Carleton County harness racing history and what organizers predict will be a bright future
When Rob Kitchen, President of the Woodstock Driving Club, thinks of local harness racing and its history, he remembers a time when the Connell Park Raceway could hardly attract 20 horses from across the province for a single race a year.
“Now we have 25, or 30 just on these grounds, not counting all the farms,” he said. “We have 10 races a year now and hopefully in the next two or three years, 15 races.”
Kitchen credits this growth to getting young people back into the sport and making the experience as enjoyable as possible for both owners and viewers.
This isn’t to say that racing in the province doesn’t have its difficulties, with Kitchen commenting that a lack of provincial funding is the industry’s biggest hurdle.
Kitchen also pointed out that the bar for entry in the sport has greatly decreased.
“If people are interested in owning a horse but don’t want to spend a bunch of money [they can have multiple owners],” Kitchen said.
“I had one group that bought 10 per cent [of a horse]… so it was very cheap for them [and] it was exciting for them because they got into the sport,” continued Kitchen.
However, this newfound success only comes after years and years of the sport’s legacy in the province.
“We started around 1874, but the modern era began in 1924… down on Island Park,” said Bob Wilson, director of Public Relations for the Woodstock Driving Club.
Wilson explained that after the construction of the Mactaquac dam, the horse racing track was moved from Island Park to its current location at Connell Park.
Wilson also said that the popularity of the races moves in cycles, citing a 1975 period when the club was roused from a lull in attendance by local community members stepping up.
Kitchen said the overall sport has, to this day, longstanding ties to the province.
“For example down in Bangor one of the main drivers grew up here [in Woodstock]… another leading driver is from Saint John, New Brunswick… another leading driver is from Fredericton,” said Kitchen
Looking to the future, Kitchen and the Driving Club hope to increase the number of races and begin hosting races on Friday nights.
In addition, Kitchen wants to further invest in online streaming, citing Bangor’s track as an inspiration, which, according to him, takes over $100,000 in bets per race card.
“To get online bets, you really need to get to [those] six and eight horse fields; that’s when people start betting,” said Kitchen, noting that this is how a track can benefit from an increased card.
The first races of the 2026 season at Connell Park Raceway will take place on Thursday, July 20, starting at 7 p.m.
Kitchen encourages anyone interested in the sport to reach out to him at kitchenrobert@hotmail.com or call 506-230-9003.
