Jockey Patrick Valenzuela finished second on pacesetter Alaska Miss in Wednesday's first race, his first mount in California since December 2007. Valenzuela has ridden primarily in Louisiana in recent years, after losing his conditional license in California in 2008 for a drunk driving incident the previous year.
Valenzuela regained a license to ride in California from the California Horse Racing Board on July 22. He was booked on three mounts on Wednesday. Valenzuela was not scheduled to ride Alaska Miss when the overnight was published but picked up the mount after jockey Tyler Baze was injured last Saturday.
Alaska Miss set a quick early pace but was caught in the stretch by Cathy's Crunches ($2.60), who won the starter allowance for 2-year-old fillies over 5 1-2 furlongs. Cathy's Crunches was timed in 1:04.34.
Valenzuela, 47, is tacking 121 pounds on Wednesday, according to track officials.
