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. 

To read the feature on the Gagnon family from the October issue of TROT Magazine, click one of the following links: 

• Lives Ripped Apart But A Family Perseveres
• Une vie bouleversée mais une famille qui persévère

(Standardbred Canada)