TwinSpires Horse Race Betting Review

As the number of legal online sportsbooks continues to grow around the country, one form of sports betting has enjoyed a huge head start. While sports betting in general is legal in only a handful of states so far, betting on horse racing is legal in well over half of the states in the US.

Betting on horse racing online is a fast-growing industry, but there are a few sites that really stand out as market leaders. TwinSpires is definitely one of the best sites to bet on horses in the US. TwinSpires has a robust website and a dedicated mobile app available to well over 100 million US residents.

In this review, we take you through exactly what makes TwinSpires such a good option for betting on horse racing legally in the United States.

Our experts have examined everything TwinSpires has to offer, including:

• The different sports and types of bets available.
• Bonuses for new and existing members.
• The legal situation surrounding horse race betting in the US.

We also provide helpful guides to signing up, claiming your bonuses, and depositing and withdrawing your funds.

Best Horse Racing Sites

TwinSpires at a Glance

TwinSpires was created in 2007 as the official online betting site of the Churchill Downs betting company. The site and app are both multi-state, meaning that they are available in multiple states around the US, and also feature betting on races from multiple states and even on races from tracks around the world.

Some of the main things to know about TwinSpires:

• The site features a wide variety of betting types, as we will discuss more in depth below.
• You can bet on races at hundreds of tracks from around the world, with five continents represented on the site.
• In addition to betting, you can watch many of the races live as they happen, directly on the site or app.
• TwinSpires is fully licenced and regulated, and legal in 30 US states which you can find below.

If you are a fan of betting on horse racing, TwinSpires is a must-have on your phone. The sheer number or race tracks available, the range of bets and the convenience of betting on the go means you never have to miss an opportunity.

Even if you aren’t such a big fan of horse racing but love sports betting, TwinSpires could be your opportunity to get into that world. It’s very possible you live in a state where you can not legally bet on sports, but can easily bet on horse racing.

We are big fans of TwinSpires, and in the following sections we’ll go into more detail about what we like about the site.

Where You Can Bet Using TwinSpires

TwinSpires is currently available in 30 states.

Remember, you can download the app, access the website and create an account from anywhere but you must be physically in one of the legal states to place a bet.

It’s also important to note that TwinSpires is always expanding its availability and this list is likely to be added to, so remember to check back for updates.

Here is the full list of states in which TwinSpires is currently legal and available:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• California
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• New York
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

TwinSpires Software and Mobile Betting App

After a thorough review, our experts were big fans of the TwinSpires site. The website does a great job of not filling the screen with too much information, which could easily be overwhelming for beginners.

Instead, the homepage has a list of the latest offers at the top of the page with the upcoming races listed below them in chronological order. This makes it really easy to log in and bet on a race starting in the next minute or two.

Even if you navigate away from the homepage, the “Up Next” races always appear in a little panel at the bottom of the screen, so you can always easily find the next possible race to bet on.

The menu at the top of the screen never changes. If you are looking for a specific race, you can choose “Bet Now” which allows you to see the full calendar of races, as well as results, replays and carryover information.

If you are not on the homepage, you can simply hover over any of the menu options to release a drop down menu which helps you navigate around the site.

Other options on the menu at the top of the screen include:

• “Offers” where you can find all the current bonuses and offers.
• “News” which has the latest information about the races.
• “Handicapping” where you can pay for picks from the experts.
• “Support” which has tons of helpful information for players.

All of this information is scaled down effectively on the TwinSpires app, which has exactly the same functionality as the website. Find more sportsbook apps in your state.

Having an extensive support section is especially useful for new players, and our experts were impressed with the amount of resources available.

How to Place a Bet on TwinSpires

To place a bet, simply navigate to the race of your choice and click on the horse you want to bet on. You have the option of making a “Quick Bet”, which places the bet there and then, or “Save Bet” which adds it to your Bet Slip for further consideration.

The Bet Slip allows you to add multiple bets and decide exactly what kind of bet you would like to place – singles, combinations, multi-race combinations and loads more. We found the Bet Slip to be intuitive and really useful for creating whatever bet you want. The Bet Slip works exactly the same way on the app too which is great.

TwinSpires also allows you to watch live races and highlights of previous races, both on the website and the app. All you need to do is select the play button icon, and choose what you want to watch.

Another feature we like which works great on both platforms is the ability to save certain races or tracks for the future by clicking the star icon beside the track. This allows you to return to the tracks at a later date.

Both the website and app work really well and have a similar format. We especially love how functional the app is for betting and watching races while on the go.

Software and App Highlights

• Slick and logical layout for both the website and app.
• The races starting soonest are most prominent, making it easy to log in and find a race to bet on in the space of a minute.
• The Bet Slip works really well for creating whatever kind of bets you want to make.
• Lots of information and support available directly on the site and app.
• Watching live coverage really takes the online betting experience to the next level, especially being able to do so on your phone.
• We like the favorites feature, which allows you to personalise the whole experience.

Things to Improve

• For some reason the drop down menus which appear when you hover the mouse over the menu bar don’t always work properly on the homepage of the website. This glitch can be annoying.
• The handicapping service is a useful feature, but we would like to see it given less prominence in the menu. With so much information on the site, a more concise layout would be better.

Bonuses and Deals at TwinSpires

Most online sportsbooks offer signup bonuses to entice new users to the site and TwinSpires is no exception. As well as sign up bonuses, ongoing promotions and offers are a great way to keep users engaged. After reviewing a ton of sports betting websites, it’s interesting to see how horse racing makes for some really interesting promotions.

Our experts were generally impressed with the bonuses and deals on offer from TwinSpires. The promotions are valuable and can make a genuine difference to how much users win.

It’s common for these promotions to change over time, but below you can find the offers that our experts found:

$100 Sign Up Offer

This is TwinSpires’ main sign up bonus. Once you fulfill the terms and conditions, you will be credited with $100 in bonus cash. Like most bonuses that award free cash, there are some strings attached.

In order to unlock your free $100, you must complete $500 in wagers within 30 days of opening your account. This means it will probably take a little while to unlock the money, and you’ll need to have a run of good luck to unlock the entire bonus without topping up your account with a bit of your own money.

With slightly lower wagering requirements this bonus could be a bit more friendly to beginners. In general, though, it’s hard to argue with free money bonuses.

$10 Free Bet for Inviting Friends

Every time you invite a friend to join TwinSpires and they sign up using your code, you receive a $10 free bet. You can send your code to as many people as you want and just wait to see who signs up. Even better, your friend who signs up will also receive a $10 free bet so it’s a win-win.

This is a nice and straightforward bonus, and has the potential to be very valuable if you end up inviting a lot friends.

Regular Promotions

This is one area TwinSpires really excels. Our experts found dozens of short term promotions which can give you a huge edge if you take advantage of them regularly.

Examples include money back offers if there is a certain outcome in the race (like your horse falls), enhanced odds on combination bets, free picks from the handicapper for certain races and many more.

TwinSpires like to create specific promotions for the biggest races, so make sure you check out their bonus page before you bet on the most high profile races on the calendar.

Kinds of Bets and Race Tracks Available

Our experts found that TwinSpires is really competitive both in terms of the range of bets available and the number of tracks you can bet on.

Featuring hundreds of tracks from every corner of the world means you will always be able to log on and find something to bet on. The site’s video feature means you can even watch many of your bets come in live as they happen. It’s awesome to be able to bet on and watch one race in Europe followed by a race from the other side of the US, all from the comfort of your home.

The menu of bets on offer at TwinSpires is big and will appeal to a really wide range of gamblers.

If you are a beginner, or just want to stick to what you know, you can just opt for a horse to win the race, place (finish first or second) or to show (finish first, second or third).

The “Quick Bet” feature is perfect for win bets, and is a great way to keep things simple at the start. However, once you start adding multiple selections to your Bet Slip you will find tons more options. For example, single race combinations like exactas, trifectas and superfectas are all easy to make using the TwinSpires software.

If you want to get more complicated, you can look at multi-race combinations like daily-doubles, pick 4, pick 6, and even pick all.

In the opinion of our experts, if you are an experienced bettor you’ll find everything you need on TwinSpires. If you are a beginner, there is plenty to learn and loads of information and guides to betting in the support section.

Options for Deposits and Withdrawals

Having a lot of options for deposits and withdrawals is important. It’s a headache when you try to cash out only to discover that your preferred method isn’t available. Our experts were satisfied with the range of options available on TwinSpires, with better options for depositing than withdrawing overall.

Furthermore, using a fully legal and regulated site like TwinSpires means that whatever method you choose, your money is protected and safe.

During the tests, our experts found no issues with either depositing or withdrawing from TwinSpires. The whole process is logical, fast and easy.

Below is a list of all the methods for both depositing and withdrawing on TwinSpires:

Deposit Options

• EZ-Money (Bank Transfer)
• PayPal
• Deposit via Online Bill Pay
• MoneyGram
• PayNearMe
• Green Dot @ The Register
• Visa
• MasterCard
• In-Person at Certain Race Tracks
• Check
• Money Order
• Wire Transfer

Withdrawal Options

• Check via Mail
• EZ-Money (Bank Transfer)
• PayPal (If you deposited via PayPal)
• In-Person at Certain Race Tracks

Banking Methods Comparison

We have created this table to help you compare the different transaction options and processing times at TwinSpires

Signup and Registration

TwinSpires has made the sign up process easy for new users.

During the tests, our experts found that the whole process only takes a couple of minutes and it’s simple enough even for beginners.

To sign up with TwinSpires, just follow the following steps:

1. Choose the “Join Now” option from the top right hand side of the home screen.
2. On the first screen, you need to provide your full name, email address and cell phone number. You can choose whether to receive alerts about your bets to your email, or messages to your phone. When have put in the information, click “NEXT”.
3. On the next screen you will need to provide your full address, as well as your date of birth and four digits from your SSN. This information is used to confirm your identity. Remember that all the information your provide to TwinSpires is secure and protected, and will not be shared with any third parties.
4. On the last screen, you can choose your user name and password.
5. This screen is also your opportunity to include an offer code, which gives you a welcome bonus. Remember to use our links to sign up to make sure you are getting the most valuable bonus possible.
6. The final step is to click “Create Account” to confirm that you agree with all the terms and conditions.

As you can see, the process is very straightforward. Once your account has been created and your identity verified, you can deposit using one of the methods described above, and start betting straight away.

Security and Gaming License

TwinSpires is subjected to strict and unique regulations in each of the 30 states in which it’s available. This means that the company works closely with the dedicated regulatory bodies in each state to make sure that the site operates legally.

If TwinSpires is available in your state, it means the site has received a gaming licence from the local gaming commission.

This also means that you can trust TwinSpires with all of your personal information, funds and banking details. All data of this nature is private, and will not be shared with any third parties. Similarly, your money is protected and safe when it is in your TwinSpires account.

This is a major difference between using sites like TwinSpires and betting using unregulated offshore sites. With offshore sites, there is always the danger that you will not be able to withdraw your winnings. This is never something you need to worry about using TwinSpires.

Our experts are completely satisfied with TwinSpires from a security point of view, and have no hesitation in recommending the site.

Customer Support

Our experts found the customer support on offer at TwinSpires to be detailed and helpful.

The “Support” button is always visible in the menu at the top of the screen, and clicking on it gives you several options to help troubleshoot any problems you may encounter.

You can scroll through a long list of FAQs on loads of topics, as well as search by keyword. Often our experts found the answer to common issues in this section.

If not, there are options at the top of the screen to contact TwinSpires directly, either via phone, email or instant chat. We found the instant chat to be the best option. We only had to wait less than a minute for an agent to respond, and they answered all our questions professionally and effectively.

As well as customer support about practical issues, the “Support” section contains lots of helpful information and tips about horse racing and betting in general. If you are a beginner and not familiar with some expression or type of bet, chances are you can find the answer in the FAQs section.

Overall, in our experts’ opinion, the customer support at TwinSpires ticks all the boxes.

Things TwinSpires is Doing Right

Having gone through the entire site with a fine-toothed comb, our experts found a lot to like about TwinSpires.

The website and the app share all the same functionality and they both make it easy to bet on horse racing from the comfort of your own home or on the go.

TwinSpires is constantly adding new features and refining existing ones too, so we have high hopes for the future.

Here are a few of our favorite things about TwinSpires:

• The menu of bets and number of racetracks is very impressive. Experienced bettors will find everything they want and beginners will have a great opportunity to learn and improve.
• The software is very functional and makes the user experience really smooth. Features like the intelligent bet slip and the ability to save your favorite race tracks by clicking on the star really elevate the betting experience over other sites.
• TwinSpires understands that there is a lot of information and jargon for beginners to get their head around, and has provided plenty of customer support, guides and tips. There is even the on-site handicapping service if users want to pay for picks.
• Being able to watch live races on the app is an incredible feature and makes the whole experience even more exciting.
• We like the regular promotions and bonus bets on the biggest races.

Things TwinSpires Could Work On

No site is perfect, and our experts also found a couple of ways the TwinSpires could improve:

• The sign up bonus requirements are a bit too strict, especially compared with some of the other promotions on the site. We would like to see TwinSpires create a more generous and inclusive bonus for new users.
• The number of options for withdrawing could be expanded on.
• The glitch on the homescreen which means the drop down menus don’t appear is irritating.

TwinSpires User Ratings

TwinSpires Company History

TwinSpires is owned by Churchill Downs, one of the biggest betting companies in the US and the owner of the famous Kentucky Derby. The company has been around in some form for over 100 years, but it wasn’t until 2007 and the advent of online horse race betting that TwinSpires was created.

TwinSpires was designed to be Churchill Downs’ official online betting site. Since it was affiliated with one of the most recognizable betting companies in the US, TwinSpires quickly grew in popularity. The site became even more extensive in 2010, when Churchill Downs acquired Youbet.com.

The advances in technology allowed TwinSpires to expand its range of services even further over the following years, most notably with the introduction of live streaming video.

Today, TwinSpires is available in 30 states in the US. The site features tracks from around the world and is growing every day.

Sign Up and Start Betting on TwinSpires Now

Our experts have no hesitation in recommending TwinSpires. For horse race betting it really comes down to either TwinSpires, TVG, or BetAmerica and they’re all great options.

Online sports betting is growing every day in the US, but betting on horses online is still far more widely available. If you don’t live in a state with legal sports betting, we definitely recommend betting on horses as an alternative.

We love how TwinSpires has made itself suitable for both beginners and experienced players. There are loads of racetracks and interesting kinds of bets available, but also plenty of guides and support to be found on the site too.

Even if you’re not interested in learning about the more complicated side of things, it’s easy to just stick to simple bets with the Bet Now option.

The ability to watch races live on the platform is an amazing feature. The regular promotions are a great addition to keep users interested. We love the customer support and we’re happy with the banking side of things too.

Although there are a few minor details with the platforms we would change, overall the TwinSpires experience is a super positive one.

Make sure to use our links when you sign up, so that you get the best possible bonus.