Jockey Patrick Valenzuela must pass a drug and alcohol test and meet
with Hollywood Park stewards before he is allowed to be named to ride in
coming weeks, the stewards said on Friday evening.
Valenzuela did not ride on Thursday and was taken off his mounts for
the weekend, citing the need to travel to Kansas to be with his
fiancee’s family, according to steward Tom Ward and the jockey’s agent,
Tom Knust.
The jockey did not fully divulge the nature of the trip in a
conversation with stewards on Friday, according to Ward. Valenzuela did
not return two phone calls seeking comment.
It is possible that Valenzuela, 49, will not resume riding until early December.
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