Jockey Patrick Valenzuela, who rode Sunday Silence to a win in the 1989 Kentucky Derby and has seven career victories in Breeders’ Cup races, rode a winner for the first time in nearly a decade at Turf Paradise on Wednesday. Definitely Prbable, the 7-5 favorite, prevailed by a nose in a maiden race at a mile on turf with a purse of $17,000. The 63-year-old Valenzuela said on Thursday that the win left him overwhelmed. “I didn’t realize I’d be so emotional,” Valenzuela said. “I had tears in my eyes. I was hoping the photographers wouldn’t catch that.” Valenzuela, who began riding in 1978 and has won 4,373 races, resumed riding for the first time at Turf Paradise on Monday since December 2016. Prior to Wednesday, Valenzuela’s last win was at Fair Grounds in Louisiana in November 2016. Defintely Prbable was the fourth mount of his comeback. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Valenzuela’s career has had repeated disruptions caused by substance-abuse problems. After working as an exercise rider in California in recent years, Valenzuela moved to Turf Paradise earlier this year and recently received a jockey’s license from racing officials in Arizona. Defintely Prbable is trained by Vann Belvoir, who had named Valenzuela on two mounts on Monday. The win on Wednesday led to multiple calls and texts, Valenzuela said. “Laffit Pincay Jr. texted me,” Valenzuela said. “Bob Baffert called me last night. I felt like I had the President of the United States calling when Bob called. I can’t believe the support I’m getting. A lot of people from California called.” Valenzuela is booked to ride two horses on Thursday. Valenzuela has two mounts next Tuesday and Wednesday and said he is steadily regaining race fitness. “I think I’ll have my legs underneath me in two weeks,” he said. “My weight is coming off little by little.” Definitely Prbable carried 127 pounds, six pounds over the assigned weight. Valenzuela said he hopes to be tacking 121 “by the end of next week.” Valenzuela sought a jockey’s license in California last year, but the request was rejected by the California Horse Racing Board on the recommendation of a hearing officer. Valenzuela held an exercise rider’s license at the time. The racing board’s decision to deny Valenzuela a license was the third such rejection in a decade. Valenzuela was a former leading rider in Southern California. He won five riding titles at Del Mar, most recently in the summer of 2003; two titles at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting, most recently in 2005-2006; and five titles at Hollywood Park, the last in the fall of 2003. Valenzuela said on Thursday that he hopes to ride in California after the conclusion of the Turf Paradise meeting on May 2. He will need approval from the California Horse Racing Board to do so. “We’ll take it one day at a time,” Valenzuela said. “I pray I can come back and show my grandkids, and have them watch me ride.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.