Off Track Betting Minnesota

In 2025, Minnesota’s horse racing industry continues to face financial pressure, especially after the end of previous agreements with Native American–operated casinos that once supplemented racing purses. Still, the state’s two racetracks—Canterbury Park in Shakopee and Running Aces in Columbus—ensure that fans can see all three major breeds of horses raced in the United States: Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, and Standardbreds.

Live racing is seasonal: Canterbury runs from late May through mid-September, while Running Aces offers a shorter harness meet during the summer months. Outside those windows, racing fans can wager year-round through simulcast wagering at the tracks’ racebooks or by using offshore racebooks that accept Minnesota residents.

OTB Minnesota Betting Sites

In 2025, simulcast wagering is only available at the state’s two racetracks—Canterbury Park and Running Aces. Both are located in or near the Twin Cities metro area, which makes them accessible for local fans but less convenient for those living elsewhere in the state.

Fortunately, betting horse racing off track in Minnesota is easier than ever thanks to modern technology. Offshore racebooks offer a secure betting experience with market-leading odds on horse races all over the world. Furthermore, they offer bonuses and rebates that you'll never find at the racetrack or an in-person OTB location, with the convenience of letting you wager from anywhere with an internet connection.

Sign up, and you can be part of the horse racing action no matter where you are in Minnesota. These offshore racebooks are your best options for off-track betting across Minnesota:

Horse Racing in Minnesota

There are two horse racing tracks in Minnesota. Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota, about a half-hour drive southwest of Minneapolis, offers both Thoroughbred races and Quarter Horse racing. And, the track offers a full slate of stakes races for both breeds. Canterbury Park's season is a long summer season, starting in mid-to-late May and running until mid-September.

Harness racing fans can head to Running Aces in Columbus, Minnesota, about a half-hour northeast of Minneapolis. The 5/8-mile track hosts a summer harness meet, typically running from June through August, which is shorter than Canterbury Park’s Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse season.

Minnesota Horse Races

Canterbury Park features a robust stakes program with races for juveniles, sophomores, and older horses on dirt, along with turf events for three-year-olds and up. Among the highlights are several $75,000 stakes restricted to Minnesota-breds, including the Minnesota Derby and Minnesota Oaks in mid-August, as well as the Northern Lights Futurity and Northern Lights Debutante in early September.

On the quarter horse side, the richest race of the year is the $82,500 Minnesota Quarter Horse Racing Association Breeders' Futurity, a mid-July race open to juveniles, with trials in late June. Most of the stakes races for Quarter Horses at Canterbury Park are for either two-year-olds or three-year-olds, though there are several older-horse races through the season as well.

At Running Aces, the signature event is the Dan Patch Free-For-All Pace, a race named after the legendary Indiana-bred pacer who toured the country in the early 1900s. In 2025, the purse was set at $40,000. The meet concluded with the Minnesota Night of Champions, featuring a full card of stakes races that showcased the top Minnesota-sired pacers and trotters of the season.

OTB Locations in Minnesota

Minnesota is well known for its casino gambling, with nearly two dozen tribal casinos offering slot machines, table games, and card rooms across the state.

For horseplayers, however, the options are more limited. Canterbury Park and Running Aces both provide simulcast wagering, giving fans the chance to bet on races from around the world even when the live meet isn’t running. While live racing in Minnesota lasts only about four months each year, simulcasting is available year-round at both tracks.

That said, if you live outside the Twin Cities metro, getting to either racetrack in person can be inconvenient. This makes the availability of offshore racebooks that accept Minnesota residents in 2025 an especially valuable option for horse racing fans across the state.