Ralph Siraco’s notes

Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1999 | 10:09 a.m.

When the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting begins next Wednesday, there will be a farmiliar face in the jockeys' room that many may have never thought they would see again. It will be the relicensed and reborn Patrick Valenzuela.

And he is returning at the same meeting that he last rode.

It was at Oak Tree at Santa Anita, Oct. 11, 1997, when Valenzuela was a no-show for riding assignments that prompted track stewards to request a urine sample for possible substance abuse by the rider whose life had been riddled and controlled by drugs. He never showed up and the stewards recommended an indefinite suspension.

Valenzuela had many second chances and managed to squander them away, leading the ruling bodies of racing to take the most serious of all actions -- revocation of a license to perform his job. Period.

Like many professional athletes, Valenzuela received many more chances to return to work than many others would have gotten in everyday life.

There is no doubt about Valenzuela's talent and ability to ride thoroughbreds, and horses respond to the rider's touch. He has a reputation for getting horses to leave the gate runnin', and his accomplishments in the sport are many.

He has won just over 2,970 races and earnings of more than $95 million that include victories aboard 1989 Horse of the Year Sunday Silence, with which he won the Kentucky Derby.

Some may say that it is a miracle that Valenzuela is returning. And, he will agree.

While sitting in a jail for an armed robbery charge -- a charge that was later dropped in a case of mistaken identity -- he turned to and read the Bible. It was then, at the very bottom of his life, that he became reborn.

Close friends have testified that Valenzuela is really a changed person, and officials of the California Racing Board have decided to give him one more chance based on testimony and adherence to a strict conditional program.

He has been granted a one-year conditional license that specifies a continued substance-abuse treatment program and to random drug and alcohol testing. No exceptions.

It seems Valenzuela has new focus and a new start. He has been working horses in the mornings at both Santa Anita and Hollywood Park and weighs 119 pounds, but says he'll tack 117 by Oak Tree's opening.

Trainer Mike Mitchell, a longtime friend and reborn himself, has given Valenzuela eight calls on horses he trains in the first week of the meet.

Valenzuela is eager to show everyone that he is back. So are the many fans who have followed the natural talent in his roller-coaster career. Let's hope P. Val. is back for good. After all, The Lord, as they say, works in mysterious ways.