Rideau Carleton Raceway to end live harness racing after 2026 season
Hard Rock Ottawa and Ontario Racing say there is no sustainable path forward for the Ottawa track, which opened in 1962.
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Live harness racing at Rideau Carleton Raceway in Ottawa will end with the 2026 season, closing a track that has hosted racing since 1962.
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Ottawa and Ontario Racing announced the decision last week after what they called extensive discussions about the venue's future.
Christine Crump, president of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa, said the company had invested heavily in racing infrastructure and adjusted its operations several times over three years, but could not find a sustainable path forward. The raceway had spent millions of dollars in recent years, and Crump said consumer preferences had changed. She called it a sad time for team members and the racing community.
Hard Rock said employees directly affected are being offered other jobs within the organization, along with skills training to help with career transitions.
Funding moves to other tracks
Andrew Gaughan, independent chair of Ontario Racing, encouraged local horsepeople to keep racing at the province's remaining 11 tracks. Part of the funding that went to Rideau Carleton will create a relocation support program. The rest will be added to purses for live racing at other Ontario standardbred tracks.
Ontario Racing thanked the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming for their long-term financial support of the raceway and of breeding and racing in the province.
The five-eighths-mile oval is the only racetrack in the Ottawa region. The National Capital Region Harness Horse Association has said the closure will hit jobs and the local economy, and has opened talks with Ontario Racing about support for affected horsepeople.
Rideau Carleton has hosted some of Ontario's most prestigious harness races. Hard Rock opened its $350-million hotel and casino resort at the site last July and has run three race seasons as sole owner. The plan to take over the Rideau Carleton casino and build the resort was first announced in May 2017. The pandemic delayed the project, and construction began in June 2023.