Born Adelaide SA
23 October 1908 – 3 August 1993
The name of Kerlsey is synonymous with the sport of harness racing and Frank Kersley upheld a fine family tradition during a 40-years career in which he blossomed into one of Australia’s premier trainer-reinsmen.
In 1953 he had the distinction of becoming the first Australian to drive his 500th winner on metropolitan tacks in the major cities.
He headed the Perth metropolitan reinsmen’s list 11 times between 1933 and 1954 and his total of 42 winners in the 1945-46 season was an Australian record for 20 years.
The high point of Kersley’s 40 years in the sport came when he won the 1954 Interdominion Championship, the showpiece of harness racing in Australasia, with Tennessee Sky at the Wayville track in Adelaide. He also drove seven Interdominion heat winners, between 1949 and 1959.
Kersley’s other big-race wins included a WA Pacing Cup (later to become know and the Benson and Hedges Cup), two Easter Cups, the Fremantle Cups, thee JP Stratton Cups, a WA Pacing Derby and a WA Sires’ Produce Stakes.
In addition to being acknowledged as a brilliant driver, Kersley was an astute trainer and finished on top of the WA trainer’s premiership seven times.
At his peak he had few peers, His outstanding characteristics were his masterful judgement of pace, split-second timing when making a run, coolness in tight situations and the ability to seize needle-eye openings.
Kersley retired from race driving in 1971, at the age of 63, with 533 city winners against his name.