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Timeline · 1962 to 2026

From raceway to Hard Rock

Before the guitars and the hotel tower, this was a harness-racing track on the edge of Ottawa. The short version of a long story, with a source for each step.

Timeline

  1. 1 September 1962 Rideau Carleton opens for racing, according to Wikipedia. Hard Rock's own material describes it as Canada's first five-eighths-mile harness racing oval.
  2. Slots under OLG The site later operated as OLG Slots at Rideau Carleton Raceway, and later still as Rideau Carleton Casino.
  3. May 2017 OLG selects HR Ottawa, LP as service provider for the Ottawa Area Gaming Bundle under a 20-year casino operating and services agreement. The partnership combines a Hard Rock International entity and a Rideau Carleton Raceway Holdings entity.
  4. September 2017 Hard Rock buys 51 percent of the facility, according to Wikipedia; the remaining 49 percent is shown as Rideau Carleton Raceway Holdings Limited.
  5. Design and build The design firm WATG describes a five-storey hotel tower of 92,000 square feet and 150 rooms, as part of a 228,000-square-foot expansion and renovation of the existing building.
  6. 3 July 2025 Hard Rock announces the official opening: a $350 million project, 150 rooms including 22 suites, and what it calls Canada's first fully integrated Hard Rock resort. The Canadian Tenors sang the national anthem and guests smashed guitars instead of cutting a ribbon; Hard Rock reported a $100,000 donation to the Ottawa Food Bank.
  7. 2 April 2026 Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and Ontario Racing announce the conclusion of the racing program at Rideau Carleton Raceway, starting in the 2026 season.

What ended, and what did not

The April 2026 announcement concerned racing only. The same release describes the hotel, the casino and the 1,900-seat Hard Rock LIVE as part of the operation, and nothing in it suggests changes to them. Ontario Racing encouraged local horsepeople to keep racing at the province's other Standardbred tracks. Wikipedia, a secondary source, dates the track's closure to March 2026; we follow the operator's own wording.

One loose end: when we read the hotel's entertainment page on 29 October 2026 it still mentioned live harness racing among its attractions. We take that as text that has not been updated, not as a sign that racing is back. If racing is the reason for your trip, it is not on the calendar.

Why the history matters to a hotel guest

It explains the location: the hotel was added to a site that has sat on the edge of the city since 1962, which is why it is close to the airport and twenty kilometres from Parliament Hill. It also explains the layout: the hotel and the hall were added to an existing building rather than built as a downtown tower. And it explains the old names you may still see on maps and signs.

For the present day, start with the verdict or read our journal note on what changed in 2026.

Sources · read 23–29 Oct 2026 · where they differ, the hotel's own pages prevail