Ontario Racing (OR) and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino announced in a joint press release on Thursday, April 2 that, following extensive discussions, Rideau Carleton Raceway will conclude its racing program starting with the 2026 season.
Rideau Carleton Raceway has hosted some of the province’s most prestigious harness races and has played a meaningful roll in supporting Eastern Ontario’s racing community.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa has operated three race seasons at Rideau Carleton Raceway under sole ownership. Despite investing millions of dollars to rebuild the racing paddock and upgrade legacy infrastructure to better serve racing patrons, representatives of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa stated the long-term sustainability of the racing program could not be achieved.
"We made significant investments in racing infrastructure and adjusted our operations multiple times over the last three years; however, a sustainable path forward was not possible," said Christine Crump, President Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa. "Many of us hold deep respect and fond memories of the racing industry but consumer preferences have changed. This is a sad time for our team members, the horse racing community and all those directly impacted. Racing at Rideau Carleton Raceway will always be remembered as an important chapter in the site’s history.”
All Rideau Carleton Raceway team members that are directly impacted by this decision are being offered alternative employment opportunities within the organization, along with any necessary skills training to support career transitions.
“Ontario Racing encourages the Ottawa area horsepeople to continue racing in Ontario at any of the 11 Standardbred racetracks," said Andrew Gaughan, Independent Chair of Ontario Racing. "To help ease this transition, a portion of the funding traditionally provided to Rideau Carleton Raceway will be used to establish a relocation support program, while the balance of funding will go back into purses for live horse racing at other Ontario Standardbred racetracks.
"We are thankful to OLG and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Gaming for the long-term financial support provided to Rideau Carleton Raceway and Ontario’s entire breeding and horse racing industry.”
In the coming days, Ontario Racing will announce transitional funding for those Standardbred horses that reside in the Rideau Carleton Raceway catchment area and are interested in travelling to southwestern Ontario to continue racing.
The National Capital Region Harness Horse Association (NCRHHA), the organization representing horsepeople in the region, issued a statement on Thursday afternoon following the announcement that Rideau Carleton Raceway will no longer be hosting harness racing. The full statement appears below.
Statement from National Capital Region Harness Horse Association (NCRHHA):
The NCRHHA has been actively engaged in the Funding Agreement renewal activities throughout the past year with increasing frequency and intensity in the fall of 2025, escalating to almost daily calls and interactions in recent months.
However, despite the collaborative efforts of the Ontario Racing's Andrew Gaughan, Jennifer Bodner, Bill O'Donnell (President of Central Ontario Standardbred Association and our Standardbred Representative on the Ontario Racing Board) as well your NCRHHA Board (Gordon McDonald, President; John MacMillan, Executive Director; Michelle Jerome, Administration; Julie Ferguson, Backstretch/Paddock Representative), Hard Rock International has decided to close racing at Rideau permanently.
Thus closes a long history of racing and track-association collaboration in this region, which I could not begin to summarize in this posting. Fading from our racing scene here in the NCR is an racing industry and private sector business relationship that was once viewed as the best and most successful in the province... then came Hard Rock.
At a time when Rideau Carleton Entertainment and Hard Rock International asked for the support of our NCRHHA racing community to solidify a presence here in Ottawa and continue the pursuit of its business goals as a premier entertainment provider, we boarded a bus to Toronto to express our support for Rideau and Hard Rock. We wrote letters of support, and the NCRHHA's President, Gordon McDonald, and our Executive Director, John MacMillan, made presentations to the Ottawa City Council highlighting the significance of a Hard Rock/Rideau casino and Standardbred racing collaboration for jobs, the economy and the continued legacy of racing in this region; a legacy founded by Mr. Warren Armstrong and Mr. Bob Faskin over 60 years prior. When Rideau Carleton's paddock was lost to a fire, it was our NCRHHA racing community who volunteered their efforts, together with an amazing team from Hard Rock, to bring a temporary paddock online in record time. These are just two examples of a supportive and collaborative industry partnership, which has brought benefits to so many in this region.
Fast forward to today. Words cannot express our disappointment with Hard Rock's decision to close one of the most successful racetracks in Ontario; as well that this decision may have been managed with greater respect and regard for our racing community following closure of the backstretch in 2025 and over four months of winter shutdown during which the NCRHHA racing community continued to invest in facilities and livestock with the expectation of racing opening in the spring to provide opportunity to recover these investments.
The NCRHHA will work with Ontario Racing in the coming weeks to discuss how we might utilize funding from the Ontario Government to assist those in our racing community who have the ability to move to another region, and to consider helping others who may have to exit Standardbred racing industry to find other means of generating income following decades of family engagement and reliance in the industry.
Many thanks again to the Government of Ontario, to OLG representatives, to Bill, Jennifer, Andrew and your team at Ontario Racing Management who have represented this industry in the attempt to negotiate a positive outcome.
Thank you as well to our NCRHHA founders and our current Board of Directors. It has been such a pleasure working with all of you. To our racing community, thank you for your confidence, your patience and your understanding throughout our history and now in this difficult scenario that we are facing. You have persevered through many challenging times in the past and I am certain you will, with assistance, find your way forward again.
The NCRHHA, in collaboration with Ontario Racing, will provide further updates in the coming weeks regarding possible assistance measures to help you navigate these difficult circumstances.
Gordon McDonald, President, NCRHHA
John MacMillan, Executive Director
Michelle Jerome, Administration
Julie Ferguson, Backstretch/Paddock Representative
(With files from Ontario Racing & NCRHHA)
Rideau Closing
Maybe the OLG and Gov't money could be moved to other Ontario Tracks making purse money better. East of Toronto is Kawartha Downs and maybe extra $$$$$$ could be allotted to them making them comparable to Grand River with Mohawk in the middle. Therefore you would have I'll call them 2 B plus tracks with Major A track at Mohawk. Kawartha Downs is not as far as most of the tracks West of Toronto and many horses East of Toronto are not good enough for Mohawk so KD would shorten the travelling time a fair bit and with better Purses the Horsepeople would come. My opinion!
Tom Foley
Neither Kawatha or 3R can help enough!
There is no chance that the horse people of K.D. can make enough with 17 days a year racing there The AGCO will not, I expect increase race dates there, even though management have been asking for more dates for maybe 10 years?
Who could possible keep racing going there without a fall back to also race at R,C. to pay 12 months of bills? This could give bleak future to KD as well.
RCR
A range of emotions
Sadness, anger, betrayal, frustration, but mostly sadness. Sadness for my fellow horse people and those who have been trying so hard to salvage racing at Rideau.
Sadness that the horses that have been bred, raised and loved now face uncertain futures.
Anger over the lack of support and transparency horsemen have been shown for the past several years.
Anger that the concerns and suggestions of those same horsepeople were never given any merit
Frustration that the solution for horsepeople is to pick up stakes and move to the GTA or be forced to travel 6 hours plus to race horses every week.
Betrayal that we were lead to believe that we would be racing this Spring and continued to pay and work to prepare horses.
But overwhelmingly, sadness that this industry has taken yet another blow, another nail in the coffin.
Contraction does nothing to improve a sport - every individual who raced at Rideau has friends and family who were involved primarily through that connection. That is now lost. More fans and supporters gone. Fewer licences, fewer revenues for associations, a smaller voice.
RIP RCR
Rideau-C
Have been smelling this stench for quite some time. The moment Hard Rock took up residence, racing was doomed. Hard to run a business when the owner does everything possible to make it fail. My regrets for the people who work there and many horsemen who have struggled for years to make a meagre living. I was there the night Rideau opened, with my father and grandfather. Guess, will be there closing night with my son(s). Shame on OLG and Hard Rock.
Rideau Carlton
I am saddened this decision, I wish the powers to be we'll keep race dates in Eastern Ontario namely Kawartha Downs, Western Ontario has over 550 race dates Eastern Ontario only. 16
Just saying Terry Heffernan
Rideau Carleton Closure
If Hard Rock truly feels sad about the closure of Rideau Carleton Raceway, why can't they support allowing the horse racing community to qualify our horses so we can at least start competing elsewhere immediately. Some of us have already taken the initiative to transport our horses to Southern Ontario to qualify at a huge expense to us. But we have been kept in the dark regarding the whole picture at Rideau Carleton Raceway. Without allowing the rest of the local horses to qualify, our horse values are precarious. With a qualifying line, some of us may be able to recoup more monies than we can without it. It seems only decent since the reason the horse racing community has waited was on their request to be patient.
In reply to Rideau Carleton Closure by GerryV
Closure
That's a very good point Gerry. Here we are stuck with unqualified horses, no opportunity to train in preparation and a 6 hour drive to attempt to qualify. Another kick in the pants to horse people
Kathy McBride
Closing of RCR
I wish everyone of the horse people affected by this announcement the very best in the future. I am sure that you are not surprised by this, perhaps just by the timing. I know I was. It never ceases to amaze me, the callous disregard for horse people displayed by our so called partners in commerce. I know it appears inevitable but I just wish it wasn't so. I know I will enjoy RRR when it reopens and I will sincerely miss another track, of my youth , gone. Such a pity. I know I enjoyed visiting Rideau every summer but I will obviously never again. John Vance
1 by 1 UNBELIEVABLE!
1 by 1 UNBELIEVABLE!
Fin des courses à Rideau
C’est incroyable !!!! Encore une fois Hardrock ferme une piste de course. Et favorise le jeu de machines au détriment des activités humaines et économiques.
Combien de personne vont souffrir de cette fermeture?
M. Le Premier ministre Ford c’est ce que vous voulez pour votre province? La machine n’achète pas de moulée, de produits, de chevaux d’élevage et n’aide surtout pas la santé mentale. C’est incroyable de laisser passer une autre occasion de faire briller les personnes au lieu des machines à sous. Je suis un résident du Québec mais à chaque année je vais la l’encan de London et je dépenses des sous en Ontario.
Je voyages en Ontario. Vous m’enlevez les raisons de le faire.
Benoit Hébert
Propriétaire et entraîneur de chevaux à Rideau Carleton depuis toujours
__________________________________________________________
This is unbelievable! Hardrock is closing another racetrack, favoring slot machines at the expense of human and economic activity.
How many people will suffer from this closure?
Premier Ford, is this what you want for your province? The machine doesn't buy feed, produce, or breeding horses, and it certainly doesn't help mental health. It's incredible to let another opportunity to benefit people instead of slot machines slip by. I'm a resident of Quebec, but every year I go to the London auction and spend money in Ontario.
I travel to Ontario. You're taking away my reasons to do so.
Benoit Hébert
Horse owner and trainer in Rideau Carleton for many years
In reply to Fin des courses à Rideau by Ben Hébert
Rideau-C
Benoit, hope this does not have negative affect on H3R. No way horsemen could possibly make a living. Smaller fields, smaller handles. Hope H3R can maintain the old-fashioned racing experience.