New Jersey’s horse racing lineage goes back almost as far as the history of the state itself. More recently, New Jersey online horse betting became an option for bettors in the state.

The Garden State is home to Freehold Raceway, the oldest racetrack in the US. Freehold Raceway began hosting races in the 1830s and formally opened in 1854.

The state banned all forms of gambling from 1894 to 1939. Pari-mutuel betting on horse racing became legal again in New Jersey in 1939.

New Jersey Sports Betting Sports betting in New Jersey has exploded in recent years, with the Garden State now rivaling Nevada as America’s biggest betting market. To bet on sports in New Jersey, you need to be at least 21 years of age and must be physically present in the state, even when wagering online. New Jersey sports betting set the standard for the US legal sports betting market. The Garden State led the nation in overall betting handle in every month of last year at its retail and online. Along with in-state racetracks like The Meadowlands and Monmouth Park and all the Atlantic City casinos, the online gambling industry in New Jersey is booming. This includes online horse betting. Watch and bet live horse races legally from the comfort of your home with the world’s leading network. Gain an edge on the competition with insights from our experts and an amazing WELCOME bonus! Perfect for betting tracks like Del Mar, Gulfstream, Saratoga, Monmouth Park, and Keeneland.

New Jersey currently hosts three major racetracks and a handful of off-track betting (OTB) parlors. One legal mobile horse race betting platform, 4NJBets, also operates in New Jersey.

New Jersey Online Horse Betting Sites

4NJBets

New Jersey bettors enjoy access to one legal online horse race betting platform, 4NJBets. Owned and operated by TVG Horse Racing, 4NJBets acts as the only mobile horse race betting site regulated by the New Jersey Racing Commission.

4NJBets launched in 2007. TVG, one of the biggest brands in the US horse racing industry, acquired 4NJBets in 2013.

New bettors that register for an account at 4NJBets can access a risk-free bet offer, up to $200, after their first deposit.

The 4NJBets platform can be downloaded as a mobile app for iOS and Android devices. The site can also be accessed through a desktop browser.

What Kinds Of Bonuses Are Available At 4NJBets?

Risk-Free Bet

The $200 risk-free bet offer at 4NJBets applies to the first bet made after an initial deposit on the platform.

After registering for a 4NJBets account and making a deposit, new bettors can apply the risk-free bet offer to any “Single Horse Win Bet.” If the bet results in a loss, 4NJBets will refund the full amount of the bet, up to $200.

For example, if a new player makes a $200 bet as their first bet on 4NJBets, and the bet loses, the player receives a $200 rebate. A $100 bet garners a $100 rebate.

Bets of more than $200 can only earn a maximum of $200 as a refund. A $500 bet, for instance, would receive a $200 refund in the event of a loss.

Referral Bonus

Bettors with an active 4NJBets account can earn a $25 referral bonus for bringing new players to the platform.

The referral bonus offer can be found under the “Promotions” tab at the top-left of the main lobby. The link opens a menu allowing 4NJBets account holders to send a referral link to potential new players.

New bettors who sign up with the referral link can enjoy a $25 deposit match bonus, as well as a $100 match bonus on their first bet.

A referral’s first deposit at 4NJBets yields a $25 bonus for the bettor who sent the referral link.

Horse Racetracks In New Jersey

Freehold Raceway

The oldest horse racing venue in the US, Freehold Raceway began hosting races in the 1830s. The official opening of the track took place in 1854, with the Monmouth County Agricultural Society establishing annual harness racing at the venue.

Located in Freehold Borough, Freehold Raceway is owned as a joint venture between Penn National Gaming and Greenwood Racing.

Freehold Raceway specializes in harness racing, with meets running from January through May, and September through December each year.

From 1998 through 2010, Freehold Raceway hosted the Cane Pace, the first leg of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers.

Meadowlands Racetrack

Meadowlands Racetrack opened in 1976 in East Rutherford. Also known as Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment, the multi-purpose facility is colloquially referred to as “The Big M”.

The venue hosts both thoroughbred and harness racing, with events running throughout the year.

Major races at Meadowlands Racetrack include the Hambletonian Stakes, which has emanated from the venue since 1981. The Hambletonian Stakes acts as the first leg of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters, a major US-based harness racing series. Other major events held at the racetrack include the Cane Pace.

Meadowlands Racetrack also hosts a full-service retail sportsbook, operated by FanDuel Sportsbook.

Monmouth Park

The Monmouth Park name refers to three separate horse racing facilities that have operated in New Jersey in the past 150 years.

The modern-day racetrack known as Monmouth Park opened in 1946 in Oceanport. The venue specializes in thoroughbred events. It annually hosts about a dozen graded stakes events (races officially recognized by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association).

Annual major events at Monmouth Park include the Haskell Invitational Stakes and United Nations Stakes. The Haskell Invitational Stakes is considered one of the most prestigious US horse racing events, taking place between the Triple Crown and the Breeders Cup.

Monmouth Park hosted the Breeders Cup in 2007.

Is Horse Race Betting Legal In New Jersey?

New Jersey’s horse race betting tradition goes back to the early 1800s. Along with 19th-century state lotteries, horse race betting is the oldest form of gambling in New Jersey.

Gambling was formally banned in New Jersey from 1894 to 1939, but horse race betting was made legal again in 1939.

Pari-mutuel horse race betting, both retail and online, is legal in New Jersey.

History Of Horse Racing In New Jersey

Freehold Raceway, the oldest horse racetrack in the US, began holding races in the 1830s. The original Monmouth Park Racetrack opened in 1870.

Horse race betting proved a popular pastime for New Jersey residents throughout the 1800s. Gambling of all forms was outlawed in the state from 1894 to 1939, but events at Freehold Raceway still ran throughout that period.

Pari-mutuel horse race betting was legalized again in 1939. In 1976, the state’s third major horse racing venue, Meadowlands Racetrack, opened in East Rutherford.

The modern-era horse racing industry in New Jersey includes Meadowlands Racetrack, a still-operating Freehold Raceway, and the current version of Monmouth Park Racetrack.

Online horse race betting is also legal in New Jersey, with the state-regulated 4NJBets platform available to bettors in the Garden State.

How Safe Is Online Horse Betting In New Jersey?

The 4NJBets platform operates as the only legal, state-regulated mobile horse race betting site in New Jersey.

TVG, one of the biggest and most trusted brands in US horse racing, owns and operates 4NJBets. As a legal betting platform, 4NJBets falls under the regulation of theNew Jersey Racing Commission.

With the oversight of the New Jersey Racing Commission in place, 4NJBets offers a safe betting experience and secure protection of personal and banking information.

Apart from 4NJBets, any platform offering online horse race betting in New Jersey is doing so illegally. While 4NJBets assures the security of betting funds, offshore/illegal betting sites do not offer the same level of safety.

What Races Can I Bet On In New Jersey?

Popular Horse Racing Events In New Jersey

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Haskell Invitational Stakes

New Jersey’s biggest annual horse race, the Haskell Invitational Stakes takes place each July at Monmouth Park.

One of the most prestigious thoroughbred events in American horse racing, the Haskell Invitational Stakes runs between the final leg of the Triple Crown and the Breeders Cup each year.

The race carries a $1,000,000 purse, one of the biggest of any annual New Jersey horse race. The Haskell Invitational Stakes is recognized as a Grade I race by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

Hambletonian Stakes

One of harness racing’s biggest US events, the Hambletonian Stakes acts as the first leg of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters.

The Hambletonian Stakes began in 1926. Meadowlands Racetrack currently hosts the race annually each August and started doing so in 1981.

The race awards a minimum total purse of $1,000,000 annually.

Important American And International Races

American Triple Crown

The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes comprise the American Triple Crown. The trio of races runs annually, beginning with the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in May.

The Preakness Stakes generally runs two weeks after the Kentucky Derby, from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The Belmont Stakes completes the Triple Crown and runs three weeks after the Preakness Stakes from Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

New Jersey bettors can legally bet on all three Triple Crown races on the 4NJBets platform.

Breeders Cup

Another prestigious US horse racing series, the Breeders Cup runs every fall and from a different US venue each year.

No matter what the venue, the Breeders Cup is open for betting in New Jersey on the 4NJBets app.

International Races

Major overseas horse racing events like the Dubai World Cup, Melbourne Cup, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and Grand National add even more betting options for New Jersey bettors.

4NJBets offers betting on these international races, as well as many others.

New Jersey Mayor Betsy Driver

Do Racetracks Offer Casino Games?

Some horse racing facilities in the US also offer casino games on the property. These venues, known as racinos, offer the best of both worlds when it comes to horse race betting and casino gambling.

New Jersey doesn’t host any racinos, but horse racetracks are permitted to offer retail sports betting.

William Hill, one of the biggest brands in sports betting, became the first company to open a retail sportsbook in New Jersey. The Monmouth Park Sports Book by William Hill began taking wagers in June 2018.

Visitors to Meadowlands Racetrack can place sports bets at the on-site FanDuel Sportsbook. FanDuel Sportsbook operates both online and retail sports betting in New Jersey as a license partner of Meadowlands Racetrack. The FanDuel Sportsbook retail operation opened at the Meadowlands in July 2018.

Freehold Raceway will also likely eventually host a retail sportsbook, with the opening date for the operation pending.

Does New Jersey Have Off-Track Betting Facilities?

New Jersey Nets

While retail horse race wagering in New Jersey goes back more than a century, off-track betting (OTB) facilities were formally legalized much more recently.

The Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 legalized off-track betting on a federal level in the US. OTB parlors became legal in New Jersey with the passage of the Off-Track and Account Wagering Act in August 2001.

New Jersey bettors can find off-track betting at each of the state’s three major racetracks. Meadowlands Racetrack, Freehold Raceway, and Monmouth Park all operate as both live racing venues and OTB facilities.

Additional OTB locations include Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, as well as six standalone OTB parlors throughout the state. Five of these standalone parlors operate under the Favorites brand, including Favorites Egg Harbor and Favorites at Toms River.

All legal OTB parlors are regulated by the New Jersey Racing Commission.

New Jersey Online Horse Betting FAQ

Yes. 4NJBets operates as New Jersey’s only legal, state-regulated mobile horse race betting site. Only residents of New Jersey are eligible to register for a 4NJBets account.

Bettors must be located within New Jersey borders at the time of a wager when using 4NJBets. The platform uses geolocation technology to determine a user’s location at the time of a bet.

The site will block a bettor from wagering if its geolocation feature determines that the bettor is outside New Jersey borders.

No. None of New Jersey’s horse racetracks operate as racinos (combination horse racetracks and casinos).

New Jersey racetracks do, however, offer retail sports betting. Monmouth Park hosts a William Hill-branded sportsbook, and Meadowlands Racetrack operates a FanDuel Sportsbook.

Freehold Raceway is expected to open a retail sportsbook at some point in the future as well.

The TVG Horse Racing online betting platform that operates in more than 30 states is not legal in New Jersey.

New Jersey’s lone mobile horse race betting platform, however, is operated by TVG. Officially named 4NJBets Powered By TVG, the platform operates as a standalone, New Jersey-only platform.

New Jersey residents cannot register for a standard TVG Horse Racing account but can access 4NJBets from anywhere within state borders.

No. 4NJBets operates as the only legal, state-regulated mobile horse race betting platform available in New Jersey.

BetAmerica-branded online casino and sportsbook sites both operate legally in New Jersey, but BetAmerica’s horse racing platform isn’t legally available in New Jersey.

Yes. All three Triple Crown races are legally available for betting on the 4NJBets platform. 4NJBets offers betting on the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes, as well as many other domestic and international races.

4NJBets allows New Jersey bettors to wager on these races from a mobile device or desktop browser.

New Jersey bettors 18 and over can place bets at retail horse race tracks and OTB facilities in the state.

This minimum age also applies to placing a legal online horse racing bet. New Jersey’s lone legal mobile horse race betting platform, 4NJBets, accepts New Jersey residents 18 and over.

Yes. 4NJBets offers live streaming coverage of many of the races available for betting on the app. Bettors on 4NJBets can also access TVG and TVG 2, a pair of 24-hour networks dedicated to horse racing.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey took nearly $1 billion worth of sports bets in December, an encouraging finish to a year in which coronavirus closures and restrictions sent overall gambling revenue down nearly 17%.

New Jersey Online Bets

Over $6 billion worth of bets were placed last year in New Jersey, which won a U.S. Supreme Court case in 2018 that cleared the way for the ongoing expansion of legalized sports betting in America.

Figures released Wednesday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the state’s nine casinos and three horse tracks that accept sports bets took in over $996 million worth of such wagers in December, the latest in a string of monthly records for U.S. sports betting.

Slot and table games revenue for the casinos, including internet betting, was $2.64 billion in 2020. When sports betting revenue is added, New Jersey saw more than $2.88 billion in revenue for the year.

That represented a decline of 16.9% in a year in which the casinos were closed for 3 1/2 months. Even when they were allowed to reopen in July, they had to restrict operations to 25% of capacity — limits that remain in place today.

“Significant revenue was lost in those early months and, throughout the second half of the year, the resurging public health crisis continued to impact business in Atlantic City,” said James Plousis, chair of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. “Atlantic City’s stakeholders have been working hard to build a strong foundation for recovery. As society begins to approach a return to normalcy, Atlantic City will be ready to restore its recent positive momentum.”

Only one casino, the Golden Nugget, took in more money in 2020 than it did in 2019. It won more than $415 million, an increase of nearly 10% over the previous year.

Harrah’s had the biggest decline in 2020, down 46.8% to $166.3 million. Resorts was close behind, down 43.8% to $100.2 million. Caesars was down an identical 43.8% to $152.3 million.

Tropicana was down 33.8% to $231.5 million; Borgata, the last of the nine casinos to reopen last year, was down 27.6% to $577.3 million; Hard Rock was down 17% to $290.5 million, and Ocean was down 10.1% to $214.1 million.

Ocean CEO Terry Glebocki said 2020 was a challenging year.

“We’re optimistic about the future as demonstrated by Ocean’s 18% year-to-date growth in casino win during the year’s eight operational months,” she said. “In a time when many businesses in the country are ramping down operating schedules, Ocean is actively reinvesting in its property by debuting new venues likes our new high-limit slot experience, The Cove.”

New Jersey Nets Owner

Under two different owners in 2020, Bally’s won nearly $97 million, compared with $181.5 a year earlier.

New Jersey has led the nation for months in the amount of money bet on sports within its borders. With the NFL playoffs underway in the run-up to the Super Bowl, January 2021 is almost certain to eclipse the $1 billion mark for total amount of money wagered, known in the industry as “handle.”

But that number is separate from, and much larger than, sports betting revenue, or the amount of money sports books keep after paying out winning bets and other expenses. New Jersey’s casinos and horse tracks kept just under $400 million in sports betting revenue last year, an increase of over 33% from a year earlier.

And its dominance of the market appears to be in jeopardy: New York state announced last week it will legalize mobile sports betting this year, a move certain to cut into New Jersey’s sports betting business. Industry experts say about 20% of New Jersey’s sports bets are made by New Yorkers who cross the border to wager; that is money New Jersey soon will no longer be getting.

Internet gambling revenue more than doubled last year, going from $482 million in 2019 to $970 million in 2020, another bright spot for an industry still struggling to recover from the pandemic. Internet gambling had been on a roll for years in New Jersey, but increased even more this year as gamblers had no option but to bet on their phones or laptops from mid-March to early July, and even after they reopened, some felt more comfortable gambling from home.

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