What Running Aces offers
Running Aces sits in Columbus, in Anoka County, at exit 129 on Interstate 35 just south of Forest Lake. It is one of only two places in Minnesota where horse racing and casino-style gaming share a site, the other being Canterbury Park in Shakopee. Neither has slot machines, which sets both apart from the racinos in neighboring Iowa.
What the visitor gets instead is a card casino regulated by the Minnesota Racing Commission, a summer harness meet with free admission, a year-round race book and a hotel. The law caps a track card club at 80 tables at once and most wagers at $100. The guide to what a racino is explains where Minnesota’s model fits nationally.
Inside the Running Aces casino
The card room deals standard and $1 blackjack with side bets, Face Up Pai Gow, EZ Baccarat around the clock, Mississippi Stud, Three Card and Four Card Poker, Crazy 4 Poker, I Luv Suits and Ultimate Texas Hold’em. The operator advertises no commission or ante on these games, and several carry progressive jackpots tracked on its website.
A newer section uses individual touch-screen terminals. Aces Live is a dealer-assisted, multi-deck five-card draw game playable from 50 cents a hand, and Community Card Blackjack lets players sit at their own screens for $1 a hand. These electronic card games were part of the 2024 legislative argument over what Minnesota’s racetracks may offer.
The poker room and tournaments
The poker room runs live cash games in No Limit Hold’em, Omaha and Stud, with stakes aimed at both casual players and regulars. Running Aces brought back weekly tournaments, starting with a couple a week, and posts its bad-beat jackpots online; in October 2026 the Hold’em grand bad beat stood at about $135,000, with a separate Omaha jackpot.
When the card room opened in 2008 it had about 25 poker tables and 25 other table games, according to a Minnesota Monthly profile from that year. The mix has changed since then, with more house-style card games and the electronic terminals, but poker remains a central draw of the Running Aces floor for players across the north metro.
The Running Aces racing season
The 2026 meet was the track’s 19th. It ran 55 nights from May 17 to September 19, racing Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and Thursdays and Sundays at 6 p.m. Central, with purses projected above $6 million, an average of about $110,000 a night. Opening night was headlined by a $15,000 open trot won by Chapolier.
Signature events include the Banker Volo and Burning Blaze early-season series, the Ron Banks Memorial for pacing mares in June, the $50,000 Dan Patch Free-For-All in July and the Steve Wiseman Memorial for trotters in August. The season closes with the Minnesota Night of Champions for state-bred horses; racing resumes in May 2027.
Betting at the track and in the race book
Live races and qualifiers are streamed on the track’s YouTube channel, and on-track bets go into pari-mutuel pools, explained in the pari-mutuel betting guide. The race book was rebuilt with more than 20 high-definition televisions and two 80-inch feature screens, and it carries simulcast racing from other tracks all year.
Simulcast seats can be reserved for $10 with a rewards card or $20 without, and the rewards program pays up to 3 percent back on wagers, excluding Running Aces races. In 2024 the Racing Commission approved historical horse racing for both tracks, but a state law banned it before it became a lasting part of the menu.
The Running Aces hotel
The hotel belongs to Wyndham’s Trademark Collection and connects directly to the casino. Its Scandinavian, “Up North” cabin-style design and high ceilings are part of the pitch, and rooms facing the track look out over the racing and concerts. Travel listings describe 116 rooms on five floors in a building completed in 2020.
Amenities include an indoor pool and hot tub, a fitness center, a business center, room service, a hotel bar, guest laundry and a free limited breakfast. Check-in is at 4 p.m. and check-out at 11 a.m. The hotel is smoke-free like the casino, does not accept pets and keeps its pool for guests only.
Food, entertainment and getting there
The Trout Air Tavern is the full-service restaurant, open on Friday and Saturday evenings, and the casino bar and Trout Air Express serve the same menu daily until 2 a.m. The name comes from the trout-fishing pond on site, where guests can catch a fish and have the kitchen clean and cook it. Trackside tables can be booked.
Monthly comedy nights, bingo and The Outskirts, an outdoor area in the main parking lot for films and tribute concerts, fill the calendar. Drivers from the Twin Cities take Interstate 35W or 35E north to exit 129. Other racing within reach is listed on the racinos near me page and the Minnesota racinos overview.