Simington mulls retirement from riding

Jockey Don Simington is debating whether to resume his riding career as he continues to heal from injuries sustained in an Oct. 29 spill at Delta Downs. A winner of more than 3,400 races, Simington has just started working as an agent at Louisiana Downs, representing his nephew, Garrett Steinberg, and Kevin Smith. Simington said he is waiting to see how his injured right arm and shoulder blade heal before making a call on returning to the saddle.

“I haven’t made any definite decisions,” he said. “I’ve always tried to be 100 percent in everything I’ve done, every horse that I rode, and I don’t want to come back if I can’t be 100 percent.”

Simington, 53, broke his pelvis, seven ribs, his shoulder blade, and an arm in the spill when a horse he was riding broke down. He said he is monitoring how the arm and shoulder blade feel as he goes about the business of working as an agent.

“I didn’t want to ride for 30 days, have a problem and have to [stop] again,” he said. “My arm is still giving me problems. I’m not going to push it and rush it. I decided to work as an agent for now. I’ve only been doing it about three weeks. I like it. It’s fun, something different. I kind of knew the basics of what was going on just from being around it all my life. But it is different than getting out there and riding them every day.”

Simington has won 3,427 races for Thoroughbreds from 27,100 starts. His mounts have earned more than $47.6 million. Simington has won four riding titles at Louisiana Downs, two at Sam Houston, and one at Turf Paradise. He has a home near Louisiana Downs, where he has regularly ridden since 1985. Simington’s first career win came at Sunland Park on Jan. 21, 1984.