by Tami Hartman, Fairfield County Fairgrounds (Lancaster, Ohio)

Lancaster, OH — Just over two weeks ago, the third day of harness racing at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds in Lancaster, Ohio, was marred by an accident involving well-known Ohio driver Bill Long Jr. and Laurie Farness-Smith, wife of trainer Marlin Smith.

The accident occurred on Oct. 16, during the card’s sixth and final race, an overnight pace. As the field approached the quarter pole, an equipment break caused Farness-Smith’s horse, Paper Maid, to veer sharply to the outside into the path of first-up and hard-charging Grandpaslildragon, driven by Long. This forced Long’s horse into the outside fence, where the race bike caught and came to an abrupt stop, ripping it free from the horse and catapulting Long to the ground.

USTA/Ed Keys photo

Bill Long Jr. is recovering from a multitude of injuries suffered in an Oct. 16 racing accident.

Long-time friend of Long, William (Rick) Hartman, was there that day and happened to be standing on the backstretch right where the accident occurred. Even now he is shaken by the event.

“I’ve been in a couple of bad wrecks myself, and I’ve seen a lot of them over the years,” he explains, “but I have never seen anyone hit the ground as hard as Bill did that day.”

Farness-Smith was also unseated, but fortunately suffered only bumps and bruises. The horses also walked away with no serious injuries.

Long, on the other hand, was taken by ambulance to the hospital. His catalogue of injuries included a hand which sustained a deep gash, multiple broken fingers, and a broken wrist, as well as a broken leg and a broken ankle.

In the week following the spill, Long underwent three surgeries at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center before being moved to their in-patient rehabilitation center at Dodd Hall where he remains.

“I’m full of titanium plates and screws,” he notes, “but at least I’m not in a whole lot of pain right now. I’m still sleeping a lot of the time, but I’m hoping to be able to go home sometime this week.”

Returning home will be just the first step in a long recovery process which is expected to take several months.

Still, Long manages to maintain his sense of humor. When a friend commented she was glad she had not been there to see the wreck, he joked, “I wish I hadn’t been there either.”