Jockey C.J. McMahon
Jockey Charles “C.J.” McMahon, arrested on Jan. 2 in Lafayette, La., and charged with attempted murder, illegal use of weapons and possession of schedule 1 drugs, has been summarily suspended by Texas Racing Commission stewards and taken off all mounts at Sam Houston Race Park, which kicks off its 2021 meeting on Friday evening.
The ruling states that McMahon “admitted to recent use of Marijuana and tested positive for Marijuana on a field test kit on Jan. 5, 2021. Jockey Charles McMahon is hereby summarily suspended starting on Jan. 5, 2021, pending a hearing.”
Don Ahrens, director of security and parking at Sam Houston, confirmed that McMahon has been “excluded in accordance with the Texas Racing Commission ruling and other related matters.”
The 26-year-old jockey was taken into custody Jan. 2 after a traffic stop in Lafayette when police discovered there were outstanding warrants against McMahon stemming from a Dec. 27 incident in which he allegedly fired a weapon into a car stopped at a traffic light. Traffic cameras were believed to have caught the incident on tape. According to the arrest record, police also found marijuana in McMahon’s possession at the time of the arrest.
Bond was set at $80,000 and McMahon was released on Jan. 3.
McMahon last rode at Delta Downs in Louisiana on Dec. 28 and had been working horses in the morning at Sam Houston in preparation for the meet at the Houston track. McMahon was suspended in 2017 by Indiana Horse Racing Commission stewards for testing positive for methamphetamine and in 2013 for making threatening remarks to the starter and assistant starters.
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