NORTHAMPTON - A jockey who says he was permanently disabled after a horse-racing accident at the Three-County Fair has sued the fairgrounds' owner.

Christopher Martin of Clear Spring, Md., was thrown from his mount during the fifth race of the day Sept. 2, 2005.

In a lawsuit filed on the three-year anniversary of the accident, Martin claims the irregular shape and poor maintenance of the racetrack caused his thoroughbred, "Miner Distraction," to collide with another horse and stumble.

Attorneys for the fair's operator, the Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Agricultural Society, have not yet filed a response to the lawsuit. Bruce Shallcross, the fair's general manager, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

A Gazette report from the time stated that Martin told people who came to his aid that he wanted to ride in the next race, but paramedics quickly took him to Cooley Dickinson Hospital, where he was treated and released.

Martin says in his lawsuit that the fall fractured five of his cervical and thoracic vertebrae, leaving him permanently disabled. He is seeking a jury trial and damages over $25,000.

- JAMES F. LOWE