NYRA pushes for fixed-odds wagering

by Bob Duff

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) is pushing state legislators to move forward with a bill that would permit online and mobile sports betting sites in the Empire State to offer fixed-odds wagering on horse racing through their sportsbooks.

While, on the surface, this action may seem counterproductive to harness racing traditionalists, the fact of the matter is that not only does the idea make sense, but it might be necessary to save the sport.

In North America, harness racing has operated for decades on the pari-mutuel wagering system. Odds on a race continue to fluctuate right up until post time. Just because the odds to win on the horse you bet were 5-1 at the time you placed the wager, that doesn’t mean that the horse won’t go off at odds of 3-2. And it’s those latter odds that will be covered in a payout on your bet should you have backed a winner.

That’s the way it’s always been, and for horseplayers, that was fine, because it was basically the only option you had if you wanted to bet on the races.

When the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to widespread retail and online sports betting in the spring of 2018, all bets were off. Theoretically, all 50 states were now eligible to offer legal and regulated sports betting to people, with fixed odds on outcomes.

With a fixed-odds wager, the odds you get when you place your bet are the same odds you’ll get if your bet pays out as a winner. For the masses who’ve been introduced to sports betting since 2018, this is

the only type of sports wagering they’ve known. So, asking these individuals, especially the younger ones who are new to gambling, to accept or even comprehend how pari-mutuel odds work, will be a significant challenge.

FIXED-ODDS WAGERING WOULD APPEAL TO A YOUNGER AUDIENCE

Harness racing continues to face declining attendance and wagering numbers. An age-old battle — attracting younger bettors to the racetrack — remains an ongoing issue.

Leaders in the horse racing industry in New York State believe that offering the option of fixed-odds wagering through sportsbooks would provide a significantly greater opportunity to introduce younger

people to the sport. And it would allow them to place wagers on horse racing in the same manner that they bet on sports such as football, baseball, and basketball.

In essence, this move would make wagering on harness racing more user-friendly for sports bettors who are unaccustomed to being horse players.

From an economic standpoint, estimates are that the introduction of fixed-odds wagering on horse racing would generate as much as $30 million in annual tax revenue for the state.

It also should prove beneficial to the state’s horsepeople.

“We see this as an opportunity to drive new revenue to our industry, to the state, and down to the shareholders and stakeholders, which are horsemen, breeders, and owners,” said Jeffrey Cannizzo, vice president of government affairs for NYRA, during a hearing conducted by the New York State Assembly on the status of New York’s horse racing industry.

THREE STATES CURRENTLY OFFER FIXED-ODDS WAGERING

Fixed-odds wagering on horse racing has proven to be a staple of sportsbooks in the United Kingdom and Ireland for decades. It hasn’t cannibalized wagering on horse racing at all. In fact, it has increased the handle at the tracks. Many UK betting sites advertise the best odds on horse racing as a promotion to draw in bettors.

Currently, three states — New Jersey, Colorado, and West Virginia — offer fixed-odds wagering on horse racing through online and mobile sportsbooks.

While this move is unlikely to be a marketing bonanza for American betting sites, similar to what it has been in the UK, it should be beneficial for both parties’ perspectives. New York is the No. 1 state in terms of generating sports betting handle. Since the fall of 2025, New Yorkers have been wagering nearly $500 million per week on sports.

For this move to be undertaken in the Empire State, there’s still some work to be done, however.

A bill that would legalize fixed-odds wagering for New York online sportsbooks is currently before the state legislature. However, it’s made little headway since being introduced last summer.

The bill was co-sponsored in January 2024 by New York State Senator Joseph Addabbo, a Queens Democrat who chairs the Senate racing, gaming, and wagering committee, and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, a Westchester County Democrat who heads the Assembly’s racing and wagering committee.

Both politicians have long been proponents of the expansion of gambling in the Empire State. They introduced a similar bill in 2023, but the attempt to push through that bill never made it out of committee.