Sports & Gaming
There’s a sport for everyone in Alberta: two professional NHL teams; two national lacrosse teams; two Canadian Football League teams; heart racing horse racing; world-class horse jumping; motor sports from stock car racing to a stop on the Grand Prix circuit. And if you’re feeling lucky, take a chance at one of the numerous casinos around the province.Football
Some say the Canadian Football League (CFL) style of professional football rivals the National Football League (NFL) in the U.S. for sheer beauty and finesse of the game. Die-hard fans say the differences in the rules make the Canadian game much more difficult than its southern counterpart.
Alberta has two CFL teams—and perennial arch rivals—the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Eskimos. Match-ups between these two are always filled with heart-stopping action, particularly in September, with playoff spots on the line. That's when Calgary hosts the Eskimos at the Labour Day Classic. The following week, Edmonton returns the favour! Over the years, both clubs have seen their share of all-star athletes and Grey Cup championships.
Gaming
So many casinos, so little time! For a good gaming source that lists everything from restaurants to the number of slot machines, visit Casino City. Our larger venues offer instruction as well as first-class touring or local entertainment. Many of our casinos support charitable organizations.
Calgary Casino Favourites
Edmonton Casino Favourites
Hockey – Professional and Amateur
For most Canadians, hockey is in our blood. If professional hockey is also one of your passions, you’ll know that Alberta boasts two of the toughest, talented small-market teams in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Traditional rivals, the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers play to win, every time, every game of the year. And if only one of our teams is left standing in the hunt for the coveted Stanley Cup, fans of both cities unite to cheer on Alberta.
The Flames play at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary. The Oilers play at Rexall Place in Edmonton.
To see tomorrow’s NHL stars today, check out The Calgary Hitmen, Red Deer Rebels, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
If you are interested in following the teams whose players aspire to membership in the WHL and NHL, check out the young and fiercely competitive talent in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
Horse Racing
Whether you’re a fan of Thoroughbred, quarter horse, mixed breed or standardbred racing, there’s lots of action around Alberta—you can bet on it. Race season prime time is April through autumn. Fans can choose from a number of well-attended tracks.
Calgary
Stampede Park: Watch Thoroughbred racing April through June, standardbred from July to mid-November. Highlights: Alberta Derby, Nat Christie Memorial, ASHA Breeders Race.
Edmonton
Northlands: Offers standardbred and Thoroughbred racing from March through October.
Around Alberta
Grande Prairie: Evergreen Park, features 18 days of standardbred racing in June and July and mixed breed racing from early July through late August.
Lethbridge: Exhibition Grounds, various breeds race from early May through the beginning of July and resume in early September through the end of October. A highlight is the Canada Quarter Horse Cup Futurity in October.
Special Racing Attractions
Thirty minutes southwest of Calgary, the village of Millarville boasts the oldest race track in Canada. For more than 100 years, the Millarville Racing and Agricultural Society has held the Millarville Race Meet on Canada Day, our national holiday, on the first of July. A standard feature on this day is the seven-furlong Millarville Derby, where working cowboys, ranchers and landowners race shoulder to shoulder on their own stock horses, using western saddles rather than the traditional lightweight racing saddle. It’s a wild one.
Another highlight of the day is the race for young riders, complete with a pot of cash for the winner. With a focus on community and children, “Race Day” is a great event for the whole family.
And if you can’t wait for the chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede, stake out a spot for the weekend and take in the Millarville Chuckwagon Classic, hosted by the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association.
Horse Show Jumping
There’s really only one name in Alberta when it comes to first class horse jumping, Spruce Meadows, and it’s a name known around the world. Less than 30 minutes south of downtown Calgary, this is the place to be if you’re looking for the stars of competitive international show jumping.
Olympic, European, national and world show jumping champions compete here every year for purses of up to two million dollars. Tournaments are scheduled from February through November. The headliner events are the National in June, the North American in July and the Spruce Meadows Masters Nations Cup in September.
Owned and operated by an Alberta family whose forbearers helped build this province, the facilities are second to none and are geared for the very young to the old and wise. You don’t have to be a horse fanatic to enjoy the grounds and the activities in this picture-perfect southern Alberta setting where everyone is treated like family.
Lacrosse
Known as Canada’s game, lacrosse was being played in Alberta when the cities of Edmonton and Calgary were first populated. The records go as far back as 1890, when Calgary and Lethbridge played to a 1-1 draw.
Today, the province sports no less than 13 lacrosse associations. National Lacrosse League (NLL) teams in Alberta are the Calgary Roughnecks and the Edmonton Rush.
The regular season runs from January through April, with playoffs culminating in the championship match in mid-May.
Motorsports
Whether your passion is oval, drag or roadcourse racing, whether it’s for stock cars, big rigs, motorcycles, vintage or Grand Prix, Alberta racing activities will get your motor running.
In Calgary, check out Race City Speedway, where racing events to satisfy all tastes take place from mid-May to October. Castrol Raceway in Edmonton competes head to head.
Grand Prix racing has found a new home in Edmonton and it looks like it’s here to stay. The three day July event offers heart pounding world class action. Make a pit stop at Grand Prix of Edmonton for all the details.
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There are numerous sporting events taking place around the province throughout the year. We have our fair share of local and national competitions as well as world championships, from curling to dog sled racing, downhill skiing and luge, to snowmbile drag races and car races on the frozen surface of Lac La Biche Lake. Given the number of signature golf courses in the province, there are many celebrity tournaments to catch. To see all we have to offer, go to the search feature on the top right corner of this page and click on Advanced. Choose the Category tab and select Events/Sports.
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