Pat Valenzuela at Del Mar

[westcoastinvader]

Originally Posted by docicu3

Every day he is a success riding, the closer he is to disappointment and a relapse. Pat's my favorite jock ever but I worry about the cycle of ups and downs and where it has taken him prior.

When I was a small kid growing up in Northeastern Ohio there was a jockey I idolized. I used to send up bets with my mother, and once or twice a stranger....... if I thought my mother would get shut out.

$2 win, $5 place stuff.

One rare day we sat in the Grandstand because it was sleeting in the Spring meet.

I asked a grizzled guy with a cigar if he could go put a bet in for me in case my mother didn't make it back from her early bets....before her "hunch" bets.

He said, "you've got the best jockey at the track, for sure. Let's just hope he's still sober enough to stay on the horse and I think he'll win."