Merrill Blair

It’s been a lifelong attachment between Merrill Blair and the greyhound business. Born in Waverly, Ohio, on June 20, 1905, Blair moved to Columbus after graduating from high school in 1923.  His interest in greyhound racing started in 1926 when he was working as a truck driver in Grove City, Ohio. He began attending the races and, in his own words, “was fascinated by all the aspects of the industry, especially the greyhounds.

He became an active part of the greyhound racing scene in 1926, when he traveled to Florida later that year to get a job as a trainer. He had his first training job with Ollie Ostendorf; in 1927, he met Cal Ohlinger. Blair purchased nine dogs from Ohlinger and ran them at Grove City. The next year, the Ohlinger-Blair partnership was formed. It lasted 27 years, until Ohlinger’s death, and during the entire time there was never any agreement in writing between the two men.

The best dog of Blair’s career was Flashy Sir, himself a Hall of Fame inductee. He was one of the racers that helped the Ohlinger-Blair Kennel become great. He was so good, in fact, that he was often paid not to race in order to avoid minus pools.

After Ohlinger’s death, the greyhound operation became Merrill Blair and Sons, with Caroll and Clinton Blair joining their father in the business. When Merrill Blair took over the farm, leaving the racing kennels to his sons, the kennel name became Blair Bros.

Over the years, Blair had numerous great greyhounds. At the time of his induction into the Greyhound Hall of Fame, he still had a number of greyhounds racing throughout the country. He has also served the greyhound industry as an executive committeeman for the National Greyhound Association.

The Blair name is one that will be prominent in the greyhound industry for generations to come. And it all started in 1926 with this man, whose contributions to the greyhound industry have earned him a spot in the Greyhound Hall of Fame.