Valenzuela Ends Nine-Year Drought, Wins by Nose at Turf Paradise

Patrick "P. Val" Valenzuela posted his first winner in more than nine years on Wednesday, guiding Definitely Prbable to a nose victory in the seventh race at Turf Paradise and ending a drought that traced back to Nov. 25, 2016, at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

The 63-year-old Valenzuela, riding under a conditional license that requires participation in a monitoring and testing program, settled the Improbable filly just off the pace while saving ground on the one-mile turf course in Phoenix. Trained by Vann Belvoir and owned by BG Stables, Definitely Prbable came off the rail in the stretch, ran down pacesetter Fly Farther in the final furlong, and held off the fast-closing Dame It Dani at the wire. The 7-5 favorite, carrying 127 pounds, delivered the filly's first win in seven career starts and her first at Turf Paradise after a prior campaign in Southern California.

Valenzuela's path back to competition included repeated denials from the California Horse Racing Board, which declined to restore his jockey license on multiple occasions. During that period he had held a California exercise rider license. Turf Paradise stewards offered him a conditional jockey license contingent on compliance with ongoing testing, and his public riding comeback there had begun only three days earlier. On March 30 he took three mounts and finished third in one of them; a scratch eliminated his only named ride on March 31.

The win carries weight against the backdrop of what Valenzuela was before the interruptions. His career dates to 1978, and his 4,373 wins include Kentucky Derby and Preakness victories in 1989, dual Classic scores that placed him among the premier riders of his generation. The gap between those peaks and Wednesday's maiden turf race at an Arizona track captures the arc of a career defined equally by brilliance and disruption.

Fellow riders at Turf Paradise greeted the result with the traditional "rookie" treatment, dousing Valenzuela with shaving cream and ice water to mark the occasion. The conditional license and testing requirements remain in place, but a win is now in the books: Definitely Prbable, seventh race, Turf Paradise, April 1, 2026, nine years after the last one.