P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

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Apple

Banned
DEL MAR, Calif.?Patrick Valenzuela could return to riding in California as soon as next Wednesday.

The 47-year-old jockey with a lengthy history of alcohol and substance abuse was granted a probationary license on Thursday by the California Horse Racing Board. The same group revoked his license in 2008 after Valenzuela was arrested for drunken driving.
Agent Tom Knust said Friday that Valenzuela could be named to ride on Wednesday's card at the seaside track.
Knust says he's had good responses from several trainers interested in booking Valenzuela, who won the 1989 Kentucky Derby with Sunday Silence. Valenzuela has won five riding titles at Del Mar. He's been riding at Louisiana Downs since getting banned from California.
 
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Apple

Banned
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

IMO the best jockey I've ever seen.. Now keep in mind I've only been into racing since the 80s.

So I didn't get to see the Shoe or Pincay in their prime, or Arcaro or Longden back in the day.. But P Val is the best jock I've seen, the best gate rider of all time no question about it. Great on frontrunners, very aggressive, always has his horses in position. Just a beast of a jock..
 
waco

waco

EOG Dedicated
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

What a surprise? I never thought he would be back. I am going to Del Mar Saturday and I hope to see him ride
 
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mosemn

EOG Member
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

years ago p-val showed up for his drug test and had apparently forgot something , his hair, yes his hair was gone everywhere top to bottom, shaven, seemed he was one length in front of the stewards. They was going to do a hair test because hair will show drugs as far back as a year. In the end he was suspended.
 
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Apple

Banned
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

I remember that well.. I was very upset when I heard that cause he went awhile w/o testing positive.. I thought he would be clean for good like Gomez is now...
 
C

cheapseats

EOG Master
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

gynecologist said:
IMO the best jockey I've ever seen.. Now keep in mind I've only been into racing since the 80s.

So I didn't get to see the Shoe or Pincay in their prime, or Arcaro or Longden back in the day.. But P Val is the best jock I've seen, the best gate rider of all time no question about it. Great on frontrunners, very aggressive, always has his horses in position. Just a beast of a jock..
Click to expand...

Shoe was more versatile and so was Pinky, off or on pace, those two were far ahead of Pval. Pval came out of the sprinters and that's all he knows.
 
Flamingo kid

Flamingo kid

Everybody's hands go UP!
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

Why is this great news? Adding another scumbag to the jockey colony isn't cause for celebration.
 
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michael777

EOG Dedicated
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

Flamingo kid said:
Why is this great news? Adding another scumbag to the jockey colony isn't cause for celebration.
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could not agree more,also very dangerous for a jock to be out there riding stoned out of his mind,he has had enough chances and should not be allowed to ride in ca
 
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Factorial

2
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

MIA. Shocker. This guy is the Steve Howe of racing x 10. I'm surprised gynecologist thought this was great news.

Word is that no one has been able to get ahold of him today. It's too bad that some will never be able to defeat their addictions.
 
Flamingo kid

Flamingo kid

Everybody's hands go UP!
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

Lets hope he's still alive.

I guess it comes down to this. The CHRB granted him SO many 'second chances' that why should he stay clean if they're just going to give him another chance?

Its not like he has any real incentive to stay sober.
 
A

Apple

Banned
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

Factorial,

hes my favorite jockey of all time.. I've been so lucky with this guy and I think his riding talent is legendary.. If never exposed to drugs he would be considered top 5 in everyones list..
 
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Factorial

2
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

The best was the time when the CHRB got clearance to get a hair follicle for testing and P Val showed up with not only his head, but his entire body shaved, waxed -- not a single hair was on his body. They had to delay the test several weeks.

I will say this about the guy, he can ride. I think he's obviously passed his prime and there's no telling how much the drugs and booze have wrecked his 49 year-old body.

D Wayne Lukas loves to tell the story about how P Val flew with him to Oaklawn for the Arkansas Derby. P Val slept the entire flight and then slept three more hours in the jock's room. They tried to wake him several times before he slowly rose to his feet already in his silks, grabbed his whip and went out to the paddock.

As Luckas tells it, he still looked half asleep, got a leg-up on the horse and went on to give his horse one of the best rides Lukas had ever witnessed.
 
Flamingo kid

Flamingo kid

Everybody's hands go UP!
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

Facto and Gyno, Patrick is an all time great rider, he's a 'natural'.

so was Chris Antley.
 
A

Apple

Banned
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

I've personally never seen a better rider.. Factor in when Shoemaker rode his last race I was 9, saw Pincay ride mostly in his 50s (was still a beast at the wire).. Never saw the other greats like Arcaro, Pineda, Longden etc..
 
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Apple

Banned
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Jockey Patrick Valenzuela failed to appear at Hollywood Park to ride on Thursday, leaving his agent concerned about his well being. Valenzuela was scheduled to ride five of the eight races on Thursday.

"I don't know what's happening," said his agent, Tom Knust. "I've been trying to call him and get a hold of him."

Knust said that Valenzuela visited his girlfriend in the San Diego area on Wednesday and was expected to drive back to his Los Angeles area home on Wednesday evening. Knust said that Valenzuela was not scheduled to ride workouts on Thursday morning.

"I don't know what could have happened between last night and today," Knust said on Thursday afternoon.

Valenzuela, 49, is the senior member of the jockeys' room and has been a fixture among the top 10 riders in the Southern California circuit this year. At the recently concluded Santa Anita autumn meeting, Valenzuela finished in a tie for fifth in the standings. His biggest win this year came in the $1 million Pacific Classic aboard Acclamation at Del Mar in August.

Valenzuela has ridden regularly in Southern California since July 2010 after receiving a license through a stipulated agreement with the California Horse Racing Board that called for several forms of drug and alcohol testing. At the time, the racing board described the agreement as "unprecedented due to its continual nature and strict conditions."

Thursday, Hollywood Park steward Kim Sawyer said that Valenzuela will have to undergo a drug test when he returns to Hollywood Park.

Valenzuela rode in Louisiana and New Mexico from 2008 to 2010 after he was unable to secure a license in California. Valenzuela is well-known for winning the 1989 Kentucky Derby on Sunday Silence.
 
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Factorial

2
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

gynecologist said:
I've personally never seen a better rider.. Factor in when Shoemaker rode his last race I was 9, saw Pincay ride mostly in his 50s (was still a beast at the wire).. Never saw the other greats like Arcaro, Pineda, Longden etc..
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Gynecologist -

Believe me in no way am I doubting his talents. It's interesting, our point-of-views are just different.

You know him more as a gambler, a fan, you remember the great rides and those winning rides that you cashed a ticket on. Up close, I see a guy who has issues, the stories and lies get extremely tiresome. When you see P Val and then you look at a guy like Mike Smith who is a class act. And the tiresome work and dedication that he puts into keeping his body a well conditioned machine for a man in his mid-40s -- it's hard to root or have any empathy for P Val.

What I referred to earlier about his not returning phone calls, most of those have been made by his jockey agent. I hope he's ok, but this has happened too many times to count. This could be a rare occasion where something not of his own doing caused this situation, but more than likely it's just another act of an addict.
 
A

Apple

Banned
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

what do you think happened?? He still in Diego with his broad?

Something happen on the way back?

Fuck you never know with this dude.
 
F

Factorial

2
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

No idea. Having situations like this in the past with several co-workers and a friend, when they went missing it generally was some kind of bender. P Val knows what's at stake and by not contacting the stewards and his absence being in excused today he knows very well that this is probably it for him in So Cal.

IT TOOK HIM NEARLY THREE YEARS TO GET REINSTATED IN SO CAL AND IT TOOK LESS THIRTEEN MONTHS FOR HIM TO FUCK IT UP. NOT GOOD.
 
A

Apple

Banned
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

their gonna want a hair follicle test too.. No bueno
 
D

dinkenson

EOG Dedicated
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

steve howe.... sets a bad example for other young jocks that you can get away with this crap...we lost one pretty recently MB, have one on the brink TB, and we dont need this guy lawyering his way back in....hope he is okay but this is way more then enuff of him
 
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mazeltrick

EOG Addicted
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

No doubt Patrick has used up his nine lives. I won't shed a tear if he never rides again, but he was the best rider I've seen on horseback, when sober and in his prime. I'm not Joe Talamo's biggest fan, but that kid's work ethic is remarkable- too bad pval is not cut from the same cloth.
 
trytrytry

trytrytry

All I do is trytrytry
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

P Val is a train wreck waiting to happen....some people are wired that way and that is his approach to life..too bad...
 
Viejo Dinosaur

Viejo Dinosaur

EOG Master
Re: P Val to return to riding at Del Mar... GREAT NEWS!!!!

Drug addiction is a curse to the pro athlete....only seen one athlete in my lifetime that could perform to a higher standard for a long period of time and still continue to use....Lawrence Taylor
 
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