Born in Sainte-Marie-de-Monnoir, Quebec, the son of Felix Rainville, a farmer of French descent from Touques (Calvados), and Marie Daignault, Rainville obtained his elementary and classical education at the colleges of St. Hyacinthe and Ste.
Originally called Hippodrome de la Touques, it was named for the Touques River that separates the city of Deauville from Trouville-sur-Mer.