by John Pawlak, marketing director, USTA

Columbus, OH — Running Aces is getting ready to deal, sooner than expected.

The construction of the five-eighths-mile racetrack being built north of Minneapolis-St. Paul, now officially known as Running Aces Harness Park, is ahead of schedule. Workmen have benefited from a predominantly dry spring and summer this year, and the $61 million racetrack and card room will open, on schedule, in April 2008.

“We’re actually a little ahead of schedule because we had the dry weather this spring,” Tom Fox, president of Southwest Casino Corp. was recently quoted as saying by the Forest Lake (Minn.) Times. “We were able to move a lot more dirt faster than we thought we could, so that part worked out well.”

The track is located west of I-35 and south of Lake Drive in Columbus, Minn. It covers 165 acres, will provide stabling for 300 horses, have 1,800 seats in its grandstand, a 200-seat trackside restaurant, a picnic area, and a 50-table poker card room.

State law requires that the card room not be opened until 50 days of live racing have been conducted, and although track officials hoped that provision could be changed Fox told the newspaper that any change to the law “doesn’t seem likely.” Nor does it seem likely that the legislature will change a law which will prohibit Running Aces from simulcasting Thoroughbred races — meaning that Running Aces will only simulcast harness races.

The Minnesota Racing Commission has not yet given approval to 2008 racing dates, but is expected to do so soon. The track has applied for 50 dates, starting April 4. The Commission will meet on November 7 to consider the application.

“Anyone who still thinks the track is controversial should stop by and see it,” Columbus Mayor Mel Mettler was quoted as saying in another news report, in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “It’s first-rate. There is nothing low-rent about it.”

Scott LeDoux, a one-time highly ranked heavyweight boxer who formerly served as a member of the Minnesota Racing Commission, as also reported in the Star-Tribune, said, “I love the Thoroughbreds, but (harness) racing is such a romantic thing to watch. Have you ever seen ‘April Love,’ the Pat Boone movie? It’s one of my favorites. Harness racing is just beautiful.”