Child dies following accident at harness racing track in Woodstock, N.B.

Police in Woodstock, N.B., are investigating the death of a toddler that occurred during Saturday's harness racing card at Connell Park Raceway.

In a social media post late Saturday, police said they were investigating a "tragic incident" that resulted in a fatality. 

On Sunday, Woodstock Police Chief Mark Bennett said police aren't releasing many details "to protect the integrity of the investigation." However, he did say at this point it's being investigated as an accident and "no criminality is suspected." 

Bennett said the department's thoughts are with the victim's family and those witnessed and responded to the accident.

"It's something … you hope you never have to respond to in your career but it's always a potential," he said. "There's no way to prepare yourself for it. Unfortunately, it's the nature of the job."

Theresa Blackburn, a reporter for the River Valley Sun in Woodstock, said it was a three-year-old boy from the area who was killed.

She was in touch with Deputy Police Chief Simon Watts on Saturday.

Watts confirmed to Blackburn that the accident happened when the boy was struck by the starting gate, she said.

She said: "There really is a pall over the community. I mean it's Father's Day weekend. Harness racing is big here. We're now the hub for harness racing and it's always a joy to have them here when … the horses are running and there's crowds, and it's just devastating and everyone is talking about it but not in a good way. It's just really quite horrifying for everybody right now."

In Saturday's harness race video, the announcer can be heard calling for an ambulance shortly after the second race begins. It is not clear from the video exactly what happened.

In harness racing, the starting gate is