DraftKings Horse Racing App, DK Horse, Cleared For MA Launch

Massachusetts horse racing fans will have another method for finding odds and betting on horse races in 2023.

DK Horse, a venture by Massachusetts-based DraftKings, has been approved to operate at Suffolk Downs, following a vote by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday.

DK Horse was announced in 2022 as a race wagering operator in conjunction with Churchill Downs Inc. to offer pari-mutuel wagering. The app has been approved in Minnesota, Montana, Oregon and Virginia. The operators agreement approved by the MGC would make the mobile betting platform available for races that are simulcast by Suffolk Downs beginning as early as May.

Suffolk Downs, located in the Boston suburbs, closed its track in 2019 following multiple attempts to bolster its business by adding a casino and resort failed. It’s now one of the simulcast centers allowed under Massachusetts gaming law. That means it can show races live taking place at tracks elsewhere in the US or overseas.

How to get the DK Horse mobile ppp

Suffolk Downs is one of the two licensed Massachusetts horse betting simulcast centers, along with Raynham Park.

Under MA gaming law, Suffolk Downs is eligible to host a retail sportsbook. Now that it has entered into an agreement with DraftKings on a horse betting app, that could indicate that a retail DraftKings sportsbook could be in the future at the venue.

Raynham Park is expected to open a retail Caesars Sportsbook later in 2023. The MGC will consider that application at its April 12 meeting — delayed from its planned March 28 meeting.

The DK Horse app will be available via download for both iPhone and Android users in Massachusetts later this year. There is no fee for downloading and registering with the app.

How to bet on horse races in Massachusetts

Horse race betting and pari-mutuel betting are legal in Massachusetts.

With pari-mutuel betting, customers wager against each other and the house simply takes a cut of the total pot.

There are three ways for horse racing fans to wager on the sport in Massachusetts: online, simulcast and in-person at a racetrack.

Only one track, Plainridge Park in Plainville, hosts live horse racing. That racetrack is adjacent to Plainridge Park Casino. Only harness racing is held at the track.

In Massachusetts, there are three locations for simulcast wagering: Parkridge Park Casino, Raynham Park and Suffolk Downs.

The DK Horse mobile betting app would offer odds on races in-state as well as at other tracks in the US. Bettors must be 21 years of age or older and in the Commonwealth when placing wagers on horse racing.

DraftKings was founded in Boston and has its headquarters there. The DraftKings MA sportsbook app has been available since March 1o when the sports betting market was launched in the commonwealth.