from Western Fair Raceway

London, ON — A capacity crowd was on hand Wednesday night (May 26) at Western Fair Raceway to celebrate the induction of longtime horsemen Ross Battin, Terry Kerr and Don McElroy to the track’s Wall of Fame.

The highest honor bestowed by Western Fair, induction to the Wall of Fame takes place when warranted, not necessarily annually. Battin, Kerr and McElroy are all approximately the same age, they started their driving careers in the same era and all have been great ambassadors for the racetrack. It therefore seemed fitting that the trio be inducted together.

Iron Horse Photo

Gary McRae, Western Fair’s former Chief Executive Officer, and Hugh Mitchell (right) who currently holds that position, flank Wall of Fame inductees Terry Kerr, Don McElroy and Ross Battin.

The three drivers are among the leaders in North America in terms of races won lifetime. Combined they have visited winner’s circles more than 15,000 times. Kerr has 6,778 life wins, Battin 4,635 and McElroy 4,015. On the all-time races won list of drivers in Canada and the US, Kerr currently sits in 35th spot, Battin 94th and McElroy 135th.

Battin, Kerr and McElroy have represented Western Fair admirably in many drivers’ competitions over the years and have also shown their talent while competing at every provincial racetrack in the Ontario Sires Stakes. Their dominance in the OSS is shown by the number of times they have won the Lampman Cup awarded to the top driver in the OSS each year. Terry Kerr captured the inaugural Lampman Cup in 1987 and gained another trophy in 1991. McElroy has also won the Lampman on two occasions while Battin has captured it an incredible seven times, more than any other driver.

The awards have also been numerous for the trio on their home turf. Don McElroy has taken the Driver of the Year title at Western Fair a total of seven times, Kerr’s name appears on that trophy five times and he was also named Horseman of the Year in 1981. Ross Battin has been named Driver of the Year four times in addition to being named Horseman of the Year in 1992.

An on-track ceremony was conducted during Wednesday night’s race card where the Wall of Fame official portraits of the trio were unveiled. Frank Salive conducted interviews with the three inductees, who joined 23 of their fellow Western Fair greats on the Wall.

“Its definitely a special honor, there’s no doubt about that,” said Battin. “This was basically a starting point for me to get racing. I had one of my first races here.”

“When I started out, this was one of the big places back then in the early ‘70s. This was probably for a bunch of us our stomping grounds,” Kerr noted.

“I learned a lot from very good people here especially my dad and uncle Jack (Kopas),” said McElroy. “I admire them (Battin and Kerr) greatly, for a small racetrack we have some of the best talent here.”

Click here to view additional photos and here to view a video of the night’s festivities.