Caesars sportsbook goes all-in for bettors ahead of the 151st Kentucky Derby Saturday.
The company announced Tuesday that it added pari-mutuel horse race wagering to its betting catalog in two jurisdictions days before the famed event.
Key takeaways
- Pari-mutuel betting lets users compete against other bettors, not the house.
- Users may access Caesars Racebook through Caesars Sportsbook.
- An official called horse race betting a “dying business”.
The new betting option launch was made possible by giving users the choice to toggle between Caesars Sportsbook and Caesars Racebook, supported by NYRA Bets, which contains pari-mutuel betting.
Pari-mutuel betting is a method where wagers in the same market are pooled together. The house’s vig is removed, and odds are determined by the money in the pool on the winning outcome.
The new jurisdictions include, fittingly, Kentucky and Colorado.
“Integrating pari-mutuel horse racing into the Caesars Sportsbook app is a significant milestone for both our digital business and the sport of horse racing,” said Dan Shapiro, Caesars Digital Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer. “Our customers will be able to bet on horse racing, whether it’s the sport’s biggest events or daily races from tracks around the world.
“Now, our product seamlessly puts the action directly in front of an expanded audience and reinforces Caesars’ commitment to horse racing,” he continued. “We look forward to continuing our work with the New York Racing Association and NYRA Bets to expand the availability across more states as we gain regulatory approvals.”
Kentucky Derby betting in the spotlight
In addition to launching pari-mutuel betting, the integration between Caesars’ sportsbook and racebooks will bring horse race live-streaming at more than 300 races to its sports betting platform.
Bettors wagered a record $210.7 million on the Kentucky Derby last year. That outperformed 2023's reported $188.7 million total by 11.7%.
Still, horse race betting isn't on a consistent upward trajectory. Racing company Equibase reported the $11.7 billion in total wagers on U.S. thoroughbred races in 2023 underperformed 2022's total by 3.7%.
That continued all the way through 2024, when $11.3 billion in total bets cemented a 3.4% decrease from 2023's year-end total.
Jeffrey Grual, managing partner of the company that operates Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey, said horse racing was “basically a dying business” during the SBC Summit North America conference last spring.
Odds and available states
Although Kentucky Derby odds vary by sportsbook, there's unanimous agreement that Journalism is the field favorite at around +300. Sovereignty is next, followed by Sandman, Rodriguez, Luxor Cafe, and Burnham Square.
Anyone 21 or older who wants to bet on the Derby can download the Caesars Racebook in 20 states, including: CA, CT, FL, IL, IN, IA, LA, MD, MA, MN, MT, NY, ND, OH, OR, PA, VA, WA, WV, and WY.
Caesars Sportsbook is available in 11 additional states: AZ, CO, KS, KY, ME, MI, NV, NC, NJ, NM, and TN. Colorado and Kentucky users will access the racebook through the sportsbook.
