The Future of Patrick Valenzuela Decided Later This Month

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The future of jockey Patrick Valenzuela's racing career may be decided during the next California Horse Racing Board meeting later this month.

Santa Anita stewards forwarded their recommendations to the board, which will review the matter during a closed-door executive session at its March 30 meeting. The stewards' recommendations will be kept confidential, said CHRB spokesman Mike Marten.

Valenzuela, 38, hopes to regain his riding license after being suspended last year when he tested positive for amphetamines.

Last month, Valenzuela told Santa Anita stewards that he was enrolled in two substance abuse programs. Stewards gave Valenzuela a set of conditions to follow last year, including one year of uninterrupted sobriety. Valenzuela's attorney Don Calabria said his client has complied with the stewards' request.

"He's done everything they have asked him to do," Calabria said.

The jockey's career has been tainted by drug and alcohol problems.

He has won more than 3,000 races in his career including the 1989 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) aboard Sunday Silence.

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