DEL MAR : Jockey Valenzuela Passes Drug Test, but Declines to Talk About Absence

Jockey Pat Valenzuela was exonerated Monday when his drug test came back negative. But he didn’t lift his self-imposed gag order.

Bob Meldahl, Valenzuela’s agent, said his client has his reasons for not discussing the incident, which began Aug. 18 when Valenzuela told stewards at Pimlico in Baltimore he would miss all of his mounts because he was ill.

“He took a lot of things to heart,” Meldahl said. “When you work as hard as he has these last few months, I think he was a little embarrassed and probably a little hurt.”

Valenzuela was particularly upset with one report that implied that the four day-lapse between his phone call to the Pimlico stewards and his drug test gave him time to rid his system of any illegal drugs.

But steward Dave Samuel said he is pleased with the way Valenzuela’s case was handled.

“He did nothing,” Samuel said. “There was no California rule that was broken. And Pimlico was also satisfied with everything.”

Samuel said he is also satisfied that the four-day lapse was inconsequential.

“I would have had no objections if we would have had him in earlier, but we had no way of locating him,” Samuel said. “But we can test him any time we want to. So this is no different than that.”

The controversy surrounding Valenzuela apparently hasn’t affected his riding. Although he was winless Monday in five mounts, he remains the hottest jockey at Del Mar with 44 victories. Kent Desormeaux is a distant second with 30 winning rides. After winning the seventh and eighth races, Alex Solis is third with 27 victories.

The debut of Wayne Lukas’ once-ballyhooed Houston will have to wait. The 4-year-old colt was supposed to run Wednesday in the $100,000 Pat O’Brien Handicap, but his handlers could not get him on a flight out of New York.

Houston was expected to be one of Lukas’ top horses, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations. Favored in the Santa Anita Derby, Houston finished a distant fifth. He has lost five of his last six races.

Lukas said he expects Houston to arrive at Del Mar Wednesday and to race within the next week. “We think the surface out here will help him,” Lukas said. “He’s been getting tired at the deeper tracks.”

After winning her first race four weeks ago in a $12,500 claiming race, Pointedly, ridden by Alex Solis, ran her winning streak to four by winning Monday’s seventh race, a $33,000 allowance race. During the 4-year-old’s last four races, Pointedly has been conditioned by three trainers.

Trainer Ron McAnally said he was still not sure whether Eclipse Award-winning mare Bayakoa would run this weekend. McAnally said he is still choosing between the $150,000-added Grade II Chula Vista Handicap Saturday and the $100,000-added Grade I Maskette Stakes Sunday at Belmont Park in New York. McAnally said he is waiting for the Chula Vista weights before he makes a recommendation to the owners, Frank and Jan Whitham of Kansas.

Sorrento Stakes winner Lite Light, Nice Assay and Title Bought are expected to head Sunday’s field in the $300,000-estimated Del Mar Debutante at one mile.