My 5 Favorite Patrick Valenzuela Rides

According to Bloodhorse, The CHRB denied Patrick Valenzuela a racing license again. P.Val will have to wait another year before once again looking to get a license that allows him to ride horses in California. It's become clear that P.Val, who is 52 years old, may never ride a horse again in the State of California. That would be a shame.

I don't want to get into Valenzuela's substance abuse issues. To me, those have been beaten to death. I've been a horse racing fan for 30 years. From my perspective, Patrick Valenzuela is one of the greatest jockeys that I have ever seen. Below are five P.Val rides that I will never forget.

 

 

Arazi - 1991 Breeders Cup Juvenile - Bertrando was undefeated going into the race while Arazi ran on dirt for the first time. Plus, Arazi had to break from the outside post. If you watch P.Val's ride, you'll notice that he weaves Arazi through traffic in order to get to Bertrando before flying by that rival while going wide around the final turn. This is one of the most amazing rides in the history of horse racing. It's rare when a jockey has such perfect timing aboard a horse. Arazi doesn't break stride while going in and out of traffic. Wow.