Hard Rock closes Rideau Carleton after 60 years of racing
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa and Ontario Racing have jointly confirmed that harness racing will cease at Rideau Carleton Raceway from the 2026 season, ending a programme that has operated on the site for more than six decades.
The decision follows what both parties described as extensive discussions. Hard Rock stated it had made significant infrastructure investments and adjusted its operations over recent years, but concluded that a sustainable path forward was not possible. Christine Crump, President of Hard Rock Ottawa, confirmed the venue could not achieve long-term viability for the racing operation under current conditions.
The casino, hotel, and entertainment elements of the Hard Rock Ottawa property are unaffected and will continue operating independently. Racing and casino activities are regulated under separate frameworks in Ontario, and the closure applies strictly to the raceway programme.
Wagering licence
Commercial implications are not confined to the racetrack alone. Rideau Carleton had a parimutuel wagering license granted by the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency (CPMA), which is an organisation in charge of overseeing the process of pari-mutuel betting involving horse racing in Canada. As per the CPMA, licenses are granted for sites that host live horse races; therefore, once this program comes to an end, the license expires.
Canada does not permit fixed-odds wagering on horse racing, meaning there is no alternative licensed product to replace what is lost. For operators and bettors connected to Rideau Carleton, the closure removes the legal basis for wagering at the venue outright.
Reallocation of funding
Ontario Racing, one of the bodies that participated in making the joint resolution, made it clear that the monies that had been going to Rideau Carleton would henceforth be reallocated, part of which would go toward helping relocate people associated with horse racing, while the other part would be added to purses elsewhere in the province. Horse races still occur in other locations in Ontario.
The National Capital Region Harness Horse Association (NCRHHA) has publicly opposed the closure. Gordon McDonald, President of the NCRHHA, expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome and referenced prior investments made by the racing community at the site. The association attributed the decision to Hard Rock, though the announcement was made jointly.
Six decades on a single site
Rideau Carleton has hosted harness racing since the early 1960s, making it one of the longer-running standardbred venues in Ontario. Hard Rock assumed casino operations at the property in 2017 and has since managed the combined facility. The decision to end racing comes after a period of operational adjustment the company described as an attempt to find a workable model.
The closure reflects a structural reality that applies across Canadian racing: without live racing, the regulatory mechanism that enables parimutuel wagering simply does not exist. No racing means no permit, and no permit means no betting. That dependency has made Rideau Carleton’s situation a licensing question as much as an operational one.
What remains
Hard Rock Ottawa’s casino licence and hospitality operations remain intact. The property will continue to function as a gaming and entertainment destination, with the racing infrastructure now set to close out the current cycle. Ontario Racing has confirmed there are no plans to continue the programme at the Rideau Carleton site.
For the broader Ontario harness racing industry, the immediate effect is the loss of one venue and the redistribution of its associated funding pool. The provincial racing network, which includes several other active standardbred tracks, will absorb both the competitive and financial consequences of the closure going forward.
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