Verticals / Pari-mutuel
Pari-mutuel
Pari-mutuel horse race betting is legal and live in 31 states, as of Oct 11, 2026. North Carolina has legalized it but not yet launched. 10 states allow it in a limited form.
Live horse / dog racing with pari-mutuel wagering.
LiveLegal, not launchedLimitedContestedProhibitedNot authorizedRepealedNA
By state
| State | Status | Launched | Model | Current tax | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Live | Competitive | Live horse and dog racing with pari-mutuel wagering regulated under Title 5, Chapter 1; racing regulation is now housed within the Department of Gaming. | ||
| Arkansas | Live | Competitive | Live thoroughbred racing continues at Oaklawn under the Horse Racing Law; Amendment 100 preserved horse and greyhound racing wagering under these existing statutes alongside the new casino framework. Greyhound racing at Southland ended around 2019-2022 (secondary sources describe a planned end "by December" 2019 and a 2023 feature describing the track having gone from greyhound ["grey"] to casino ["blue"]; this research could not confirm the exact closing date from a primary source). | ||
| California | Live | Competitive | Pari-mutuel 'takeout' deducted from the wagering pool, per Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 19610 (confirmed via direct fetch of the current statute, 2026-10-10): 15% on conventional (win/place/show) wagers, 16.75% on exotic wagers, except 17.75% on exotic wagers at harness-racing meetings. Takeout is further split by statute (§§ 19605.7, 19611, etc.) among state license-fee payments, purses, association/satellite commissions, and breeder/equine-health awards, varying by breed, zone, and bet type. HANDLE (retail) | Licensed by the California Horse Racing Board at tracks (e.g., Santa Anita, Del Mar) and satellite wagering facilities. CORRECTED via direct fetch of the current statute (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 19610, confirmed live on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov on 2026-10-10): associations must deduct 15% of the total amount handled in conventional (win/place/show) parimutuel pools and 16.75% of the total amount handled in exotic pools, except that harness-racing meetings deduct 17.75% on exotic pools. This supersedes the prior figure in this file (approximately 15.95% conventional and 22.68%-23.68% exotic), which was drawn from a stale 2013 legislative bill-analysis summary and did not match the current codified rate. The deducted takeout is further split by statute (see §§ 19605.7, 19611, etc.) among state license-fee payments, purses, association/satellite commissions, and breeder/equine-health awards, varying by breed, zone, and bet type. Licensing fees to fund the CHRB itself (as an agency) were eliminated by SB 16 X2 (2009); tracks and fairs now fund the board under a formula set by the board in consultation with the industry rather than a fixed statutory fee. | |
| Colorado | Live | Jul 4, 1950 | Competitive | Arapahoe Park (Aurora) is the state's active Thoroughbred/Quarter Horse/Arabian track; the historic Centennial Race Track (Littleton) closed in 1983. | |
| Delaware | Live | Competitive | Live harness racing at Dover Downs and Harrington; live thoroughbred racing at Delaware Park; purses funded via § 4815(b) video-lottery and § 4815(c) sports-lottery revenue shares. | ||
| Florida | Live | Competitive | Live and simulcast horse racing (thoroughbred, harness, quarter horse) and jai alai continue at licensed pari-mutuel permitholders. Greyhound racing was phased out after voters approved Amendment 13 in November 2018 (69% approval), which barred wagering on live dog races after 2020-12-31; other pari-mutuel and cardroom activity at former greyhound tracks was allowed to continue. A 2021 law "decoupled" cardroom/slot licensure from the live-racing requirement for harness/quarter-horse tracks and jai alai frontons, but not for thoroughbred tracks, which Gulfstream Park sued in August 2025 to challenge as an unconstitutional special law (litigation pending as of this research). | ||
| Idaho | Live | Monopoly State | Constitutional exception; Idaho State Racing Commission licenses live and simulcast race meets under the Horse Racing Act (IDAPA 11.04.08). | ||
| Illinois | Live | Competitive | 17% HANDLE | Live thoroughbred/harness racing with pari-mutuel wagering at licensed tracks (e.g., Hawthorne Race Course); licensees may retain up to 17% of the pari-mutuel pool per 230 ILCS 5/26(b). The 2019 expansion authorized slot machines/table games (racinos) at racetracks. | |
| Indiana | Live | Competitive | Live Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing with pari-mutuel wagering at Hoosier Park (Anderson) and Indiana Grand/Horseshoe Indianapolis; both tracks are also racinos with slots/table games. | ||
| Iowa | Live | Competitive | Pari-Mutuel Wagering Act passed 1983; first Racing Commission appointed July 1, 1983, predating the 2007-era renaming convention seen in other states (Iowa's agency has long been the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission). | ||
| Kansas | Live | Competitive | 3/18 (16.67%) of daily takeout from live horse-race pools and simulcast pools; graduated 3/18-5/18 tiers for live greyhound racing by handle level; statutory floor/ceiling of 3%-6% of total daily wagering at a facility HANDLE (retail) | Licensed organization licensees may conduct live horse/greyhound racing with parimutuel wagering; takeout capped at 18% of each pool (25% for multiple/exotic bets). Eureka Downs racetrack licensing office reopening in fall 2026 per KRGC site. | |
| Kentucky | Live | Monopoly State | Long-standing pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast Thoroughbred, harness, Appaloosa, Arabian, paint and quarter horse racing, regulated by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. | ||
| Louisiana | Live | Competitive | Live thoroughbred and quarter-horse racing continues at several tracks, including the Fair Grounds Race Course (New Orleans), with off-track betting parlors operated by Churchill Downs Inc. and others. Four Louisiana racetracks/OTB operators were also eligible to hold sports-wagering licenses under the 2021 sports-betting framework. The Fair Grounds' future has been in dispute following the March 2025 state Supreme Court ruling against historical horse racing machines, which removed a major revenue source subsidizing live-racing purses. | ||
| Maine | Live | Competitive | Harness racing is live at 2 commercial tracks (Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway in Bangor, and First Tracks Cumberland at the Cumberland Fairgrounds) plus short meets (up to 8 days) at 6 agricultural fairs, July-Oct. Off-track betting parlors operate in Lewiston, Sanford, and Waterville. | ||
| Maryland | Live | Competitive | Live thoroughbred racing (Laurel Park, Pimlico/Preakness) and historical harness racing at Rosecroft; horse racing industry received $94.7 million from FY2026 casino gaming contributions. | ||
| Minnesota | Live | Jun 26, 1985 | Competitive | Voters approved pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing in a 1982 constitutional amendment; Canterbury Downs (now Canterbury Park) held its first race June 26, 1985. Live racing also occurs at Running Aces. | |
| Montana | Live | Hybrid | Board of Horseracing licenses live and simulcast pari-mutuel race meets; by 2019 only two tracks remained active, running as few as 8 days of live racing a year. | ||
| Nebraska | Live | Competitive | NRGC originated in 1935 as the Nebraska State Racing Commission to regulate pari-mutuel horse racing; live Quarter Horse racing continues at Lake Mac Racetrack (Ogallala) and other licensed tracks tied to the casino properties. | ||
| New Jersey | Live | Competitive | Live racing continues at Meadowlands Racetrack (East Rutherford) and Monmouth Park Racetrack (Oceanport); off-track betting at Favorites (Woodbridge) and Winners Bayonne. Freehold Raceway and three Favorites OTB parlors closed Dec. 28, 2024. Pari-mutuel wagering was banned in 1894 and re-legalized in 1939. | ||
| New Mexico | Live | Hybrid | Licensed racetracks (class A and class B) conduct pari-mutuel wagering with statutory retainage percentages and distributions to horse breeders'/horsemen's associations; intrastate and interstate simulcast wagering is expressly authorized and funded through retainage deductions. | ||
| New York | Live | Competitive | Regulated by the Gaming Commission's Division of Horse Racing & Pari-Mutuel Wagering; thoroughbred racing also falls under the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). No specific track list independently confirmed in this research pass. | ||
| North Dakota | Live | Monopoly State | The North Dakota Racing Commission continues to license live race meets (e.g., ORDA at Chippewa Downs and HRND at the North Dakota Horse Park in 2026) and simulcast pari-mutuel wagering under N.D.C.C. § 53-06.2-10.1. A 2025 bill, SB 2347, would have authorized historic horse racing (HHR) wagering and eliminated simulcast dog racing, but failed on its Senate second reading, 16-31, Feb. 13, 2025; HHR remains unauthorized. | ||
| Ohio | Live | Hybrid | 1% HANDLE (retail) $0–$200K 2% HANDLE (retail) $200K–$300K 3% HANDLE (retail) $300K–$400K 4% HANDLE (retail) $400K–∞ | Live thoroughbred, harness and quarter-horse racing at a limited number of licensed tracks; permit holder commission capped at 18% of wagers (§3769.08(A)) plus tiered state tax (see tax_rates). Minimum wagering age is 18 per industry/secondary sources (statute text reviewed refers only to "patrons of legal age"). | |
| Oklahoma | Live | Competitive | Live pari-mutuel horse racing regulated by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission; racetracks include Remington Park and Will Rogers Downs. | ||
| Oregon | Live | Competitive | Oregon Racing Commission (established 1933) regulates on- and off-track pari-mutuel wagering; Grants Pass Downs is Oregon's only remaining commercial race meet, alongside county fair race meets. | ||
| Pennsylvania | Live | Competitive | Live thoroughbred and harness racing continues at PA racetracks (several co-located with Category 1 racino casinos). | ||
| Texas | Live | Competitive | Authorized under the Texas Racing Act (Occupations Code Ch. 2021 et seq.), administered by the Texas Racing Commission. Licensed venues include Sam Houston Race Park (Houston), Lone Star Park (Grand Prairie), Retama Park (Selma/San Antonio), and the Gillespie County Fair & Festival (Fredericksburg) meet. Commercial greyhound racing has ended in Texas (no greyhound track is listed among current licensed venues). | ||
| Virginia | Live | Monopoly State | Live thoroughbred/harness racing at Colonial Downs (New Kent); revived after HHR legalization in 2018. | ||
| Washington | Live | Competitive | Pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing traces to 1872 (Seattle Race Course); the Horse Racing Commission was established in 1933. Emerald Downs (Auburn), successor to Longacres, is the state's main remaining live track. | ||
| West Virginia | Live | Competitive | Live thoroughbred racing at Charles Town and Mountaineer; harness/greyhound history at other tracks; purses supplemented by video-lottery/table-game revenue shares under §§29-22A-10 et seq. | ||
| Wyoming | Live | Monopoly State | Agency traces to the 1967 Wyoming Pari-Mutuel Commission (created by HB 130) to authorize wagering on live racing; local-option county approval required. | ||
| Alabama | Limited | Live and simulcast pari-mutuel wagering on horse/greyhound racing remain legal in principle under local county racing-commission authority, but no Alabama track currently operates: Greenetrack (closed 1997), Mobile Greyhound Park (closed 2017), VictoryLand (dog track closed 2011), Birmingham Race Course (closed 2020). Several of these venues' separate "electronic bingo" halls (not pari-mutuel racing) were the subject of the 2016 Alabama Supreme Court rulings. | |||
| Connecticut | Limited | Hybrid | Horse racing, greyhound racing, and jai alai wagering were legalized in 1971 (horse racing/ OTB) and 1972 (jai alai, dog racing); the state's OTB system opened in 1976, run today by MyWinners (a Sportech subsidiary) at nine OTB parlors plus the two tribal casinos. Live greyhound racing (Plainfield Greyhound Park, 1976-2005) and jai alai (Shoreline Star, 1996-2005) have both ceased; wagering now is on simulcast racing. MyWinners handle was $168M in 2015. | ||
| Massachusetts | Limited | Competitive | Live thoroughbred racing ended with Suffolk Downs' 2019 closure. Plainridge Park Casino hosts the state's only live racing (harness, seasonal, Apr-Nov). Simulcast wagering continues at Plainridge, the former Raynham Park dog track, and the Suffolk Downs simulcast center; racing and simulcasting authority has historically required annual legislative extension (lapsed briefly in Aug. 2018). | ||
| Michigan | Limited | Hybrid | Live horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering regulated under the Horse Racing Law of 1995; Executive Order 2009-45 abolished the standalone Office of Racing Commissioner and transferred its duties to the MGCB's executive director, effective January 17, 2010. Michigan's live racing industry has contracted sharply (most historic tracks, e.g. Hazel Park, closed); could not confirm the current count of active licensed tracks this session. | ||
| Missouri | Limited | Voters approved pari-mutuel wagering in 1984, but no licensed live track or off-track facility currently operates; wagering on an off-track result outside a licensed facility is a Class D felony under current law. | |||
| Nevada | Limited | Competitive | 2% HANDLE (retail) | Nevada Gaming Commission licenses pari-mutuel meetings (trotting, pacing, chariot, cutter racing); live racing has sharply declined and most wagering is via simulcast. Corrected from an earlier research pass: live horse-race pari-mutuel handle is taxed at 2% under NRS 466.125 (not 3%); state fair associations, agricultural societies, county fair/recreation boards, and nonprofit race organizations pay a reduced 1% rate. NRS 466.125 was added by Stats. 1960, p. 188 and most recently amended by Stats. 1997, p. 3132 (intervening amendments in 1965, 1973, 1977, 1981, and 1987 per the statute's history note); which specific amendment set the current 2%/1% split rather than another subsection was not disambiguated. Separately, NRS 464.040 imposes an unrelated 3% tax on the total amount wagered on any race, sporting event, or other event for licensees under that chapter (off-track/other-event wagering operators), which is a distinct licensee category from on-track pari-mutuel racing under Chapter 466. | |
| New Hampshire | Limited | Competitive | Live horse and dog racing is authorized but no tracks currently operate live racing; Rockingham Park (Salem) ran 1906-2009 and Seabrook/Hinsdale greyhound tracks closed by 2009. A 2024 law removes dog racing from RSA 284 effective Jan. 1, 2027. Simulcast wagering continues at former track sites such as The Brook (ex-Seabrook Greyhound Park). | ||
| Rhode Island | Limited | 1977 | Monopoly State | Live greyhound racing operated at Lincoln Greyhound Park (later Twin River) from 1977 until the track's closure in 2009; Rhode Island has no live horse racing. Simulcast wagering on out-of-state racing reportedly continues at Twin River/Tiverton, though this was not independently re-confirmed for 2026 in this research pass. | |
| South Dakota | Limited | Pari-mutuel wagering limited to live horse racing at the Stanley County Fairgrounds in Fort Pierre; minimum age 18; no active simulcast horse or dog wagering establishments identified by the Commission as of its licensing page. | |||
| Wisconsin | Limited | Pari-mutuel wagering on horse/dog racing is a recognized statutory exception to the gambling prohibition (ch. 562), but no live, operating racetrack was confirmed as of research date; Wisconsin's dog tracks closed in the 2000s-2010s per general industry knowledge not independently re-verified this session. | |||
| North Carolina | Legal, not launched | The 2023 sports-wagering law created a separate pari-mutuel wagering licensing system administered alongside sports wagering (N.C. Lottery Commission's "Rules Manual for Sports Wagering and Pari-Mutuel Wagering" covers both), but no live horse or greyhound racing currently operates in North Carolina; prior NC Supreme Court rulings (State v. Felton, 239 N.C. 575 (1954); State v. Carolina Racing Ass'n, 241 N.C. 80 (1954)) struck down 1939/1949 track-authorization laws as unconstitutional delegations/monopolies. | |||
| Hawaii | Prohibited | No enabling legislation exists for pari-mutuel wagering; Hawaii has no licensed horse or dog racing. | |||
| South Carolina | Prohibited | No licensed live horse or dog racing or pari-mutuel wagering facilities exist in South Carolina; wagering on races/pools is covered by the general betting and bookmaking prohibition (§16-19-130). Repeated bills to create a South Carolina Equine Advancement Act and racing commission (e.g. H.1128 2021-2022, H.3514 2023-2024) have not passed. | |||
| Utah | Prohibited | Utah has legal horse racing but wagering on races (live or simulcast) is prohibited; voters rejected a 1958 initiative to allow pari-mutuel wagering, and SB 156 (2025), which would have created a Pari-mutuel Horse Racing Commission, failed in the Senate 13-14-2. | |||
| Vermont | Prohibited | Explicitly banned by statute - "A person shall not hold, conduct, operate, or simulcast a pari-mutuel dog race or pari-mutuel horse race" for public exhibition (13 V.S.A. §2153, amended 2019). Vermont's horse-racing licensing chapter (31 V.S.A. ch. 13, §§601-642) was separately and entirely repealed by 2019, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), §15. | |||
| Alaska | Not authorized | Secondary trackers state Alaska has not legalized pari-mutuel horse betting; 1987-1991 legislative attempts to create a racing-commission chapter were not confirmed as enacted. | |||
| District of Columbia | Not authorized | DC Code Title 36 has no chapter on horse/dog racing or pari-mutuel wagering, and there is no live racing facility in the District; general gambling prohibition applies. | |||
| Georgia | Not authorized | Horse and dog racing and off-track wagering are prohibited; Georgia has no pari-mutuel statute or racing commission. | |||
| Mississippi | Not authorized | No current Mississippi statute authorizing live pari-mutuel horse or dog racing was identified in this research; no active racetracks were found operating in the state. | |||
| Tennessee | Not authorized | Tennessee has no live horse or dog racing industry with pari-mutuel wagering. |
Amount bet on U.S. horse races
Thoroughbred racing, all sourcesPer year
$10.0B$20.0B200520092013201720212025$11.0B
Thoroughbred races run in the United States, including online and out-of-state wagering into U.S. pools.[1]
By state
States measure this differently, so compare a state with itself over time, not with other states.
| State | Measure | Year | Amount bet | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Bet in the state | 2024 | $3.0B[2] | |
| New York | Bet on the state's races, from anywhere | 2024 | $2.5B[3] | |
| New Jersey | Bet in the state | 2025 | $555M[4] | -13.0% |
| Kentucky | Bet in the state | 2019 | $501M[5] | +0.5% |
| Florida | Bet in the state | 2025 | $335M[6] | -6.0% |
Sources
- Wagering handle off sharply in December, down for year · The Racing Biz (citing Equibase) · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- California Horse Racing Board Annual Report, FY 2023-24 · California Horse Racing Board · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- 2024 Annual Report, Division of Horse Racing and Pari-Mutuel Wagering · New York State Gaming Commission · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- New Jersey Racing Commission 86th Annual Report (2025) · New Jersey Racing Commission · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- Kentucky Handle and Excise Tax Report for June, 2019 · Kentucky Horse Racing Commission · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- 2024/2025 Permitholder Activity Report, Year-to-Date Through June 2025 · Florida Gaming Control Commission, Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering · retrieved Oct 11, 2026