Ex-Jockey Valenzuela to Be Tried in Robbery

Former jockey Patrick Angel Valenzuela--who won the Kentucky Derby in 1989, only to see his career unravel over drug problems--was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on an armed robbery charge.

Prosecutors said Valenzuela, 36, of El Monte, was arrested Feb. 26, two days after he allegedly held up a taxi driver in Rosemead in a robbery that netted $150.

Valenzuela, who won the derby aboard Sunday Silence, was suspended briefly by racing officials a few months later after he tested positive for cocaine. In 1990, he was suspended for six months after refusing to take a required drug test. He last raced at Santa Anita in 1997.

He remains in custody after failing to post $40,000 bail.