New fence goes up at racetrack where boy was fatally struck by starting gate
CBC
Visible changes have been made at a New Brunswick horse racing track following the death of a child last June.
About 130 metres of fencing has gone up along a section of the Connell Park Raceway track, in the same area where three-year-old Gunnar Dickison was fatally struck by a starting gate as it was being driven past the venue's grandstand.
"I think that safety-wise, it was important to do it," said Tammey McLean, an area resident who has been a spectator at local harness races for years.
She was there on June 14, 2025, the opening day for the harness racing season at Connell Park Raceway.
She was on the opposite side of the grandstand, standing on a hill taking video of the second race of the day.
It was during the start of that race, when, according to police reports, Gunnar was seen on video leaning over the top railing of the wooden fence in front of the grandstand.
As the pace truck drove by hauling the starting gate, other spectators were seen leaning back from the fence moments before it struck Gunnar in the head.
He died in hospital later that day.
That wooden fence is now gone, replaced by the 2.4-metre-high chain-link fence the town installed.
McLean, an amateur historian, said the wooden fence had been standing since the track was built in 1967, making it a defining feature that countless spectators have leaned up against to watch the races going back generations.
With it removed, McLean said, the esthetic of the venue has changed, but for good reason.
"What happened that day around here will never be forgotten.
"Anything that can help to prevent, you know, something like that never to happen again, I'm all for it."
The Town of Woodstock owns the Connell Park Raceway, and days after Gunnar's death, Mayor Trina Jones announced a safety review of the track would be done.
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