by Matthew Lomon

After nearly 10 months and 71 race dates (70 completed), Rideau Carleton Raceway put a bow on its 2024 harness racing season on Sunday (Dec. 15).

While the 11-race finale was not spared from the bitter cold that is Ottawa, ON in mid-December, the frigid temperatures did not deter the Rideau faithful from showing their support on the last live card of the 2024 meet.

“It was quite a cold day, but we still had a strong turnout,” said race announcer Melissa Keith. “There were plenty of people indoors in our simulcast area, but there’s always a devoted bunch out by the fence in all weather. They’ll even show up to watch the qualifiers at Rideau.”

That unwavering loyalty and dedication to the five-eighths-mile oval translated into a strong handle of $306,739 on the night.

Wagering stood out as a bright spot throughout the 2024 campaign. For the year, total handle at Rideau reached $18,447,308 (pending confirmation of Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency).

November and its eight race dates — headlined by a fruitful American Thanksgiving card ($537,643) — was the track’s most prosperous wagering month with a handle of $2,486,507.

The one race date that reigned supreme was Sunday (March 31), which generated a stunning $666,360 in wagers. This figure ranks as the second-highest single-card handle ever recorded at Rideau Carleton.

The all-time record of $752,899 was set on Nov. 26, 2020.

“The horseplayers who like Rideau continue to play Rideau, and the fact that we’ve had good handle throughout the year is a testament to the people who like it, and who keep coming back in person or online,” said Keith. “There seems to be a good following.”

As for the one cancellation that foiled Rideau’s otherwise perfect attendance record, it came on July 25 after lightning struck a transformer that powered the track.

However, the brief delay did not in any way sap the competitive spirits of Guy Gagnon and Mandy Archer, who finished the season as Rideau’s leading driver and trainer, respectively.

Landing atop the Rideau leaderboard has become routine for Gagnon, who capped off another dominant campaign with a grand slam in the season finale. Overall, the Gatineau, QC-based reinsman collected 174 wins to go along with 121 seconds and 82 thirds across 599 starts.

Gagnon, once again, found tremendous success with 6-year-old pacer The Light Speed, Rideau Carleton’s 2024 Horse of the Year, as announced by the National Capital Region Harness Horse Association on Sunday (Dec. 15).

Gagnon has teamed up with the gelding 113 times over the years for owner/breeder Michel Nolette of Princeville, QC.

Also trained by Gagnon, the son of Moon Beam—Jayma captured the last three preferred handicap paces at Rideau.

“He’s just so dominant, that horse,” said Keith. “Even assigned post 7, which is not a statistically helpful post, he’s still coming out on top. He’s that kind of horse.

“Anyone who’s been around him knows he’s not a pet, he’s not a kid’s horse, but he loves to race, and certainly gets along with Guy Gagnon.”

Gagnon was recently named a top-three finalist in the 2024 O’Brien Award of Horsemanship Award category.

The Light Speed and Gagnon added to their lengthy list of accolades on Aug. 4 when the bay gelding, alongside Jet Rock and driver Robert Shepherd, set the Canadian record for the fastest-ever dead heat on a five-eighths-mile track (1:51.1).

It was an equally memorable season for Archer, who competed with and against Gagnon on a nightly basis.

“The Mandy Archer stable, throughout the season, kept coming up with great horses to take on The Light Speed in the preferred,” said Keith. “They have a nice one in Early Action.”

The gelding is owned by Jamie Copley of Kenmore, ON, and Kimberly Eaton of Brockville, ON.

“That barn brings in a lot of horses to compete at different levels at Rideau Carleton, and sometimes they work out right away, and sometimes they don’t,” said Keith. “But Early Action gave The Light Speed a run for his money in the preferred handicap pace in the second half of 2024. Also, Speaker Nancy was Canada’s fastest mare on a five-eighths-mile track this year.”

As Rideau’s top conditioner, Archer coached her trainees to a 99-64-56 line from 385 starts.

The aforementioned Early Action (68 17-13-11 with over $672,000 banked) and Meadowbranch Noble (140 24-24-22 with earnings north of $311,000) stood as two of the Kenmore, ON-based trainer’s most dynamic horses.

Keith recounted in great detail the latter’s journey from middling results at Woodbine Mohawk Park to resounding success at Rideau.

“When he came here at the start of the season, he rose very quickly through the ranks into the preferred handicap level,” said Keith. “He had a four-race win streak, three of them in the preferred early in the season, and then he got assigned [post] 7 but came back and won again one week later.”

Meadowbranch Noble has since been purchased by A 1 Racing, an operation out of Gilbertsville, PA. The 7-year-old trotter’s last three starts have come at Northfield Park in Ohio.

Back at 4837 Albion Rd, Rideau saw one of its most beloved figures, John MacMillan, reach an impressive milestone of his own.

The former Rideau track announcer remains a dedicated horseman, surpassing 1,800 training wins this past season when he won with pacer Hes Got A Vendetta on Nov. 14. The gelding is owned by Elizabeth Adam of Kingston, ON, and Aidan Keeley Griffiths of Odessa, ON.

“John’s still quite involved, and he’s had horses racing here,” said Keith. “He warms them up, and he’s even been guest-calling some races. He’s still fighting cancer, but he’s just such a fighter and loves the sport.”

MacMillan called race 4 on Sunday night from his old post in the announcer’s booth.

Several other special moments graced Rideau’s 2024 schedule, including the Coville Cup, which MacMillan helped establish in 2007.

The annual driving tournament for reinsman with fewer than 100 career victories is named after the most revered driver in Rideau history, Darrell Coville, who retired in 2019 with 6,678 triumphs to his name.

This year’s edition of the Coville Cup was won by Jeff Taylor of Gloucester, ON, who maintains the Rideau racing surface and just began catch driving in 2024.

Another highlight came on June 23, when the Ontario Sires Stakes rolled into town. The scintillating second-leg Gold contest for 3-year-old fillies that went to Odds On Platinum was one Keith won’t soon forget.

“It was a catch drive of a lifetime for Stephane Brosseau,” said Keith. “Odds On Platinum nearly equaled the Rideau Carleton and Canadian record for 3-year-old pacing fillies on a five-eighths-mile track. She won in 1:50.3 and the record is 1:50.2. She was very dominant, and it shows the depth of our driving colony as well.”

From milestone moments to feel-good stories, Rideau Carleton’s most recent racing season certainly did not lack character.

And as Keith describes it, the final card encapsulated exactly what betting on Rideau’s on-track product is all about.

“There’s always value at Rideau Carleton,” she said. “It’s not a string of $2.10 winners, and 1-9 doesn’t always win. I’ve had people say, ‘Oh, Guy Gagnon wins everything.’ Guy Gagnon wins a lot, but he is up against several very strong competitors, including Pascal Berube, Jimmy Gagnon, Robert Shepherd, and Marie-Claude Auger, who’s probably the most successful female driver in the country right now.”

Interestingly, or “paradoxically” as Keith coined it, the final three winners of the 2024 Rideau meet were all driven by Guy Gagnon but each paid well beyond what one would expect for the track’s driver of the year.

Beach Journey paid $10.60 in race 9, Midnight Mood $18.80 in race 10, and Woodmere Gaelic $6.50 in race 11.

While the 2024 Rideau Carleton meet concluded Sunday (Dec. 15), there is a year-round, on-track handicapping contest running Saturday nights in the trackside simulcast area. The contest is free to play, and the jackpot was at $2,200 for the Dec. 21 edition.

The Rideau backstretch played a significant role in maintaining field size at the track throughout the season.

“There’s a good horse population,” said Keith. “A lot of them are competing regularly and it makes a big difference.”

Expect to see the completed Hard Rock Hotel and other new additions at Rideau Carleton Raceway in the new year. Simulcast wagering and grandstand dining are open year-round, with live harness racing returning on Sunday (March 23, 2025) at the usual 6:30 p.m. post time.

Wednesday evening racing will replace Thursday afternoon cards this meet, starting on Wednesday (April 23, 2025) with a 6 p.m. post time. Seventy-one 2025 Rideau race dates were approved by the AGCO on Tuesday (Dec. 17).