Betting on horse racing is legal in South Dakota. The state’s law allows residents to bet on horse and dog racing at off-track wagering facilities.
Currently, South Dakotans can wager on horse racing online with the four biggest ADW operators – TVG.com, TwinSpires.com, NYRABets, and Xpressbet.com – as well as many smaller services.
The websites offer a variety of signup bonuses and rewards-for-play plans, so shop around before you fund your account.
You must be at least 21 years to place online horse bets in South Dakota.
South Dakota Horse Race Betting Sites & Offers
| Racebooks | Welcome Offer for South Dakota | Other Promos |
| Nyra Bets | $200 deposit match | Odds boosters, daily offers |
| 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 |
| 1/ST BET | $100 sign-up bonus | Rewards points every Tuesday and other weekly offers |
| AmWager | $300 deposit match | Daily cash rewards |
| 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 South Dakota?
Horse racing betting features for South Dakota
- Nyra Bets South Dakota 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
- TVG South Dakota 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 South Dakota 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 South Dakota 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 South Dakota Features:
- Current and historical horse race results from a single screen
- Advanced wagering structuring tools. Dutching, ABC method, Rank betting.
- Fair Value Exacta Grid (allows you to quickly see exacta bets that have been over bet or under bet based on the win pool)
- DRF South Dakota Features:
- Unlimited DRF Classic and Formulator Past Performances
- Free Beyer Speed Figures
- Free DRF expert picks
- 1/ST Bet South Dakota 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 South Dakota Features:
- Horse Racing Contests Daily for free
- Refer-a-Friend Bonus
Horse bet types available online
In South Dakota, 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
- Bitcoin: AmWager via BitPay
South Dakota Horse Betting Overview
Horse racing is hanging on by a thread in South Dakota,
The nonprofit Verendrye Benevolent Association is scheduled to hold two days of live racing featuring both thoroughbreds and quarter horses in early October 2022 at the Stanley County Fairgrounds in the city of Fort Pierre.
The mini-fair meet on the banks of the Missouri River is the last vestige of live horse racing in the state after the cancellation of the similar nonprofit-run North East Area Horse Racing meet in Aberdeen in 2019 after 60 years.
Horse racing’s history in the state is murky, but it’s safe to say that the ranchers and farmers who populated the northern Plains region held the usual match races and community events built around equine competitions.
The first parimutuel wagering in the state on dog races occurred sometime around 1949, according to the excellent historical website horseracing-tracks.com.
Legal horse racing debuted in the early 1950s, probably at a commercial racetrack named Park Jefferson in North Sioux City that raced both thoroughbreds and quarter horses from 1955 through 1982. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas got his start at the oval that is now used for automobile races.
The sport’s downturn in the state can be in part chalked up to the usual reason: increased competition for the betting buck. The state also has both tribal and commercial casinos, a lottery, charitable gaming, and on-premises sports betting in the tourist attraction town of Deadwood.
But South Dakota also has a unique problem in that its races are funded exclusively by a 4.5 percent tax on simulcast wagering in the state. Unfortunately, since there is only one off-track betting location left in North Sioux City, that isn’t generating much money for the live racing account.
Fun fact about horse racing in South Dakota
South Dakota has contributed a great deal of horsemanship to horse racing, producing two Hall of Fame trainers – Steve Asmussen and Bill Mott – and one of the greatest jockeys to ever grace a saddle, the legendary Earl Sande.
Asmussen, the winningest thoroughbred trainer in North American racing history, is a native of Gettysburg, South Dakota, though he moved with his family to Laredo, Texas when he was 2. Mott, who was born in Mobridge and is best known as the trainer of Cigar, hung around a bit longer. He began training thoroughbreds at 15 and won the South Dakota Futurity with Kosmic Tour before he was out of high school. Sande, meanwhile, also left the state early, moving to Idaho at 9. But he, too, went on to have a Hall of Fame career, riding such greats as Man o’ War, and Triple Crown winners Sir Barton and Gallant Fox, before becoming a successful trainer.
Popular horse racing events to bet on in South Dakota
- Fort Pierre Horse Races
- The Kentucky Derby
- Belmont Stakes
- Preakness Stakes
- Breeders’ Cup
- Royal Ascot
- Cheltenham Festival
- Travers Stakes
- Santa Anita Handicap
- Arkansas Derby
- Pacific Classic Stakes
- Haskell Invitational
- Dubai World Cup
- Melbourne Cup
- Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
- Grand National
Horse Race Tracks in South Dakota
- Stanley County Fairgrounds
FAQs
No, you can’t. The minimum gambling age in South Dakota for playing online and offline is 21.
Yes, South Dakota allows horse racing betting online and through mobile apps.
The four biggest horse racing betting sites offer services to South Dakotans, including TwinSpires.com, TVG.com, Xpressbet.com, and NyraBets.com along with some smaller online operators and betting apps like DRF or AmWager.
Yes, OTB is legal in South Dakota. But there is only one off-track betting location left in North Sioux City.