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The oval

The Charlottetown Driving Park oval

The racetrack on Kensington Road goes back to 1888, and the oval is still the heart of the place. This page walks you around it, from the stands to the Judges Tower, without race dates.

Written by the Kensington Road deskChecked October 13, 2026

The oval since 1888

Charlottetown Driving Park, the racetrack at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino, was established in 1888. Harness racing has long been a major part of island heritage. The venue even calls Prince Edward Island the Kentucky of Canada.

If you have never watched it, the idea is simple. Standardbred horses race around the oval, each pulling a light two-wheeled cart with the driver seated on it. Nobody rides on the horse's back.

The property has been renovated, and a 40-foot video wall now stands at the track. Red Shores Racetrack & Casino runs as a year-round property, with a climate-controlled grandstand for watching in any season. The same property holds the casino floor and three on-site restaurants.

An empty harness racing oval at blue hour: reddish dirt, a white rail, a lit covered grandstand, light towers and a judges tower in the centre field.
Generated picture, not a photograph of the venue
Illustration: the same young woman sits on an empty wooden grandstand bench with a coffee cup, looking out over the empty oval.
An illustrated character created for this guide, not a real person and not staff

Grandstand, lounge and tower

The grandstand seats over 200 people in theatre-style seating, all looking out over the Charlottetown Driving Park oval. Off the second-floor lobby sits the 1888 Lounge. It holds up to 40 for a meeting, or up to 100 standing. If you are bringing friends and want your own room, that is the one to ask about.

Then there is the Judges Tower, standing in the centrefield of the oval. It is rented for group parties of 20 to 100 people. That puts your group in the middle of the track, with the oval all around it.

  • 200+grandstand seats, theatre style
  • 40meeting seats in the 1888 Lounge
  • 20 to 100guests in the Judges Tower

Where the race dates live

This guide keeps no race calendar. Race dates, entries and results are posted on the racing pages of redshores.ca, so check there before you head over. Harness racing across the Maritimes is overseen by the Maritime Provinces Harness Racing Commission, based in Kensington, PEI.

Live racing aside, the Simulcast Theatre shows races from other tracks every day, from 11 a.m. to midnight, with pari-mutuel betting. Betting at the track is 19+. By law, no pari-mutuel ticket may be sold to anyone under 19 in PEI.

Questions people ask

How old is the racetrack?
Charlottetown Driving Park was established in 1888. It is the racetrack at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino, on Kensington Road inside the city.
Can you watch races in winter?
You can, in the Simulcast Theatre. It shows races from other tracks every day from 11 a.m. to midnight, with pari-mutuel betting for adults 19 and over. Holiday hours should be checked on redshores.ca before you go.
Where is the race calendar?
Race dates, entries and results are posted on the racing pages of redshores.ca. This guide does not publish race dates, so the venue's own pages are the place to check before a night at the oval.

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