Columbus, MN – The trotters and pacers will go to the gate for the 2026 season opener at Running Aces on Sunday night (May 17) at 6 p.m. (CDT). The kickoff program will mark the start of the 19th racing season at the Minnesota five-eighths-mile oval.
Nine competitive races await racing fans, and the card will be headlined by the $15,000 Open trot in race 6 where 5-year-old gelding Escaper has been installed as the 7-5 morning-line choice. The talented son of Muscle Hill made eight trips to the Running Aces winner’s circle last summer and also captured the 2025 Steve Wiseman Memorial trophy, en route to a $163,576 season.
Rick Magee, who posted a career best year in 2025 with just shy of $1 million in purse earnings will pilot the top choice for trainer Harold Herrera and the Maria Alvarez Stable. Escaper shows one win and one third place finish in his last three starts and appears in good recent form, in fact he crossed the wire first in his most recent outing at Yonkers on May 1 but was placed back due to interference.
Escaper has some formidable company to deal with in the opening night feature, including 3-1 second pick Chapolier, a son of Chapter Seven, who will make his local debut for owner/trainer/driver Luke Plano. Chapolier has one win in four outings so far in 2026 but spent many weeks as one of the winningest horses in the sport in 2025 with 15 trips to victory lane, he appears in good recent form as well but comes in off of a scratched sick line on April 24. If he is back to his best he demands respect.
Minnesota’s 2023 Horse of the Year, Iron Sharpens Iron, drew the pole position and will make his 6-year-old season debut with Scott Cisco in the bike for trainer Dan Roland. The sharp son of the late, great Banker Volo posted a very good campaign last year with five wins including a Night of Champions trophy. He was an impressive winner in a May 12 qualifier and is 7-2 on the morning line.
The current richest Minnesota-sired trotter Bringoverthemoney is also in this wide-open field and has kicked off his 11-year-old campaign with two wins over the local county fair track. The gritty son of Money Talks is on the cusp of $500,000 in career earnings and has 51 wins to his credit. He is a definite contender in this group and is listed at 4-1 with Dean Magee as driver for trainer Katie Horvat.
BP’s Lucky Star (Lemoyne Svendsen, 9-2) rounds out the feature race field and is no slouch himself. He is a current Aces track record holder and will begin his 6-year-old stand on Sunday. Last season he picked up four wins from 13 starts while banking a respectable $40,222 for trainer Rick Huffman. He was a solid second in his May 12 qualifier as well.
Running Aces Live Racing Details:
The exotic wagering at Running Aces includes 50-cent Trifectas, $1 Exactas and 10-cent Superfectas each race while our Daily Double, Pick-3 and Pick-4 wagers offer a 50-cent base per combination.
Play The Pick-4: In partnership with the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program the Late Pick-4 wager is guaranteed at $3,000 each night and free TrackMaster past performance pages can be found on the USTA website in the Handicapping portal. The Running Aces Pick-4 also offers carryover potential. If nobody correctly selects the exact winning Pick-4 combination, 75% of the pool will carry over to the next available Pick-4 offered.
Industry-Unique Place Pick-All: This affordable and fun wager is again offered at Running Aces. For just 20-cents per combination you can get involved in a lot of races with this fun wager. Just pick horses in each race that you think will finish first or second. The pool is paid out every night to the players with the most correct selections.
Jackpot Time: The popular 20-cent Pick-5 Jackpot is back as well and covers the last five races each night. A single unique winning ticket takes down the Jackpot. If there are multiple winners they will share 50% of the nightly pool and 50% will go into the Jackpot, which will build until there is a single ticket winner. Once there is a Jackpot winner, the process starts again on the next racing night.
High-Five to you: 50-cent Pentafecta wagering is offered twice each night at Running Aces, in race 4 and in the final race. This bet offers the potential for big carryovers and big payouts. Correctly pick the exact top-5 horses to win. If nobody has the exact combination then the entire pool carries over to the next Pentafecta race.
In addition to being offered at hundreds of other racetracks, ADW’s and simulcasting centers, you can catch the Running Aces action on YouTube as well. Our live races and qualifiers are streamed live on the channel “Running Aces Live Racing Coverage by Darin” or with the YouTube handle @runningacesliveracing. HD race replays are also posted on the channel.
Running Aces offers action on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday nights and the 2026 season runs through Sept. 19. For more about live racing at Running Aces, click here.