Valenzuela out of Belmont
Patrick Valenzuela lost his bid to ride Rock Hard Ten in the Belmont Stakes, denied Tuesday by a judge who refused to postpone his suspension for failing to take a drug test.
The suspension by the California Horse Racing Board prevents him from riding in North America. It began Tuesday and runs until July 1.
Alex Solis will now ride Rock Hard Ten, the colt considered to have the best chance of thwarting Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown bid.
Valenzuela was suspended this year for failing to report for a required drug test at Santa Anita.
“The best case would have been for him to ride in the Belmont and then start his suspension,” said Don Calabria, Valenzuela’s attorney. “There are no sour grapes here.”
Calabria said the jockey “believed if he was on Rock Hard Ten, he had a good chance to beat Smarty Jones.”
Corey Black, Valenzuela’s agent, was at Belmont Park on Tuesday trying to line up rides for Valenzuela on Friday and Saturday in case Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavf allowed the jockey to ride.
“We’re definitely disappointed,” Black said. “When he comes back, everything will be behind him.”
Entries for the Belmont Stakes will be taken today.
Rock Hard Ten was the Preakness runner-up. Trainer Jason Orman said he let the owners decide on Solis, a California-based jockey.
“He’s a good replacement,” Orman said. “He won a race on the weekend for Mr. (Ernie) Moody and he’s the leading money winner in the country.”
Gary Stevens rode Rock Hard Ten in the Preakness on May 15. But Stevens is unavailable for the Belmont because he will be riding in England on Saturday.
Valenzuela has ridden in the Belmont Stakes only once. In 1989, he and Sunday Silence finished second to Easy Goer after Sunday Silence beat Easy Goer in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.
Smarty Jones to arrive today
Belmont Park will liven up considerably once Smarty Jones arrives today.
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner will van about 100 miles from Philadelphia Park under a police escort in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
Trainer John Servis plans to arrive in time for the 11 a.m. draw.
Jockey Stewart Elliott canceled several appearances Tuesday to be with fiancee Lauren Vannozzi, who was hospitalized with an undisclosed ailment.
Elliott missed an appearance on the syndicated talk show “Live With Regis and Kelly,” and a luncheon in Manhattan.
Cutting it close
Trainer Billy Turner waited until the last possible minute before bringing Seattle Slew to the paddock for the 1977 Belmont Stakes.
The delay has always been blamed on too many cars parked in the barn area. The colt’s absence created anxiety for owners Karen and Mickey Taylor, and ABC, which broadcast the race.
Turner said Tuesday the move was deliberate.
“I knew before the Belmont there would be a long paddock scene,” he said. “I knew the more he was around the energy of the crowd, the more he would well up to a point where he would explode before he got out on the race track.”
So Turner, watching the paddock on television, kept the horse in his stall until he spotted Mickey Taylor. Turner could read Taylor’s lips as he asked, “Where is he?”
At that point, Turner turned to his staff and said, “Boys, it’s time to go.”
Big bucks
Another major payday awaits Smarty Jones if he completes a sweep of the Triple Crown races.
The colt has earned $7,413,155 in his career, which includes an 8-0 record. He received a $5 million bonus from Oaklawn Park for winning the Kentucky Derby, Arkansas Derby and Rebel Stakes.
The Belmont purse is $1 million, and Visa will award a $5 million bonus to Smarty’s owners for sweeping the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont.
Going into Saturday’s race, Smarty Jones is fourth on the career money list of North American horses behind leader Cigar, who earned $9,999,815.
If he wins, Smarty Jones would still trail the world’s richest horse: T.M. Opera O from Japan, who earned $16,200,337.