by Frank Salive, for Western Fair Raceway

London, ON — As if coming back in September from a shattered wrist wasn’t enough of a challenge for driver Don McElroy, his injury count was increased again by a cruel turn of fate related to the approaching Halloween season.

“I really hated to miss the first two Western Fair programs of the Fall Meet on October 2 and 3, and my drives for Bob McIntosh at Windsor on October 4, but it was just unavoidable in the situation,” McElroy said from his home just west of London in Ingersoll.

McElroy explained he was up a ladder retrieving the Halloween decorations for his wife, Wendy. When the ladder began listing to the left he knew he was in trouble and suddenly he was on his way down to a hard landing. He couldn’t cushion the fall for fear of reinjuring his shattered left wrist from a racing accident in May of 2005 at Grand River which was followed by 16 months of rehabilitation and three corrective surgeries.

The 50-year-old reinsman described how his left foot and ankle became twisted in the ladder in the fall. He described how the ankle swelled to almost double its normal size, but x-rays fortunately showed nothing was broken.

The two-time leading driver on the Ontario Sires Stakes trail earlier this decade finally returned to bike duty in London on Friday, October 6 with the diagnosis stating he’d suffered a severely bruised and sprained left anke. From a slate of three drives that night he came up a winner with the Bob McIntosh trained 3-year-old colt trotter Governator in the 12th — though he’s likely to be walking gingerly on the ankle for several more weeks while it heals.

‘Shoeless Louie’ returns to London

On the Monday, October 9 matinee in London at 4:00 p.m. the C$18,400 weekly Open Pace and Open Trot are carded as the eighth and ninth races, and in the Open Trot the return of ‘Shoeless Louie’ to Western Fair is eagerly anticipated.

The nickname belongs to the 5-year-old San Pellegrino–Celtic Merizi trotter Loose Change Louie, who has drawn post one for this test.

Late last Spring when returning to racing, Loose Change Louie had warmed up and scored out poorly according to co-owner and trainer Mike Robblee. He then stuck with the courageous decision to remove his shoes at four minutes to post time, and after a quick score out by Ross Battin he was pronounced good to go — then proceeded to sweep the field to victory for one of his four tallies this year.

“That kind of courageous decision by Mike to race his top horse once without shoes — I can’t tell you how much guts that takes and he’s got my admiration for sticking with it,” recalled fellow trainer Dan Creighton, who was busy at the Lexington meet not only winning races but also making a $100,000 yearling purchase through his Danterra Standardbreds Stable.

Contesting the top trot against ‘Shoeless Louie’ will be the Brett Robinson-trained Tremendous Hit; Southwind Califon, sent out by Steve Bossence; the Per Henriksen student Homestead Dreamer; Grand Sovereign from the Gregg McNair outfit; and the Glenn Lalonde stable member Lesterstrikesagain.

Lalonde also sends out False Alarm in the C$18,400 Open Pace in search of a second straight win in London.

The October schedule at Western Fair sends Monday and Tuesday programs to the gate at 4:00 p.m. and Friday evenings at 7:35 p.m. Saturday evening cards will be added from October 21 through December 23.

On October 20 the London track is hosting a tribute night and race in this inaugural year of the Mildred Williams Ladies Driving Series in concert with a major Breast Cancer Research Foundation fundraiser, and on October 27 ceremonies will be held to induct the late Bert Madill into Western Fair’s Wall of Fame.