Valenzuela Back in Saddle

Pat Valenzuela, whose long riding career has been a succession of second chances, got another one Friday from the chairman of the California Horse Racing Board, who granted the troubled jockey a temporary stay of a stewards’ suspension that would have grounded him the rest of the year.

John Harris, who heads the state racing board, said that Valenzuela would be allowed back on California racetracks Monday and could resume riding April 25.

In releasing Valenzuela from a suspension that would have made the 41-year-old rider ineligible for reinstatement until Jan. 1, Harris said that the jockey had not tested positive for drugs in four years, after hundreds of tests, and had shown the racing board proof that he was suffering from clinical depression.

A condition of the stay is that Valenzuela undergo psychological counseling and be regularly monitored for his depression. The old terms of his 2 1/2-year-old conditional riding license still apply -- at least eight drug tests a month, with the understanding that he can be tested daily at the racing board’s behest.

He has won 3,545 races, including the 1989 Kentucky Derby with Sunday Silence, and seven Breeders’ Cup races. His career has been interrupted nine times by drug-related suspensions, however, and he has tested positive for cocaine and other drugs at least four times. Last year was Valenzuela’s most consistent, if not his best; he led the standings of all five major meets in Southern California.

Scheduled to ride at Santa Anita on Jan. 22, Valenzuela phoned track stewards, saying he had sprained his ankle at his home. The stewards ordered Valenzuela to report for a drug test, but he didn’t appear. The stewards issued a temporary suspension, then on April 2, after a hearing with the jockey, banned him for the rest of 2004.

Roger Licht, a former chairman of the racing board and still one of its commissioners, supported Harris.

“I back John unequivocally,” Licht said. “We all have issues in our lives and try to deal with them. I’ve always supported Pat over the years. He’s a great rider, possibly the greatest. What kind of totals would he have achieved if he hadn’t literally missed years of riding? When he’s right, he’s an asset to the game.

“This was the best way for the board to go. If Pat had gotten a stay from a judge, we wouldn’t necessarily have had the control over him that we have now.”

Valenzuela couldn’t be reached.

Chris McCarron, Santa Anita’s general manager and a riding rival during most of Valenzuela’s career, declined to comment.

“It was a wise decision,” said trainer Vladimir Cerin, adding he would continue to use Valenzuela when the rider returned. “Pat is a great guy and a great rider. I’m glad I don’t have the demons that he’s had, but if he needs help, we should give it to him.”