Building on its existing partnership, Caesars Sportsbook, and NYRA Bets are launching Caesars Racebook this spring. The announcement was made Thursday, March 10, 2022. NYRA Bets is the official online wagering platform of the New York Racing Association.
Caesars Racebook will utilize the NYRA Bets platform. It will offer pari-mutuel wagering on races from more than 250 tracks around the world. However, it’s unclear if the Caesars Racebook app will operate in addition to the NYRA Bets app, or if this is just a rebranding.
If simply a rebranding of the current app, a new feature will be the addition of Caesars Rewards, the most popular online betting loyalty programs in the US. That means members of Caesars Rewards can earn points betting on sports, casino games, and now horse race betting.
Caesars New York launched mobile sports betting in January. It also has a retail sportsbook at Baltimore’s Horseshoe Casino, which will launch Caesars Maryland online sportsbook by the end of the year. Both New York and Maryland are key players in the horse racing industry. Maryland hosts the Preakness Stakes, and New York is home to the Belmont Stakes.
Thursday’s announcement pits Caesars vs. TwinSpires, a site owned by Churchill Downs – home of the Kentucky Derby. TwinSpires recently announced it is leaving the mobile sports betting and casino spaces to focus on its mobile horse racing business.
NYRA Bets Features A Firmly Established Platform
NYRA Bets features live streaming and race replays in addition to providing handicapping insights. These features will be incorporated into the Caesars Racebook app.
“Following our successful rollout of Caesars Sportsbook, we’re delighted to launch Caesars Racebook in partnership with NYRA Bets,” said Dan Shapiro, Caesars Digital’s senior vice president and chief development officer. “NYRA conducts world-class horse racing and NYRA Bets has access to the best horse racing content from around the world, including from Caesars-operated racetracks. We’re proud to support the horse racing industry while introducing the new Caesars Racebook app and Caesars Rewards to horse racing bettors.”
NYRA Bets is available in 30 states, allowing users to watch and wager on horse races from their computers or mobile devices.
Dave O’Rourke, NYRA’s president and CEO, says pairing with Caesars is designed to increase NYRA’s share of the market.
“NYRA considers it a core responsibility to grow the sport by increasing consumer access to world-class horse racing both in New York and around the country,” O’Rourke said in a statement. “Pairing the world-renowned Caesars brand with the rapidly growing NYRA Bets wagering platform is an ideal way to launch Caesars Racebook, which will soon deliver all the NYRA Bets tools and advantages to the Caesars customer base.”
Caesars No Stranger To Horse Racing Fans
The move by Caesars to operate a mobile sports app for horse racing is hardly surprising given its presence in the industry. It operates horse racing in multiple states where the tracks are paired with its casinos.
Caesars operates racing at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, and at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Indiana. It also operates Harrah’s Philadelphia in Pennsylvania and Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs in Columbus, Ohio. Caesars also hosts the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas.
Thursday’s agreement expands NYRA Bets’ partnership with Caesars announced in January. That deal made Caesars a sports betting marketing partner in New York. Caesars also became the title sponsor of the NYRA Turf Triple Series at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.
The Caesars Racebook app will be available via the App Store (for iOS devices) and the Google Play Store for those with Android devices. Every wager on the app will earn Caesars Rewards credits.
NYRA Bets currently offers new account holders a 100% deposit-match bonus up to $200 as its sign-up bonus. There was no mention of a potential sign-up bonus from Caesars Racebook in Thursday’s announcement, but bettors can definitely expect some kind of signup offer, potentially one better than the $200 max at NYRA.
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