After sustaining a fractured ulna - the smaller of the two bones between the wrist and elbow - during an accident that occurred in an OSS Gold Elimination on July 11 at Flamboro Downs, driver Luc Ouellette says he is in good spirits and is looking forward to a speedy recovery.
The 42-year-old Campbellville resident says considering the shock that he took during the accident, he managed to walk away with a relatively small injury.
"What I'm dealing with the last couple days that's worse than my broken arm is the black and blue everywhere from the accident and falling down," Ouellette told Trot Insider. "That hurts more than my arm itself, but I feel it's going to be a quick recovery because my arm is already better and the swelling has gone down considerably. So, all things considered I'm pretty happy with the outcome."
The winner of 121 starts and over $2.3 million in purses this year is optimistic about his return to racing and says he expects to be off for four weeks at the most.
"I'm going to go for an x-ray on Thursday and we're probably going to have a decent idea from there. I'm going to do exactly what the doctor told me and just not use my left arm at all and stay busy - keep moving around because of all the other little injuries I've got I don't want to stiffen up," he says.
After Cruiser Hudson (Jason Gilchrist) made a break and fell going into the first turn of the race, Ouellette's charge Spoiled Beach followed suit.
"I saw Jason leaving really hard with a really bad gaited horse, so at this point he's coming down in front of me and I've got my eyes on him because he's putting in some rough steps, but he didn't seem too worried so he kept driving on.
"I was hoping for the best, but I was worried because they were two-year-old fillies. It's not like they were claimers and they've been through this a hundred times. This was probably that filly's first or second lifetime start so that's what had me worried, but what are you going to do. There was no where for me to go. I can't go wide because he's got that lane and he's got the inside lane as well. They only place I could have gone is inside the cones, but you can't go inside the cones until something happens. At that point, I was hoping nothing was going to happen. When it did happen I wasn't very surprised though."
Scott Coulter was also unseated in the mishap aboard Putnam Jordan. Both Gilchrist and Coulter have since returned to racing. In addition, Spoiled Beach appears to be doing well.
"Before I even left to go to the hospital, my horse was already cooled out with minor injuries, so I was real happy about that because she belongs to a friend of mine from New York. I drove her mother and now I was driving her. I think the filly does have a lot of potential."
Ouellette wishes to thank the Flamboro Downs paddock judge and staff for their care.
Please join Standardbred Canada is wishing Ouellette a speedy recovery.