Mahoning Valley Stewards Suspend Jockey Jason Simpson 14 Days for Reckless Riding

The Board of Stewards at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course suspended jockey Jason Simpson for 14 racing days for "reckless riding" stemming from the seventh race on Feb. 12, a $25,000 claiming event; the ban is listed as Feb. 23 through Mar. 8 inclusive and would be reduced to seven racing days, Feb. 23 through Mar. 4, if Simpson chooses not to appeal. The ruling was posted on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website and reported by the Paulick Report on Feb. 16; Paulick’s social post tied to the story drew metrics showing 292 reactions, 113 comments and 53K video views.

The stewards’ decision centers on the start of the Feb. 12 race, when Simpson rode Colonel Vargo from post five. The ruling said Simpson "angled in sharply" shortly after the break, an action that impeded Thru The Vine, ridden by Elijah Greenidge, and resulted in a bump with Willie Bird, ridden by Erik Barbaran. Equibase’s race chart showed that the stewards posted the inquiry sign after the start but made no change to the order of finish; Thru The Vine finished first, Willie Bird finished third and Colonel Vargo finished fourth, according to Paulick and Equibase references.

Simpson is a stakes-winning rider with over 150 career wins and has been a professional jockey since 2012, per Equibase as cited in reporting. The Feb. 12 ruling calls this Simpson’s "second violation of a similar nature within 365 days," language the stewards quoted in explaining the escalated sanction. Within the past month a separate HISA/Portal entry documents a Jan. 12 violation classified as "Crop" involving the horse Cocktails At Noon; that HISA table lists case number 2026-00085, Regulation #2280, a $750 fine and a five-day suspension dated Jan. 21–25, and includes a file titled Jason Simpson.pdf dated Jan. 13.

Paulick’s account says the 14-race-day sanction followed a hearing on Jan. 16; the stewards’ ruling also warned that "any further violations of this nature will result in escalated penalties." The Feb. 12 ruling itself was posted to ARCI, and Paulick included a head-on replay in its coverage with a social video file named mahoning valley jason simpson race.mp4 embedded in social posts that generated the high view counts cited above.

Public reaction on Paulick’s social feeds ran hot, with commenters debating intent and punishment; Heather Prescott wrote, "If you aint rubbin you aint racin - oh wait thats NASCAR LOL," and user neilnap argued, "Should be 6 mos minimum for that." No statement from Simpson, his agent or his trainer was included in the available materials, and sources do not indicate whether an appeal has been filed.

Operationally, Simpson’s suspension will remove him from mounts for the listed racing days at Mahoning Valley and any other engagements that count as "racing days" during Feb. 23 through Mar. 8 if the full 14-day term stands; the stewards’ warning of escalated penalties signals that repeat infractions could carry substantially steeper consequences for a rider with Simpson’s record and more than a decade of professional experience.