Running Aces is currently in final preparations for the 2025 live harness racing season, which will kick off on Sunday, May 18 and will offer three nights of action per week through Sept. 20, for a total of 55 race dates.

Stall allocations were announced on April 8 and barn assignments are now also posted on the track's website.

The backside and track will open on Saturday, May 3 and the first qualifying races will be held on Thursday, May 8 with a second session of pre-season qualifying races being offered on Tuesday, May 13.

There are a couple of early season late-closing series that take place during the month of May, including the Banker Volo Trotting Series and the Burning Blaze Pacing Series. Both events memorialize past champion horses that graced the Minnesota oval and left a lasting imprint on the history of the track.

Both events are for non-winners of $15,000 USD lifetime through April 15, 2025, with allowances for Minnesota-sired horses and for fillies or mares. Nominations for The Banker Volo series are due on or before Monday, May 12 and the series will be contested on Sundays from May 25 through June 8. Nominations for The Burning Blaze series are due on or before Thursday, May 15 and the series will be contested on Thursdays from May 29 through June 12.

The Ron Banks Memorial FFA Mares Pace will highlight the action in June and remembers one of the top advocates and supporters of harness racing in Minnesota. The Ron Banks Memorial will consist of eliminations on Sunday, June 22 and the final on Sunday, June 29. Nominations will be due on or before Tuesday, May 27.

July’s top event at Running Aces is the Dan Patch FFA Pace which honours the memory of the great Dan Patch who set a world pacing record in Minnesota in 1906 and also resided in the state for many years. The Dan Patch event will offer eliminations on Sunday, July 20 and the final on Sunday, July 27. Nominations will be due on or before Tuesday, June 24.

The Steve Wiseman Memorial FFA Trot will be the marquee event during August and remembers one of the most successful and popular horsemen ever to compete at Running Aces. The action for the Wiseman Trot will consist of eliminations on Sunday, Aug. 10 and the final on Sunday, Aug. 17. Nominations will be due on or before Tuesday, July 15.

The nomination forms, which include all of the full conditions and rules for the 2025 series events can be found on the track's website under the Horsemen Resources tab.

As per tradition, the Aces racing season will build up to the Minnesota Night of Champions on closing night on Saturday, Sept. 20 when the top Minnesota-sired trotters and pacers will compete for $780,000 USD in purses.

Most of the top trainers and drivers from recent years are expected to be back in Minnesota for the 2025 season. Last year’s leading trainer and leading driver, Brady Jenson is expected to make a strong defense of those titles this summer. Other expected familiar faces include Williams Hernandez, Maria Alvarez, Nick Roland, Luke Plano, MHRI Hall of Fame member Lemoyne “Mooney” Svendsen,  Dean and Rick Magee, each of whom have past Aces titles of their own. Rick Magee will also have 10 horses on the grounds while Dean will have a few horses of his own stabled off-site.

A couple of new faces that are expected at Running Aces in 2025 include trainer/drivers Brett Erickson and Fern Paquet, Jr., who will each be racing several horses of their own as well as adding to the driving colony. Jeff Hunt and James Kennedy are also expected back for their second seasons at Aces and will also have a few horses of their own to campaign. Aaron Lehman, who made his first pari-mutuel starts here last season, has had a fantastic winter and spring season in California and is expected to be driving frequently at Running Aces this summer.

There are a total of 27 trainers who will be stabled on the grounds, with the larger on-track stables also including familiar names like Bob Johnson, Bob and Nick Lems, Kathie Plested, Gerald Longo, Edwin Quevedo, Liberio Pacheco, Brett Ballinger, Rick Bertrand, Darryl Cutting, Brian Detgen, Alexia Kehl and Sean Smithpeters, Jose Castillo, Rick Huffman, Rick Lancaster and Rene Goulet to name a majority of the larger on-track stables.

There are about another 30 trainers that will be shipping in to race from farms and fairgrounds including stables based in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois as well as the local Minnesota mainstays.

The larger ship-in stables include trainers Justin Anfinson, Dan Roland, Quentin Schneider, Elson Miller, Ariel Alvarez, Nathalie Tremblay, Adam Hauser, Elvin Zimmerman, Jenni King and Justin Gould to name a few.

On the equine side, there are many notable horses that are expected to compete at Running Aces in 2025, including reigning 2024 Minnesota Horse of the Year DP Freedoms Chrome, who will try to extend his track record 15-race winning streak. A son of For You Almostfree, DP Freedoms Chrome is also undefeated at Aces in his career and he also set a state seasonal earnings record last year during his sophomore campaign.

Bringoverthemoney, who won his fifth straight Night of Champions crown last September and was inducted into the MHRI Hall of Fame in February, is expected to be back on the track for his 10-year-old campaign. The son of Money Talks is also the richest Minnesota-sired trotter to date with $470,147 in the bank.

Some of the highly-anticipated returning Minnesota-sired youngsters will include SHS Southern Pride, Swinging On By, The Minnesota Kid,  Peanutbutterfalcon, International Ice, Skoochs Valentine and Wisco Half Pint to name a few that will be chasing sophomore glory in 2025.

This year’s wagering format at Running Aces will be the same as last season, featuring 50-cent trifectas and 10-cent superfectas each race as well as a 50-cent late daily double. Multi-race wagers will include at least two 50-cent Pick-3 wagers as well as two 50-cent Pick-4 offerings each night with the late Pick-4 carrying a $3,000 guaranteed pool. The Jackpot Pick-5 is offered nightly with a 20-cent base wager and a 50 percent nightly payout unless there is a unique single ticket jackpot winner. Also featured are two pentafecta (High-five) wagers each night with a 50-cent base.

As always, Running Aces will have nightly promotions and specials and a full schedule of featured race nights with frequent giveaways and family friendly events to compliment the racing. Check out the Running Aces website for more information, the complete 2025 racing calendar and event schedules.

(with files from Running Aces)