After a five-week layoff, Rideau Carleton Raceway will kick off its 57th season Sunday on an upbeat note.

The Ottawa track was one of the few in Canada to increase its average handle on live racing programs last year, up more than 12 per cent to $180,000 for 72 cards, and has a new $650,000 toteboard on the way.

"It should be in by the middle to end of May," said racing manager Peter Andrusek.

The track will also be giving its simulcast feed an HD upgrade and replacing its starting gate.

Andrusek said 2018 was a transitional year for the track, its first under the Standardbred Alliance, and "things worked out phenomenally."

In particular, collaboration with local horsemen on the racing conditions "maximized opportunities available for our horses to race" and brought "real harmony with our horse people," he said.

The quality of the show is evidenced by the fact Canada's Driver of the Year in 2018, Louis-Philippe Roy, honed his skills at Rideau, the track record for three-year-old pacers was rewritten last year by another O'Brien winner, Jimmy Freight, and Rideau's resident driving champion, Guy Gagnon, received the O'Brien Award of Horsemanship.

Rideau will race Sundays only until the end of May, then add Thursdays from June to December before reverting back to one card.

To view the entries for Sunday night, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Rideau Carleton Raceway.

(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean)