Star Tribune's Secret Fan: You can bet on Running Aces

Star Tribune

Running Aces harness track

This is the seventh in a 10-part series of area sports destinations that were attended as a spectator by a member of the Star Tribune staff.

Last update: June 30, 2009 - 5:07 AM

Editor's note: We sent various Star Tribune staff members out to different summer sporting events and asked them to write about the experience from the perspective of a fan. This is what the "Secret Fan" found:

On a drizzly Tuesday evening in June, what's better than to stand in the rain and watch horses run in the slop?

Sounds unsatisfying. But, then, when you figure that $58,000 in handle was bet on a recent weekday night at Running Aces Harness Park near Forest Lake, that beers were $2 and hot dogs $1 and a prominent member of Canterbury Park (who shall remain nameless) was spotted there -- well, perhaps it isn't so bad. And despite some betting decisions by a sportswriter smelling worse than the backside horse barns, it wasn't.

For a unique horse racing experience, Running Aces is the spot.

The track, which opened last April, is small in stature and acreage. But the countless flat-screen TVs and entertainment options make up for it.

First and foremost -- on the surface anyway -- Running Aces is a horse track. As at Shakopee's Canterbury or the famed Churchill Downs, any type of wagering is accepted there. On Tuesdays, bets can be made for as little as a dollar. Two bucks can easily bloat into eight or more if you pay attention to the published handicappers. If you want a true full-card experience, make sure to show up early and get in on "Minnesota's Own" place-pick-all wager. It's simple, really: pick a horse in each race in the program to finish in at least second place. Hit it right, and a $2 wager can be turned into over a grand.

But if you're not into the ponies, perhaps you're into cards. And there's plenty of that, too.

Fifty tables are available. Blackjack is abundant (I saw several openings at $10 minimum tables). If you can get past the aroma that hovers in the card room spewing from the deep fryers, it's not a bad wait to get into a game of Hold 'em either.

The popular Winner's Circle dining area adjacent to the card room -- with good views of the race track's finish line -- is filled all night. But why fork over a blackjack hand's worth of money for a cheeseburger when you can get a half-dozen chicken wings for half that at the Trotter's concession stand? All the while, you're rooting for the horse you picked in the flesh. You can't get that same live experience in the card room since none of the TVs has sound.

It's a tick out of the way and still looking for an identity. But Running Aces is worth the bet.

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