free Beyer Speed Figures
- Free DRF expert picks
- 1/ST Bet Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma Features:
- Horse Racing Contests Daily for free
- Refer-a-Friend Bonus
Horse bet types available online
In Oklahoma, 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
Oklahoma Horse Betting Overview
Horse racing was in Oklahoma’s blood long before oil bubbled from the ground.
Racing dates back at least two centuries in the Sooner State, and was popular among both Native peoples and settlers, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society.
During the Territorial Era, private matches or race meets frequently occurred, sometimes on makeshift straight tracks or just a stretch of country road. By the time Oklahoma became a state in 1907, one-mile oval tracks such as the one built in 1910 in Muskogee were hosting both standardbred harness and thoroughbred flat races.
In racing’s heyday in the 20th century, there were dozens of tracks in Oklahoma, often running short meets as part of a circuit.
That number has been pared in recent decades to the three remaining racetracks in the state: Remington Park in Oklahoma City; Will Rogers Downs in Claremore; and Fair Hills Tulsa, all of which card a mix of races for thoroughbreds, quarter horses, paints and appaloosas.
Remington typically hosts a quarter horse and mixed breed meet from early March through late May and a thoroughbred meet from mid-August through mid-December. It also hosts the state’s signature thoroughbred race, the Oklahoma Derby, annually in late September.
Apart from parimutuel wagering, Oklahoma allows casino gambling and has more than 110 gambling operations, several of which are full-fledged resorts. It also allows a state lottery and charitable games such as bingo, and raffles.
Sports betting remains illegal in the state.
Fun fact about horse racing in Oklahoma
Oklahoma has robust thoroughbred and quarter-horse breeding programs that have produced many notable racehorses, but none more famous than Lady’s Secret. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas for owner Eugene Klein, the daughter of Secretariat won 25 of 45 starts, including the 1986 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, captured Eclipse Awards as Horse of the Year and Champion Older Mare the same year and was inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame in 1992.
Popular horse racing events to bet on in Oklahoma
- The Oklahoma Derby
- Oklahoma Classics
- Clem McSpadden Memorial Stakes
- The Remington Springboard Mile Stakes
- The Remington Park Derby
- The Kentucky Derby
- Belmont Stakes
- Preakness Stakes
- Breeders’ Cup
- Travers Stakes
- Dubai World Cup
- Melbourne Cup
- Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
- Grand National
Horse Race Tracks in Oklahoma
- Remington Park in Oklahoma City
- Will Rogers Downs in Claremore
- Fair Meadows in Tulsa
- Blue Ribbon Downs (closed in 2010)
FAQs
Yes, you can. 18 is the minimum gambling age in Oklahoma for playing online and at any of the state’s racetracks.
Yes, Oklahoma allows horse racing betting online and through mobile apps.
No, it does not operate in the state.
Yes, OTB is legal in Oklahoma. Residents can enjoy simulcasts racing all year long at several off-track betting outlets such as Fair Meadows in Tulsa, Remington Park in Oklahoma City, and tribal casinos.