Valenzuela loses bid to resume riding

The California Horse Racing Board has rejected a request by Patrick Valenzuela to allow the troubled jockey to resume his career.

In a closed hearing at Del Mar on July 17, the racing board rejected the opinion of a hearing officer, who recommended that the 52-year-old Valenzuela be allowed to ride. The decision was announced in a statement released by the racing board Friday.

Valenzuela’s case before the hearing officer was held earlier this year.

Racing board chairman Chuck Winner said in an interview Friday that the racing board will hear Valenzuela’s case again in the near future in a closed session. Winner said the racing board will review documents in the case and could call on Valenzuela to testify.

Valenzuela, who won the 1989 Kentucky Derby on Sunday Silence, has had a history of substance-abuse and personal problems that have interrupted his career. Valenzuela was not immediately available for comment Friday.

Valenzuela has not ridden since January 2014, when he failed to appear for mounts on consecutive days at Santa Anita.

Six weeks later, in a hearing with Santa Anita stewards Scott Chaney, Kim Sawyer, and Tom Ward, Valenzuela was suspended for failing to ride. He told stewards at the time he was “done” riding and wanted to work as an exercise rider for income. The stewards denied that request and ruled that Valenzuela not be allowed to ride races or work as an exercise riser through October 2015, the term of his jockey’s license.

In addition, Valenzuela was fined $1,000.

Valenzuela has won 4,347 races. He has attended races in recent months at Del Mar and Santa Anita and said he wants to be involved in the sport.