“Horse Racing,” Licensed Under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
When Freehold Raceway in New Jersey closed its doors in December 2024, it was considered a landmark moment for two reasons. First off, the half-mile harness track was the United States’ oldest raceway. There was an emotional component to its shutdown. Second of all, and perhaps most importantly, it was a sign of how far horse racing in the United States had fallen.
The popularity of horse racing in the USA has been on the decline for decades relative to other major North American sports. There are still landmark events that draw huge crowds, like the Kentucky Derby. And all the top betting sites like Bovada LV continue to offer daily lines, including live transaction options for races already underway.
Still, by and large, horse racing has started to feel like more of a niche interest rather than a mainstream attraction.
Horse Racing Interest Continues to be on the Decline in 2025
Penn Entertainment, which co-owned Freehold Raceway, played into fans’ fears when announcing the track’s closure last year.
“Unfortunately, the operations of the racetrack cannot continue under existing conditions, and we do not see a plausible way forward,” Freehold Raceway’s general manager, Howard Bruno, explained at the time.
This sentiment has held true to begin 2025. According to data from Equibase, Thoroughbred racing in the United States declined by 3.28 percent during the first quarter of this year. They have largely contributed that drop to a “reduction in race days.” Not only have certain tracks closed, but others have winnowed down the amount of competitions on their course.
So far, there has been a roughly 5.17 percent dip in total race days. For the first quarter of 2024, the U.S. had 754 total cards in the first quarter. That figure fell to 715 total cards for the first quarter of this year. Furthermore, the total amount of money bet on horse racing has dropped right along with the number of events. Around $931.2 million was bet on horse racing in March 2025. That is down from about $972 million during the same period in 2024.
These declines represent the continuation of a prolonged trend. Many simply assume the current trajectory will hold. Interest in sports like football, baseball, soccer, hockey, basketball, tennis, golf and even auto racing have replaced a lot of the affection once held for horse racing. Given how those leagues are covered, with tons of social media attention, athlete interaction and lucrative broadcasting rights deals, it’s tough to see how horse racing will make a comeback…or is it?
Plenty of Experts See Brighter Days for Horse Racing Ahead
More than a handful of experts fall on the other side of the fence. Whether it’s because they believe horse racing popularity has hit its nadir or because they think betting will play an integral role in reviving interest, there is a substantial faction of people who think the sport is due for another surge.
Consider what Contessa Brewer of CNBC writes on the matter:
“But industry insiders, investors and other enthusiasts believe horse racing in the United States could be poised for a resurgence — fueled by new investor interest, innovations in the sport and a boom in legalized online sports gambling. In 2023, the sport added more than $36 billion to the U.S. economy, supporting nearly half a million jobs, according to the American Horse Council. Horse-racing revenue comes from a variety of sources: tickets, hospitality, merchandise purchases at the track, licensing for TV or simulcast, sponsorships and gambling. Reliable estimates of global horse-racing revenues are hard to come by, experts say, in part because of the private nature of ownership and in part because of the wide variety of metrics used. Revenue estimates range from $44 billion to nearly 10 times that. Multiple sources agree the sport could see compound annual growth of roughly 9 percent in the years ahead.”
To be fair, these projected gains have yet to be realized. It also seems like there’s a lot riding on global horse-racing interest to carry the sport.
Yet, we are seeing horse racing benefit from the expanded sports betting offerings in the United States. By the end of 2025, 40 of the 50 states will have launched some form of legalized sports betting. And many of the most premier markets, including New York, have struck deals that require them to send a percentage of their revenue to horse racing commissions. Those agreements do not exist if gambling operators don’t see value in the future of horse racing.
Sure, it’s probably a little too early to say that the sport is headed for a massive boom in attention and overall popularity. But it’s clear we shouldn’t write off the possibility either.
