Columbus, MN – The Racing Office at Running Aces has posted the list of stall allocations for the upcoming 2026 racing season, which starts on Sunday, May 17, with the backstretch opening to horsepersons on Saturday, May 2.
A total of 244 stalls have been awarded to 27 different trainers for 2026, with ship-in privileges also being approved for another 200-plus horses and an additional 20-plus trainers. Stall allocations can be found at this link.
Owners and trainers are reminded that nominations are coming due soon for the two early-season series events, which include the Banker Volo trotting series and the Burning Blaze pacing series.
Each series is for non-winners of 1 or $15,000-type horses and both events offer weekly purses of $6,000 for each division with a $12,500 final. These two series events will span from late May to mid-June. Nominations for the Banker Volo series are due by May 11 and nominations for the Burning Blaze series are due by May 14.
The track’s signature free-for-all events are also back for 2026 and will have nominations due as follows:
The $35,000 Ron Banks Mares Pace – nominations due March 26.
The $50,000 Dan Patch Pace – nominations due June 23.
The $35,000 Steve Wiseman Memorial Trot – nominations due July 14.
Details, rules and nominations forms for all events are available on the track website: www.runaces.com.
Most of the perennial top stables will be back at Aces in 2026, including defending 2024 and 2025 champion trainers Brady and Brandon Jenson, Aces all-time leading trainer Nick Roland with partner Jessica Johnson, two-time champion trainers Williams Hernandez and Maria Alvarez and many more familiar names.
The larger on-track stables are made up of many other successful stables, including Brett Ballinger, Mikaela Del Giudice and Rick Magee, Bob and Nick Lems, Gerald Longo, Kathie Plested, Edwin Quevedo, Edward Hernandez, Alexia Kehl and Sean Smithpeters, Jessie Pacheco, Luke Plano, the returning Mark Anderson, and Aces newcomer Terry Leonard.
Medium-sized and smaller stables include trainers Rick Huffman and Gary Rath, Brian Detgen, Rick Bertrand, Rick Cisco and Ulf and Susan Holm-Johansen as well as some newer faces including Brett Erickson, Amanda Fraser, Nicole Tate, Jon Anderson and Joe Shaw.
Horses will also be shipping in from farms and fairgrounds across Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, including stars from such trainers as Justin Anfinson, Dan Roland, Jenni King, Quentin Schneider, Nathalie Tremblay, Adam Hauser and Justin Gould to name just a few.
The 2026 Running Aces driving colony is expected to include defending champion Brady Jenson as well as perennial Aces leaders Nick Roland, Dean Magee, Rick Magee, Mooney Svendsen and Luke Plano as well as newcomer and perennial Illinois champion driver Casey Leonard.
Other top driver names are expected to include Billy Mann, Scott Cisco, Brandon Jenson, Brian Detgen, Sean Smithpeters, Brett Erickson, Adam Hauser, Chad Svendsen and James Gould, while trainers Williams Hernandez, Jessie Pacheco, Gerald Longo, Josiah Miller and Gary Rath are all expected to do a bit of driving as well.
On the equine side, 2025 standouts Set Free, Starstruck Fool, Al-Mar Flash Over, SV Rough And Tough, local Horse of the Year Peanutbutterfalcon, and leading open trotter Escaper as well as veteran Minnesota stars Alilthundadownunda and Bringoverthemoney are all expected to return to action over the Minnesota oval as well as Illinois Horse of the Year Cash Money Twenty.
The 2026 barn assignments will be posted on Friday, April 17.