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If you were worried that horse racing in South Dakota was about to cross its final finish line, you can breathe a little easier today.
House Bill 1058 made its first successful move on Monday, Jan. 26, when the House Commerce and Energy Committee voted 11-2 to send it to the full House.
How online pari-mutuel betting would work
The bill would allow South Dakota to license and regulate online pari-mutuel betting. In practical terms, it would allow people to place horse-racing bets through mobile apps, with a portion of the revenue staying in the state to fund local racing and breeders.
Shane Kramme, who works on the front lines with the South Dakota Horsemen’s Association, said the proposal is not a risky new experiment but an effort to catch up with more than 40 other states that already allow similar betting.
This bill would authorize the South Dakota Commission on Gaming to license and regulate major online providers that already accept wagers from South Dakota residents. Rather than allowing those dollars to flow out of state, the proposal would keep that money in South Dakota to support local tracks and breeders.
“This bill is about survival,” Kramme said.
“The event itself can’t sustain the industry anymore. There are too many other forms of entertainment. Horse racing used to be the only game in town. It isn’t now.”
South Dakota once had a busy summer racing scene, with cities such as Huron drawing large crowds to fairgrounds across the state. Many of those events began to disappear in the 1990s and early 2000s as funding dried up. A major setback came when the Bred Fund was reduced to cover other state budget needs.
Today, Fort Pierre is the only location in the state that still hosts live racing. Communities such as Aberdeen ended racing in 2019 after the nonprofit organization running the events could not meet new, costly bonding requirements imposed by the Gaming Commission.
Skepticism without a full-scale fight
Opposition to the bill was limited. Some concerns were raised by Family Voice Action and Rep. Tina Mulally, who generally oppose the expansion of gambling. However, their resistance was relatively muted.
On the other side, Rep. Drew Peterson argued that bringing online horse betting under state regulation could help address gambling addiction by adding oversight to activity that is already happening without regulation.
How HB 1057 set the stage for a bigger fix
You might remember HB 1057 from the 2025 legislative session. That measure functioned as a short-term fix, shifting $60,000 from the South Dakota-bred racing fund into the special racing revolving fund to keep weekend races in Fort Pierre operating. It was signed into law last March, but while it helped cover immediate costs, it did not address the long-term funding challenge.
HB 1058 is intended to provide a more sustainable revenue stream, reducing the need to reshuffle funds each year.
Online pari-mutuel betting heads to the Senate
With House committee approval in hand, the bill now heads to the Senate. If it passes there and receives the governor’s signature, it could bring greater stability to the October racing season.
At present, organizers are confident they can fund only one day of racing rather than a full weekend. Supporters say the legislation could quickly change that outlook.
If all goes well, placing a wager on a local thoroughbred may soon be just a few taps away.
