Brandon Simpson pleads guilty in drug scandal

Bill Finley of Harness Racing Update today (April 21) reports that just as it had started to appear that the doping cases that involved more than two dozen individuals from the standardbred and thoroughbred industries were grinding to a halt, a new harness racing name surfaced Thursday, more than three years after the original indictments were released.

Former trainer and driver Brandon Simpson, who served as an assistant trainer to Rene Allard, has pled guilty to one count of drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy for his role in a scheme to provide horses with performance enhancing drugs.

Simpson’s guilty plea raised as many questions as it answered. It was not clear why his name was not included in the original indictments that were released in March 2020 and why, at such a later date, the government decided to press its case against Simpson. His indictment and guilty plea also raise the questions as to whether or not he will be the first of several names that are about to surface in what could be a new round of indictments and guilty pleas.

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by Bill Finley, republished from Harness Racing Update