A lot of necessary changes were made in recent years due to unexpected global events, but the Rideau Carleton Raceway and casino have not lost even an ounce of their charm. If you don’t remember the glory of the good old days simply because you haven’t visited or are not from Ontario, then read along – our overview ought to light a spark of interest.
The Casino
After its reopening in January 2022, the Rideau Carleton Raceway Casino resumed operation at 50% capacity. This is no longer the case as entrants can visit the casino and play any of the more than 1200 games there, without government-imposed restrictions. Of course, the mandatory gambling age restriction applies. According to the gambling laws in Canada, persons 19 and above can visit the gambling hall and play. There’s a lot to see and experience inside the casino. We listed the games of chance you get to play there:
- 🃏 Blackjack
- 💵 Roulette
- ♣ Mini Baccarat
- 🎲 Craps
- 💰 Texas Hold’em
- 🀄 Pai Gow Poker
- 🐴 Mississippi Stud
- ♦ Three Card Poker
All these are accessible 24/7, 365 days a year, much like the best online casinos in Ontario. That puts you in no rush to try everything you want. What’s more, promotions for regular visitors run all the time. And we don’t mean just one or two.
You can earn free play from the BounceBack program of Rideau Carleton Raceway Casino or be one of the daily winners in the Money Mania promotion – scheduled to end at the end of 2022. Keeping the visitors invested and happy is a typical trait of Hard Rock Hotel and Casinos that we’ve noticed when reviewing the best online casino bonuses in Canada.
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary
20 September 2022 was the 60th anniversary of the Rideau Carleton Raceway. The venue opened in the distant 1962, in September. The story goes like this – Mel Barr wanted to build a horse racing track in place of what was then a 200-acre farm.
However, Rideau Carleton Raceway founder James William Baskin had already beaten him to the punch. Since there already was a fine racetrack across the Rideau River, Mel Barr opted for a different plan. He built housing, which later grew into a community named Barrhaven in honour of Mel Barr.
The Rideau Carleton Casino and Raceway celebrates that occasion as a big part of the employees there are residents of Barrhaven. As the suburban area is growing, so does the Rideau Carleton Casino – one of the most trusted casinos in Canada. A celebration was held, attended by 200 guests, including government officials and contributors.
The Rideau Carleton Buffet
You might have already heard a lot of good fuss about the Rideau Carleton Buffet. When you get tired of the raceway experience, the most logical thing would be to go to the all-you-can-eat buffet and grab something to eat. If you are a seafood lover, you should visit on Saturday night.
On that day of the week, you can try delicious sushi, crab legs, basa, shrimps – everything in the book. The food quality is often described as “above-average,” which is a huge compliment for an all-you-can-eat buffet. Here are some facts about the Rideau Carleton Buffet:
| 🥄 Cuisine | Canadian |
| 💳 Payments Accepted | Cash, Cards |
| 🥩 Average Cost of Dinner for Two | CA$50 |
| 🍔 Average Cost of Lunch for Two | CA$20 |
| 👄 All You Can Eat Brunch Buffet | Yes |
| 🐟 Seafood | Yes |
The venue is perfect for brunch. It is mentioned as one of the features of the Rideau Carleton Raceway buffet. As for the set menus, there are mostly dinners – priced CA$9.99 and above – and the Sunday Brunch. Visitors have no choice where to sit – the only seats are indoors in the buffet room. However, the atmosphere is comfy enough for this not to be a problem, and beer is served too.
The Flee Market
The Rideau Carleton Raceway flee market offers a miscellany – both antiques and new ones. The specific thing about this market is that it changes places throughout the year. In spring, the venue is outside, while in winter, it’s inside the building adjacent to the raceway. What can you find there? Art, garage sales, crafts, antiques, and everything in between. This is what the venue looks like when it’s outside:
The market is open for business every Sunday between 8 AM and 3 PM. Only on this day of the week will you be able to look around and see what’s for sale. We recommend visiting in spring when there’s more activity and more vendors come to the venue.
Event Schedule
If you go to the second floor of the complex, there you will find a repurposed venue with the name The Joint. This is the live entertainment center of the Rideau Carleton Raceway Casino. There, cutting-edge audio technology meets state-of-the-art stage lighting to create a one-of-a-kind experience.
The new venue is so good that singer Jason McCoy has agreed to perform on New Year’s Eve. The performance will round off a whole season of tribute band performances and hockey trivia nights. Go to the website of the raceway to learn more about the tickets and schedule because the news of the Rideau Carleton Casino’s events is already out.
Rideau Carleton Raceway Schedule
Sadly, the time of writing finds us at the end of the year, which means there are not that many race days left in the Rideau Carleton Raceway calendar. The last racing days of December 2022 will be 1, 4, 11, and 18. The action starts at 4:00 PM on Thursdays and 6:30 PM on Sundays.
Keep in mind that there’s the possibility of simulcast off-track wagering from all over Canada. The race night programs are available for download the day prior, starting at 4:00 PM . The program is free to download, so you don’t have to worry about anything. Just look at the program for the respective day you want to visit.
Rideau Carleton Raceway Live Stream
If you can’t attend during race days, you can watch the races streamed on the website of the Rideau Carleton Raceway with play-by-play commentary. As is the trend with the licensed Canadian online casinos too, HTML5 technology is used throughout the site of Rideau Carleton Raceway, so you don’t need to download any add-ons. In fact, if there’s a race running, it will load and start streaming automatically the moment you land on the page.
One more cool feature is that you can watch replays if there’s no live racing at the time. Just select the second tab that says ‘Replays’, and you will be able to zero in on the exact race you want to watch. This is a feature that even some respected Canadian sports betting websites can’t provide, so the Rideau Carleton Raceway deserves huge credit for that.
Frequently Asked Questions
After the Rideau Carleton Raceway reopening, the number of questions about the casino, horse racing schedule, and even the flea market have drastically increased. We did our research and are ready to share the answers to what we’ve learned. Scroll down if you still haven’t got the satisfactory answer you were looking for.