Most horse racing fans enjoy betting on the Triple Crown each year. Some hope this is the year their trifecta pays off at the window.
There’s nothing like seeing your horse win. Now, some bettors are taking their passion beyond the real track. Virtual horse racing lets bettors handicap “horses” using real odds and performances.
The industry merges horse race betting with video games and virtual reality (VR), letting bettors wager anywhere, anytime. Many view it as a random-play game like bingo or keno, but, as with real-life races, skill plays a role in picking a winner. Some believe the virtual game’s growth could attract more fans to tracks.
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How Virtual Horse Racing Works
Despite the popularity of major events like the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup, the horse racing industry has declined in popularity over the last few decades. Virtual horse racing may be an opportunity to attract new fans and bring in younger bettors who are discovering the fun of watching those steeds sprint around the track.
As the name suggests, virtual horse racing happens on a virtual track with bettors selecting non-real horses. But picking winners involves more than luck.
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ZED Picks is a new industry player, offering insights into virtual race betting. Created by Virtually Human Studio (VHS), a pioneer in emerging tech, it bridges physical and virtual worlds through gaming, sports, and mixed reality.
Races on the platform run automatically every 80 seconds, 24/7, and players select up to four horses per race. It’s important to note that each horse is unique, with a comprehensive set of traits and stats (such as speed, stamina, and previous performance) available for handicapping the action.
That includes bloodline (the horse’s lineage), performance history (past race results), win streaks, and more. A random number generator (RNG)—a computer algorithm that produces unpredictable outcomes—then takes all that into account to produce a result represented by the virtual horse and jockeys galloping around the track.
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Handicappers (people who analyze races to predict winners) can make their best-informed, strategic decisions. And it’s important to remember that bettors aren’t taking on the house. As in regular horse racing, pari-mutual betting—a system where all bets are pooled, and winners share the prize—has players wagering against other bettors, similar to prediction markets.
Digital Strategy
“ZED Picks is about meeting players where they are, on mobile, in short sessions, with real racing data powering every pick,” VHS CEO Nir Efrat says. “We’ve developed a simplified pick-and-play experience focused on strategy. This is a natural evolution of the ZED ecosystem, expanding into accessible, prediction-based formats built for all people, from sports fans to game enthusiasts, to interact with Web3 gameplay.”
Over time, players can study patterns and track horse performance to refine their picks. The races become more than just random selections, and users are given a skill-based, strategy-driven challenge.
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Virtual horse racing platforms generally use a virtual currency—a digital currency specific to the platform—for both free play and real-money gaming. The trend seems to be catching on with bettors. The platforms are bringing bettors an even more immersive experience than what they might experience at their local tracks.
“Virtual reality creates immersive experiences that bring the excitement of major races to bettors regardless of their physical location,” sports data provider SportBex notes. “High-quality VR broadcasts allow users to experience races from multiple perspectives, including jockey-view simulations that provide unprecedented insight into race tactics and decision-making.”
Building a Stable Online
As in other video games, virtual horse racing platforms also let players get in on the action of owning actual virtual inventory – in this case, horses and even tracks. Some platforms, such as ZED Champions, allow the opportunity to virtually breed and manage a stable of horses.
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Owners begin by breeding or purchasing a horse. Each of those steeds can then be boosted with “augments,” which can also be purchased and include speed, sprinting ability, and adaptability. Owners can fine-tune a horse’s performance, and hopefully that comes through on the track.
Each horse’s race is seen by thousands of bettors wagering on outcomes. As with real races, variables matter—will your pony cross first?
Savvy owners aim to climb leaderboards and earn rewards. Top contenders can be sold, allowing owners to cash out strong performers.
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Entrepreneurially minded players may even want to own and manage a track, securing their own version of Churchill Downs. ZED Champions is powered by blockchain technology, ensuring that data is processed, verified, and permanently recorded on a public ledger
“ZED brings the bond between players and horses into an entirely new digital era,” VHS Chief of Staff Ryan Trost SAYS. “Each horse is owned by a player, making it truly one-of-a-kind, with unique traits and histories that directly influence race outcomes. By pairing that depth with fast, prediction-based gameplay, we’ve created an experience that resonates with sports bettors while offering something fresh and dynamic to the digital space.”
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Winning Big
So, how much can a bet on virtual horse racing actually pay out? As with the traditional races, that depends on the amount wagered and the odds. Hitting on a long shot is possible, as a bettor in the UK recently found out.
In May, a player on Coral hit a million-to-one series. The gambler bet £3.75 ($4.95) on four horses in a Lucky 15.
The bettor’s four selections all came with double-digit odds – and all four horses had to win for the bet to pay off. That’s exactly what happened, and the fortune rewarded the bettor to the tune of £290,571 ($383,415).
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Usually, the lowest-odds entries have the best chances. Not this time. Despite 1,009,952 to 1 odds, the random number generator favored this bettor.
“We’ve seen impressive Lucky 15 bets, but this tops them!” a Coral spokesperson told the Daily Mirror. “All four virtual horses were 20-1 or higher, with Silver Dart winning at 50-1.
“The combined odds of these four selections were just over a million to one, with Silver Dart hitting its target in the final race to complete a day in a million for our customer.”
The win was like hitting the jackpot on a slot machine. Not every bettor will score a win of that level, of course. However, for those who enjoy strategy and an immersive virtual world that could include betting and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of owning a racehorse, hitting the virtual track may be your ticket to some fun.
