Charlottetown harness racing and simulcast, explained
Charlottetown Casino Online in Figures
Red Shores Racetrack & Casino holds its races on an oval from 1888, the Charlottetown Driving Park at 58 Kensington Road. This independent guide covers how a race is run, the meaning of each bet and the way simulcast pools are combined; no race calendar appears here.
By the Form Desk Checked October 2026
- 01How a race runs, term by term
- 02Seven wagers on one finish
- 03Host track, satellite track
- 04The casino floor, game by game
What runs at your hour
Pick a day and an hour in Atlantic time to see how long the slots and the Simulcast Theatre have left.
| Part | Status | Left |
|---|---|---|
| Slots | ||
| Table Games room | ||
| Poker | ||
| Roulette | ||
| Simulcast Theatre | ||
| O'Brien's Social Bar & Kitchen | ||
| Red's |
| Part of the venue | Hours, Atlantic time |
|---|---|
| Slots | Sun to Wed 11 am until 1 am; Thu to Sat 11 am until 2 am |
| Table Games room | Blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Baccarat: Sun from 12 pm, Mon to Thu from 4 pm, Fri and Sat from 12 pm; to close |
| Poker | Thu and Fri from 6 pm, Sat from 4 pm; to close |
| Roulette | Thu to Sat from 6 pm; to close |
| Simulcast Theatre | daily 11 am until midnight |
| O'Brien's Social Bar & Kitchen | Sun to Wed 11 am until 8 pm; Thu to Sat 11 am until 10 pm |
| Red's | Sun to Wed 4 pm until 10 pm; Thu to Sat 11 am until midnight |
No. 1
1888
the Driving Park
The oval
The oval, counted
1888 marks the start of the Charlottetown Driving Park, the oval at Red Shores. The venue treats harness racing as a major strand of island heritage and gives Prince Edward Island a nickname: the Kentucky of Canada. Over 200 seats fill the climate-controlled grandstand, set in theatre-style rows that look out on the track. The Judges Tower in the centrefield can be rented for parties of 20 to 100.
A 40-foot video wall arrived at the track with a renovation, which also brought a boutique casino and a new casino-floor restaurant. No race dates, programs, entries or results appear in this guide. Those sit on the racing pages of redshores.ca.
No. 2
80%
pacers, about
The gaits
Trot or pace
Two gaits are raced in harness. A trotter's legs work in diagonal pairs, left front with right rear, and trotting comes more naturally to the breed. A pacer moves both legs on one side together, hence the nickname sidewheeler. About 80% of harness horses pace. Most pacers wear hopples, straps joining front and rear leg on the same side to hold the gait.
The sulky, also known as the cart or racebike, is the light two-wheeled seat behind the horse. The harness connects it to the horse and gives the driver a way to steer. A horse that leaves its gait for a run or gallop has made a break, marked in the program with an X. The basics page takes each term in turn.
No. 3
1994
one Maritime commission since
Start and finish
Gate, rail and wire
The official starter works alongside the driver of the starting gate car, and the judges act as referees. Post position counts: generally, a start nearer the inside rail gives a better chance, more so on smaller tracks. A horse stuck outside others, unable to reach the rail, is parked out.
Nearest the spectators is the home stretch, the straight where the finish line sits. When two horses reach the line too close to call, officials turn to a photo shot right at the line. If even the photo cannot split them, the result is a dead heat. An inquiry means the judges have called a review of the race. Since 1994, one commission, the MPHRC, has covered harness racing in all three Maritime provinces, with six tracks overseen from its head office in Kensington, PEI.
No. 4
7
bet types, one rule each
The wagers
Seven bet types, one pool each
One pool per bet type: in pari-mutuel betting, wagers of one kind go together, and federal rules set the payout from that pool. Tracks must post that the federal Minister supervises their betting, and give contact details for the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency. Win picks the first-place horse, place a top-two finisher and show a top-three finisher. An exactor names the first two in exact order; a quinella, either order. A triactor names the first three in exact order; a daily double, two race winners.
Approximate odds on the board show only the probable win-pool payout when posted, not other pools. Final odds are worked out once betting on the race closes. Winning tickets stay valid indefinitely. No one under 19 can be sold a pari-mutuel ticket in Prince Edward Island. The betting terms page lists each term.
One finish, seven tickets
A sample finish order; pick a bet type to see which picks it needs. No money, only the rule.
| Bet | What it needs |
|---|---|
| Win | Your horse finishes first. |
| Place | Your horse finishes first or second. |
| Show | Your horse finishes first, second or third. |
| Exactor | The first two, in exact order. |
| Quinella | The first two, in either order. |
| Triactor | The first three, in exact order. |
| Daily double | The winners of two races. |
No. 5
11 am
theatre opens, daily
Simulcast
Host track, satellite track
Host and satellite are the two federal terms behind simulcast betting. The host track runs the race; a satellite track takes bets on it. With inter-track betting, money wagered at the satellite merges into the host track's pool, and one payout comes from the combined total.
11 a.m. to midnight, every day: those are the hours of the Simulcast Theatre at Red Shores Charlottetown. Diners can place a bet on the horses without leaving their restaurant table. Red's pairs Italian-inspired comfort food with a 14-foot screen. Holiday hours are not published, so a call to 902-620-4222 confirms them. The simulcast page walks through the pools in more detail.
No. 6
150+
slots, reel and video
The casino floor
The casino floor in figures
More than 150 slots, reel and video, fill the casino at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino. They run Sunday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Thursday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Three card games share one closed-off room: Blackjack, Baccarat and Ultimate Texas Hold'em. It opens on Sunday at 12 p.m., Monday to Thursday at 4 p.m., and Friday and Saturday at 12 p.m.
Poker begins on Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. and on Saturday at 4 p.m., with Roulette running Thursday to Saturday from 6 p.m. Each table runs "to close", with no closing time posted. The Rewards Club card costs nothing; adults 19 or older get it at the Rewards Club Desk with government-issued photo ID. Guest Services takes questions at 902-620-4266. The casino floor page has the full detail.
Box score: pick a game
Days, first deal or opening, and the room, from the venue's posted hours.
| Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- Where
- Closes
| Game | Where | Days and times |
|---|---|---|
| Slots | Casino floor | Mon 11 am, Tue 11 am, Wed 11 am, Thu 11 am, Fri 11 am, Sat 11 am, Sun 11 am |
| Blackjack | Private Table Games room | Mon 4 pm, Tue 4 pm, Wed 4 pm, Thu 4 pm, Fri noon, Sat noon, Sun noon |
| Ultimate Texas Hold'em | Private Table Games room | Mon 4 pm, Tue 4 pm, Wed 4 pm, Thu 4 pm, Fri noon, Sat noon, Sun noon |
| Baccarat | Private Table Games room | Mon 4 pm, Tue 4 pm, Wed 4 pm, Thu 4 pm, Fri noon, Sat noon, Sun noon |
| Poker | Casino | Thu 6 pm, Fri 6 pm, Sat 4 pm |
| Roulette | Casino | Thu 6 pm, Fri 6 pm, Sat 6 pm |
| Simulcast betting | Simulcast Theatre; also from a restaurant table | Mon 11 am, Tue 11 am, Wed 11 am, Thu 11 am, Fri 11 am, Sat 11 am, Sun 11 am |
| Live harness racing | Charlottetown Driving Park | For race dates, see the venue racing section at redshores.ca; no calendar is printed here. |
| VLTs | Red Shores at Summerside only | The Summerside gaming floor has VLTs; Charlottetown has slots and table games. |
| Electronic tables, bingo, keno | Not listed for Charlottetown | The venue lists none of these for Charlottetown. |
No. 7
14-foot
screen at Red's
At the table
Three dining rooms and a patio
Top of the Park stacks three tiers above the historic track. It sets out a race-night buffet and a Sunday brunch; hours are not posted. Downstairs, O'Brien's Social Bar & Kitchen carries the name of Joe O'Brien, a Hall of Fame horseman from PEI. It serves Sunday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Thursday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Red's serves Italian-inspired comfort food in view of a 14-foot screen. Its hours run Sunday to Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., then Thursday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight. The Trackside Patio is outdoors, beside the racing, and posts no hours. Bookings go by phone, to 902-620-4264. Red Shores takes no online reservation requests.
Bookings by phone only: 902-620-4264
No. 8
54 km
to Summerside
Distances
Straight-line kilometres from the venue
Red Shores sits at 58 Kensington Road, Charlottetown, PE C1A 9S8, attached to the Eastlink Centre. Every figure in the table is a straight line, not a road distance: Stratford 3.8 km, Summerside 54 km, Tignish 105 km. Across the Northumberland Strait, the lines reach Pictou at 71 km, Moncton at 131 km and Halifax at 181 km. Those three cross water, and no road follows them.
Picking a town in the table opens Google Maps directions to 58 Kensington Road. The road route and its travel time come from Google, not from this guide.
The distance table
Towns ranked by straight line to 58 Kensington Road. Pick a row for the road in Google Maps.
| # | Town | Prov. | km | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 3.8 | |||
| PE | 8.2 | |||
| PE | 28 | |||
| PE | 37 | |||
| PE | 44 | |||
| PE | 45 | |||
| PE | 45 | |||
| PE | 54 | |||
| PE | 68 | |||
| NS | 71 | |||
| NS | 82 | |||
| NS | 96 | |||
| PE | 96 | |||
| NS | 99 | |||
| NB | 104 | |||
| PE | 105 | |||
| NB | 110 | |||
| NS | 111 | |||
| NB | 131 | |||
| NS | 181 |
Straight lines between OpenStreetMap points (© OpenStreetMap contributors); lines to the mainland cross the Northumberland Strait.
| Town | Straight line |
|---|---|
| Stratford, PE | 3.8 km |
| Cornwall, PE | 8.2 km |
| North Rustico, PE | 28 km |
| Montague, PE | 37 km |
| Borden-Carleton, PE | 44 km |
| Kensington, PE | 45 km |
| Georgetown, PE | 45 km |
| Summerside, PE | 54 km |
| Souris, PE | 68 km |
| Pictou, NS | 71 km |
| New Glasgow, NS | 82 km |
| Amherst, NS | 96 km |
| Alberton, PE | 96 km |
| Truro, NS | 99 km |
| Sackville, NB | 104 km |
| Tignish, PE | 105 km |
| Shediac, NB | 110 km |
| Antigonish, NS | 111 km |
| Moncton, NB | 131 km |
| Halifax, NS | 181 km |
No. 9
alc.ca
the provincial site
Online in PEI
Provincial online play and private sites
In Prince Edward Island, the online site under provincial regulation is alc.ca, open to players 19 and over. It is operated by Atlantic Lottery on behalf of the PEI Lotteries Commission. No licensing system exists in the province for private online casinos, and its responsible gambling strategy says offshore operators have no authority to run lottery schemes in PEI.
Paid links on this page lead to a private online casino site. That site is not alc.ca. It has no connection with Red Shores or the province and holds no authority from Prince Edward Island. Break in Play does not reach it. The help page lists support lines and self-exclusion.
No. 10
24/7
the PEI support line
Help
Help, and one paid link
- Calls to the PEI Gambling Support Line, 1-855-255-4255, are free and confidential, and the line is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
- Break in Play keeps a person off both Red Shores gaming floors for a set term from 30 days up to 36 months, arranged through 902-620-4267.
- Every outcome on the floor is random: no machine is ever due, each spin carries the same chance, and no ritual alters a result.
No. 11
Q5
Reader questions · answered in figures
Five questions, figures first
Q1How far back does the Charlottetown oval go?
1888 is the year the Charlottetown Driving Park dates from. That oval is the harness track at Red Shores.
Q2What share of harness horses are pacers?
About 80% of harness horses are pacers. A pacer moves the two legs on one side together, which earns it the name sidewheeler. Most wear hopples, straps linking the front and rear leg on that side to hold the gait.
Q3What does a quinella bet mean?
Two horses make a quinella: the first two finishers, in either order. An exactor asks for the same pair in exact order.
Q4When is the Simulcast Theatre open?
11 a.m. to midnight, every day, is the schedule of the Simulcast Theatre at Red Shores Charlottetown. Holiday hours are not published; a call to 902-620-4222 confirms them.
Q5Where can a visitor find race dates and results?
The racing pages of redshores.ca carry race dates, programs, entries and results. This guide prints no race calendar. The Race Office answers at 902-629-6634 and 902-629-6636.