Minnesota has no standalone OTB parlors. Not one.
Simulcast wagering happens at the state's two race tracks and nowhere else. Both sit in the Twin Cities metro. Convenient if you are near Minneapolis, a long drive if you are not.
Both racebooks run year-round, though, so the betting does not stop when the meets end. This is our guide to off track betting Minnesota bettors can actually reach. We also rank online betting houses that cover every major race from anywhere in the state.
Top online OTB sites in Minnesota
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The racebooks below are long-established international operators with solid payout records and deep racing coverage. We rate them on those grounds.
Minnesota OTB locations
The only two Minnesota off track betting locations are the horse racing tracks themselves. Those are Canterbury Park in Shakopee and Running Aces in Columbus.
In our analysis, the off track betting locations in Minnesota come down to those two. The best Minnesota off track betting sites fill the gap for everyone else.
Neither is an OTB parlor in the usual sense. Both are full racing venues with casinos attached. Both run year-round racebooks, taking simulcast wagers long after their own meets close.
Canterbury sits about half an hour southwest of Minneapolis. Running Aces is around 20 minutes north of downtown, straight off I-35. If you live outside the metro, an online account is the practical answer.
Between them they cover all three major American racing breeds, which few states can say. See our horse racing hub for wider background.
Canterbury Park
Canterbury Park is Minnesota's thoroughbred and quarter horse venue, on 355 acres in Shakopee.
The 2026 meet runs May 23 through September 19, a 51-day season approved by the Minnesota Racing Commission. Racing is mostly Thursdays and Saturdays at 5 pm, with Sundays and holidays at 1 pm. The final week drops to a 4 pm post.
The track is a one-mile dirt oval with a seven-furlong turf course. The grandstand runs to 300,000 square feet across three levels.
The racebook opens daily at around 10:30 am and closes about 9 pm, year-round. Staffed hours shift with the daily simulcast schedule. It opens roughly 30 to 60 minutes before the first post.
The Card Casino is smoke-free and runs around the clock, so the building is open long after the racebook shuts.
Worth timing a visit for: the July 3 card starts at 4 pm, draws crowds above 15,000 and finishes with fireworks.
Canterbury is also Minnesota's only publicly traded gaming and entertainment destination, listed on the NASDAQ as CPHC.
| Location | 1100 Canterbury Road, Shakopee, MN 55379 |
| Opened | June 26, 1985 |
| Surface | Dirt and Turf |
| Racing Type | Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse |
| 2026 Live Meet | May 23 through September 19 |
| Racebook Hours | Daily, approx. 10:30 am to 9 pm |
| Website | canterburypark.com |
Running Aces Casino, Hotel & Racetrack
Running Aces is Minnesota's only harness racing venue, in Columbus, northeast of the Twin Cities.
The 2026 meet runs May 17 through September 19 across 55 nights, the 19th season in the track's history. Racing is Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, with a 7 pm post on Tuesday and a 6 pm post on other nights.
Total purses for 2026 are projected to pass $6 million.
The track is a five-eighths-mile dirt oval, and it remains the newest harness track in the United States. A hotel and card room sit on site. In April 2024, the Minnesota Racing Commission approved 500 historical horse racing terminals across Running Aces and Canterbury Park. The vote was 5-1.
The North Metro Harness Initiative owns it. The track sits right off I-35 at exit 129, about 20 minutes north of downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.
| Location | Columbus, Minnesota |
| Opened | April 11, 2008 |
| Surface | Dirt, five-eights-mile oval |
| Racing Type | Standardbred Harness |
| 2026 Live Meet | May 17 through September 19 |
| Race Days | Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday |
| Website | runaces.com |
What happened to Raynham Park?
Raynham Park was once a major greyhound racing track in Raynham, Massachusetts. Live racing ended in 2009 after voters approved a statewide ban on wagering on dog races, effective January 1, 2010. According to the Massachusetts Elections Division, the measure prohibited greyhound racing where wagering or betting took place.
The venue continued operating as a simulcast betting parlour, but closed after Christmas 2025 and is currently temporarily inactive. Raynham Park is located at 1958 Broadway, Raynham, MA 02767. Bettors looking for active alternatives can visit Plainridge Park Casino for live and simulcast racing or Suffolk Downs for simulcast wagering.
Major Minnesota horse races
Both Minnesota meets close on September 19, and the best racing of the year falls in the final stretch.
Two dates matter most, and both are still ahead.
The Minnesota Festival of Champions at Canterbury on September 5, now in its 33rd year, carries six stakes worth $350,000. The Northern Lights Futurity and Northern Lights Debutante, at $75,000 each for two-year-olds, headline it.
Then the Minnesota Night of Champions at Running Aces on September 19 closes both meets.
Minnesota Derby
Minnesota Oaks
MQHRA Stallion Auction Futurity
Dan Patch Free-For-All Pace
Minnesota Night of Champions
The Minnesota Derby is Canterbury's headline race for Minnesota-bred three-year-olds, worth$75,000over one mile and 70 yards. The 2026 running was on August 15.
It is restricted to colts and geldings bred in the state, which is the point. The Minnesota Breeders Fund exists to keep breeding viable here, and the Derby is its shop window.
The Victor S. Myers Stakes on July 26 is its traditional prep, restored to stakes status with a $50,000 purse for 2026.
The Minnesota Oaks is the filly counterpart to the Derby. It is also $75,000 over one mile and 70 yards, on the same August 15 card.
Same restriction, same purpose. Together, they made that afternoon Canterbury's biggest Minnesota-bred day outside the Festival of Champions.
The Frances Genter Stakes, also on July 26 and also $50,000, is the recognized prep.
The MQHRA Stallion Auction Futurity is the richest quarter horse race in Minnesota, worth an estimated $70,000 over 350 yards.
It ran on July 23, 2026, for eligible two-year-olds, with trials on July 9 deciding the field. A $15,000 consolation ran on the same card.
Quarter horse racing at Canterbury leans toward young horses. Most stakes are for two- and three-year-olds, and this is the one that matters.
The September 3 card is the other date to know. The Minnesota Quarter Horse Futurity and Minnesota Quarter Horse Derby carry $40,000 added each, alongside the $20,000 Cash Caravan.
The Dan Patch is the signature race at Running Aces for free-for-all pacers.
It is named for Dan Patch, the Indiana-bred pacer who toured the country in the early 1900s. He became one of the most famous American racehorses of any era.
The 2026 final was worth $50,000, up from $40,000 the year before. It ran on August 2 as race eight on a twelve-race card, with a field of five.
Two more anchor the meet. The Ron Banks Memorial for filly and mare pacers, and the Steve Wiseman Memorial for free-for-all trotters.
The Minnesota Night of Champions closes the Running Aces meet on September 19. It is the biggest night of harness racing in the state.
The card is given over to the best Minnesota-sired pacers and trotters of the season. In 2025, it distributed a track-record-equalling $780,000 across a single card.
Festivities run across two nights. Thursday, September 17 is dark, so the track can prepare for Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th.
Canterbury Park Entertainment District
Canterbury Park is no longer only a racetrack. The 355-acre campus is being redeveloped into a year-round destination with racing as the anchor.
The amphitheater soft-opened in June 2026, adding concerts to a calendar that already runs from May to September.
A brew pub, residences and office development round out the district. The track has also leaned into events unrelated to betting. Bulldog and basset hound races, barrel racing, MMA cards.
For a track under financial pressure, diversification is the strategy. It explains why Canterbury still runs 51 days a year when other mid-size tracks have cut back.
Minnesota horse racing history
Minnesota racing is young, and it took a statewide vote to get it started.
Before 1982, only limited charitable gambling was legal here. Amendment 3 passed on November 2 1982, with about 64% of the vote. It changed the constitution to permit on-track pari-mutuel betting on horse racing.
That cleared the way rather than doing the job itself. The legislature followed in 1983 with Chapter 240, which legalized pari-mutuel racing and created the Minnesota Racing Commission.
Canterbury Downs ran its first race on June 26, 1985.
The early years were hard. Competition from tribal casinos squeezed it badly, and the track closed in 1992.
It reopened in 1995 as Canterbury Park under new ownership, including the Sampson family. They revived live racing and built the business around year-round simulcasting, events and card play. The Curtis Sampson Oaks on the June turf card carries the name.
Running Aces opened on April 11, 2008, giving the state a harness track and completing the three-breed picture.
Financial pressure has not gone away. Agreements with tribal casinos that once supplemented purses have ended, setting the stage for Canterbury's push into non-racing revenue.
Is online horse betting legal in Minnesota?
Yes. Online horse racing wagering is legal in Minnesota through licensed advance deposit wagering platforms.
The Minnesota Racing Commission, created by the legislature in 1983, licenses and regulates racing and pari-mutuel wagering. Its offices are at Canterbury Park itself.
Advance deposit wagering, shortened to ADW, is the framework behind it. You fund an account and bet from a phone rather than at a window.
The offshore racebooks listed above sit outside that framework. They accept Minnesota customers and cover tracks worldwide, but they are not Minnesota-licensed. Understand the distinction before you deposit.
The minimum age for pari-mutuel wagering in Minnesota is 18. Canterbury Park states it plainly: you must be 18 or older to wager.
Minnesota Off Track Betting in 2026
Minnesota's in-person footprint is small and entirely in the Twin Cities. Two tracks, no parlors, and a long drive from most of the state.
Those two tracks offer an unusually complete experience. All three racing breeds, year-round racebooks, and, in Canterbury's case, a campus being rebuilt around the sport.
For off track betting Minnesota fans outside the metro, an online account fills the gap. Both meets close on September 19, so less than four weeks of live racing remain this year.
Responsible gambling
Betting should stay entertainment. If gambling is causing you or someone you know harm, help is available. Contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738). More resources are available on our responsible gambling page.
