Valenzuela likely finished riding at Fair Grounds

Patrick Valenzuela took off his mounts last Saturday and Sunday at Fair Grounds and is unlikely to ride again at the meet.

Valenzuela, 53, is among the best-known jockeys in racing, having launched a star-crossed career in 1978. He has been suspended multiple times in California, rode only 14 races in 2014, but was granted a license and came to Fair Grounds to ride in November.

Roy Wood, state steward at the track, said he was told Saturday that Valenzuela had sustained an unspecified injury. Valenzuela can’t ride again at Fair Grounds until he comes before the stewards, but his former agent, Rob Whitlock, said he had spoken with Valenzuela on Sunday, and that the rider told him he intended to leave New Orleans.

Maker fined for overage

Mike Maker has paid a $500 fine levied against him by the Louisiana Racing Commission after post-race tests on International Star revealed medication overages following a win Jan. 16 in the Louisiana Stakes. Maker was fined for a “stacking” violation, meaning minute levels of phenylbutazone and Banamine were found in the sample taken from International Star. Taken separately, neither amount would have reached the state’s threshold for triggering a positive test, but together, they passed the threshold for so-called stacked therapeutic medications.