Most people never see the aftermath of a racetrack closure. They read the announcement, watch the final race cross the finish line and eventually see the doors close on a place that, for many years, may have even felt like home to them. Fans and bettors quickly get back to their everyday lives though, and then simply focus their sights on other tracks or gambling options, but for horses and horsepeople, the impact of those happenings are more far-reaching. Pacers and trotters need new places to race. People lose their livelihoods and must recover, emotionally, mentally and financially, from the loss of a home track that may have been integral to their identity for generations. Most never learn the actual details when it comes to the people whose lives are changed forever by something as catastrophic as a racetrack closure, and for the Gagnon family of Gatineau, Quebec, the early April announcement that Rideau Carleton Raceway was closing its racing operations meant much more than simply finding another place to race. At its core, it meant pulling up deep roots, testing family connections, and pivoting to the unknown, after decades of hard-earned success at the now-defunct Gloucester, Ontario oval. By Chris Lomon. Traduction Manon Gravel.

Over a career that has spanned decades, Guy Gagnon has recorded almost 6,500 driving wins and over 2,000 training victories, including notable early-day successes with Quebec-breds Rosane Ray and Agator Car. He’s a two-time O’Brien Horsemanship Award winner (2018 & 2024), surpassing $31.6 million in purse earnings as a driver, and $11.2 million on the training side. In 2025, along with topping the driving standings at Rideau Carleton - as usual - he won 179 races as a driver, while recording a .478 UDRS, and 99 more as a conditioner, posting a UTRS of .487 - both averages easily being the best in Canada at year’s end.

Just over three months removed from posting those celebratory numbers, however, the accomplished horseman and his family, wife Louise and their children Stéphanie, 28, and Frédéric, 24, found themselves at an unanticipated crossroads.

“At first we gave ourselves 24 hours for the shock to settle,” recalled Louise. “We knew we were in trouble.”

Louise is the first to acknowledge that she and her husband were not naïve about the uncertainty surrounding racing at Rideau Carleton in the time leading up to the life-altering announcement, but they had also raised those very concerns with the National Capital Region Harness Horse Association. The message they received back was that racing would continue through 2026 at least.

“In December [2025], Guy had said that he didn’t have a lot of faith racing would go on at Rideau after 2025, since we didn’t have a contract,” said Louise. “He knew that at the end of December there was no contract signed yet.

“We spoke with the representative at the horseman’s association and wanted to get a sense of the chances of racing not returning at Rideau in 2026, because we were in a position where we had to make decisions about the quality of horses we had.”

The couple also had to address how their racing operation would look after Louise, who has worked full-time for the Quebec School Board since 1993, retired in December 2026.

“We knew there was some transition coming for us anyway, because of my retirement. Guy had promised he would be doing business differently once I retired. This year was going to be the last year of ‘Team Gagnon’ the way we knew it to be for the last decade.

“But the representative assured us that there was at least one more year of racing [at Rideau]  - the money was guaranteed - even though they didn’t know about what the contract would look like beyond 2026. Guy told me that one year was what we were looking for, which would give us an opportunity to decide what exactly we wanted to do once I retired.”

So, the couple from Gatineau, Quebec, planned accordingly.

However, in early April, like others who consistently raced at the five-eighths mile oval in Ottawa, the Gagnons were blindsided by Hard Rock Casino’s decision to abruptly close the racetrack that had been in operation since 1962.

“We made choices based on at least one more year of racing at Rideau, including having babies that were eligible to compete in Quebec,” said Louise. “We kept the horses who had done well for us at Rideau, and based our plans on knowing what to expect.”

Only that didn’t happen.

“If we knew that the track was closing, that is not the plan we would have made last December,” said Louise.

The announcement prompted a myriad of emotions. It also created a seemingly endless number of questions, with little time to find answers.

Almost overnight, the Gagnons had to answer challenging questions: Where would Guy live? Where would he stable his pacers and trotters? Would any of the family go with him? How would they maintain a family life while navigating the demands of racing?

“When we found out, Guy knew he didn’t have a choice,” said Louise. “We knew it wasn’t the life we chose, but he had to go to [Southwestern] Ontario to race our horses.”

The news deeply affected every member of the Gagnon family.

“Stéphanie has a full-time job in Gatineau,” noted Louise, “but before Rideau closed, she also played a key role in her father’s stable. On race nights, she helped run the operation at the track, looking after the horses Guy owned and trained while he drove in many of the other races. [Still based in Gatineau after her father moved away this past spring] she was missing the horses a lot and recently spoke with her boss, negotiating working from home 100 per cent.”

Now at least she’s able to spend some time around her father in Guelph, instead of being five hours away all the time.

“It’s withdrawal, where you go from working with horses to nothing,” noted Louise. “When you cut that off, it’s very difficult mentally.”

“The closure of Rideau Carleton was one of those things that really made us stop and realize how much racing means to our family,” added Stéphanie. “Horses have never simply been a hobby for us. They are our lifestyle, our passion and so much of our identity. When we lost our home track, it felt like a huge piece of our life was suddenly taken away.”

Frédéric had developed a closer bond to the racing world over the past few years as well, taking a more active interest not only in his father’s stable, but also the industry itself.

“Guy said to him, ‘Maybe you should move with me to Ontario and work with me,’” said Louise. “We don’t have the help we had at Rideau. We don’t have a list of people to paddock or anyone we know in that area.”

Frédéric didn’t hesitate when the question was posed, and decided to accompany his father on the move.

“I think the first thing that helped was doing all of this as a family. We all embarked on this new chapter of our lives without necessarily looking back,” shared Louise.

Louise then quickly devised a game plan for her husband, her son and their horses.

She started looking for housing near Guelph, not far from Woodbine Mohawk Park and Grand River Raceway, where Guy could live and ply his trade.

“I told Guy that I was going to stand by him and we would make it happen,” said Louise. “We found out on a Thursday that the track was closing, and the horses were on a trailer the following Monday. That was 18 horses. We were renting Airbnbs, which were close to the First Line Training Centre, until I found time in my schedule to go down and find a place we could rent.

“I reached out to a real estate agent. In the same week, she had me visit 12 to 15 houses. I had to decide that week. I had Guy’s list of what he wanted in a house, and one of the big things was having our dog be able to live there. He also wanted enough space for our family, for when we were able to all be in Guelph together.

“A credit check, a letter of employment - those things take a bit of time that I didn’t have. I called so many people for help to rent that house, and fortunately, we eventually had a place to rent.”

It meant Guy and Frédéric would be five hours - 485 kilometres - away from home, and away from Louise and Stéphanie. It also meant bidding farewell to familiar faces and familiar places.

Moving their horses out of Miramont Farm was particularly heartbreaking for the family.

The horse-boarding facility and tourist attraction nestled near the Gatineau Hills, just 12 minutes from the Gagnon family home, had special meaning beyond simply being where they kept their Standardbreds.

“I have seldom seen Guy so sad,” recalled Louise. “I am getting emotional just thinking about it. That was his whole life and career, and a very successful one that he dedicated himself to. We were the main clients there. We know so many people who use that training centre. We have been together for so many years. They are our friends and our family.”

Guy, however, knew there were no other options than to make the move to Southwestern Ontario.

“When all of this happened, I was very sad, and I wasn’t sure what would come next,” he said. “We have 18 horses in the barn, and you don’t know what is going to happen. We knew we had to move, but that meant a lot of sacrifice for my family. For now though, this is the place we need to be.”

Louise wanted her husband’s new dwelling to feature at least some of the décor found in their Gatineau home.

“My daughter and I took apart half the furniture in our home and brought it down to the place in Ontario. So, we got help loading a truck and I drove it to Guy in Guelph and we set it up. There had to be something there that felt like home for him.”

Louise has now made that trek between Guelph and Gatineau dozens of times since that initial drive.

Instead of being able to enjoy easing toward the conclusion of her work life, with her husband nearby, Louise has now found herself commuting between the two provinces, trying to keep two households functioning and a family together, while her husband and son - and now her daughter when able - continue to race their horses.

“We’re apart,” started Louise. “Being apart... we are trying not to leave one person alone in either place. The hardest thing is not being together. My daughter sacrificed her summer holiday so that she could help qualify our five horses for the Quebec stake finals. It [Hippodrome 3R] is eight hours away from where we are in Guelph. We have two-year-olds and three-year-olds, trotters, pacers - it’s all different circumstances.

“Stéphanie went to Hippodrome (in Trois-Rivières) for the first 10 days, alone, and I went for the remainder of the seven days for the stakes races. We did win some races. I was happy, but at the same time, I was sad because Guy was not with us… he had to stay in Guelph.

“Things are so different than we have ever known.”

One constant has been the Gagnons’ united front.

“Of course, it was a big change, and it took some time to adjust, but going through it together as a family, supporting one another, staying strong, and being able to rely on each other is, in my opinion, what has made the transition easier, and has allowed us to rebuild our lives here,” said Frédéric.

“Things have not always been easy, but seeing my father continue to work hard every day to pursue his career, and seeing my mother support him every step of the way, is what I find most beautiful.”

Stéphanie agrees.

“What I’ve learned through this experience is that when something is truly important to us, we find a way. It hasn’t been easy. There have been sacrifices, long days, being away from home and a lot of uncertainty. But every person in our family has stepped up in their own way,” she smiled.

When Louise comes to Guelph to visit, she typically stays a week to 10 days before heading back to Gatineau.

Family time and racing go hand-in-hand during those visits.

“Now Stéphanie gets to paddock at night again, which she loves,” said Louise. “Both of our children have helped out immensely.”

“For me, personally, being there with my family was something I couldn’t imagine not doing,” said Stéphanie. “I was fortunate enough to be allowed, by my boss, the privilege to work remotely, and I made the decision to ask for that because I wanted to support my family. I wanted to be there during the important moments, help in the evenings at the races and do whatever I could to make this transition a little easier for everyone.”

Frédéric had an epiphany of sorts after only a month in Guelph.

“I have always been surrounded by the horse racing world, but I really just started working in it and becoming more involved when we moved to Guelph in April. My main goal at first was simply to help my father through this transition, but since working alongside him, I have discovered a passion for horses from a completely different perspective. My goal is to truly make this my career and follow in my father’s footsteps.”

Help has come from others, too.

Longtime trainer Ben Baillargeon and his wife Guylaine have embraced the Gagnon family as if they were their own.

“Ben is a very good man,” said Guy. “He greeted me right away and wanted to help in any way he could. His wife Guylaine did the same for me and my family, too. They have done everything to help me since I have come down here. I am very lucky to have those two wonderful people helping me every step of the way.”

“I am very thankful for Ben and his wife,” added Louise. “They have been there to support us, to give us hope. They are there to help in any way and we are very grateful for them. They have gone above and beyond. It’s not about helping only with the horses either - they are good to all of us. They are an ear to listen, and a shoulder to cry on. They are remarkable people.”

The tears Louise speaks of have been many - especially in those early days. But many others have supported the family and made it a bit easier as well.

Jean-Francois Maguire, another Quebec-born horseman now based in Ontario, has provided encouragement and support also.

“I appreciate everyone who has helped us,” said Guy. “Jean-Francois said I can drive some of his horses when I’m able to again, which means a lot to me. I am very thankful for that.

“But it is still tough in so many ways. I had a routine in Gatineau. I played hockey three times a week with my friends, raced twice a week and had a life that was familiar. But now, everything has changed. I’m far away from my home now, and we have to race five or six times a week at tracks all over… you have to adapt to a whole new way of doing things,” said the 57-year-old horseman.

The 2026 on-track results haven’t been very positive to this point either, and although the family still holds out hope that the Ontario chapter of Guy’s racing career can be a successful venture, a series of misfortunes has put those hopes in peril during the past number of months.

The Light Speed, a son of Moon Beam, was a staple in the winner’s circle at Rideau Carleton for Team Gagnon, winning anywhere from 11 to 17 times annually the past five years, and earning over $100,000 per year, each of the last four years in a row.

Guy obviously brought the eight-year-old gelding to Ontario with high hopes, but in his fourth start at Woodbine Mohawk Park, on May 16th, he was pulled up by his driver - Guy. And although he is now back jogging, he hasn’t raced since.

“He has been amazing for us,” noted Louise, “but Rideau is his home. This past winter, the owners offered to sell him to us, which we accepted, thinking Rideau was going to be racing. We got him to Guelph and he got hurt after only a few starts at Mohawk. I knew if there was one horse who would give us hope, it was him. He has been the pillar of our barn for a long time.”

Then came the morning of August 5th, when Guy was involved in a freak training accident at First Line Training Centre, leaving him with fractured bones in his neck.

“I would never have thought this would happen,” said Louise. “Ever since my kids were born, Guy has not gone down and hit the track, but it happened one morning this summer. People said someone was down, and I looked around to see where Guy and my son were. I thought there was no way it was Guy, with all the experience he has jogging horses. Then my son came running over and said, ‘Mom! Come, it’s Dad. He’s down and he’s hurt very badly.’ It was a calm day, no commotion, no rush. Everything was normal and then we ended up in an ambulance.”

Guy has not driven in a race since that day. In early October, he will get x-rays on his neck and find out the next steps in his recovery.

“I hope something good comes,” said Guy. “My horses hadn’t raced for months when I first got here, and when they did race it was tough because the competition is very good here. We recently sold some of our horses [that couldn’t do] and spent $160,000 to buy three new ones - so that we would have better horses who will be able to compete here.”

The overall financial impact has been significant.

As of September 20th, after four straight years of over $1 million in purses as a driver, and six straight years of over $500,000 as a trainer, Gagnon had earned only $212,618 on the driving side for the year, and $194,864 on the training side. Similarly, his UTRS and UDRS for 2026 have both plunged below the .210 mark.

“Guy is a positive person and he is very resilient,” said Louise confidently, “and we have been lucky to have had support from our owners, who understand what we need to do in order for the sun to shine again. That has helped.”

The Gagnons’ story is, ultimately, about much more than lost racing dates, lost purses and lost opportunities to make a living though.

Together, they spent years meticulously crafting and building their world around horses, family, friends, and a racetrack close to home.

While the possibility of Rideau Carleton closing had been on their radar, they never imagined it would happen so abruptly.

“I never took holidays,” said Guy. “It’s been seven days a week for many years, but that is fine with me. You understand the demands of this sport. There was a time we thought, after this year, that maybe we would go to Florida for a few months in the winter and break a few babies… then come back in the spring to race at Rideau. Now all the plans have changed.

“Right now, I have to think about what is coming next. You want to think about the good times and the happy memories, but for now, the past is the past. I need to think about the future.”

A future that is more uncertain than ever.

Perhaps the most pressing question facing the Gagnons at the moment is: Where do they go from here?

Louise acknowledged that the answer comes wrapped in a familiar sports cliché, but given the circumstances, it seems rather fitting.

“For now, it is just day-to-day. We have had a lot of bad luck. We owe a lot to the horses, but I don’t know what is left for us in the industry.

“The last moments of your career are often what you remember the most though, so for all the hard work Guy has put into the horses and the business, you hope this isn’t what he looks back on one day and thinks of first.”

Amid the tumult, there is one saving grace.

“In the end, I still have my family,” said Louise. “That is what matters the most. I have Guy’s love and the love of my kids… and no one can take that away from me.”

Stéphanie echoed those words.

“I think this experience has shown me that resilience isn’t about pretending that things don’t hurt. We’ve had moments where it hurt a lot. It’s about being disappointed, taking a breath and choosing to keep going - together. At the end of the day, we are a family, but we are also a team - and when one person is struggling, the others are there to carry a little more.

“We don’t all have the same role,” she continued, “but we all have the same goal. We made the difficult decision to move, so we could continue racing our horses, and we did it together.”

There was a time, Louise estimates, about 20 years ago, when Guy could have taken a shot at establishing himself in Southwestern Ontario, if racing and money were what mattered most to him.

But he chose to stay in Quebec and made being a good father and good husband his top priority. That has never wavered.

“I can promise you one thing in all honesty,” Louise beamed. “As good a horseman as Guy is, he is an even better father.”

Now, decades later, Guy finds himself in Ontario anyway, not by design or choice, but instead, out of necessity.

But he is not doing it alone.

“Things are tough for us now, but we will find a way and find it together,” shared Louise, with determination in her voice. “Rideau closing changed everything for us, but it made us even stronger as a family - and that means everything.”

This feature originally appeared in the October issue of TROT Magazine. Subscribe to TROT today by clicking the banner below.