Page 170 - September2021

THE BACKSIDE
RAUL VALENZUELA
“I thank my father for showing me that work ethic, it has definitely gotten me to where I am.”
by John Moorehouse
HOME BASE: Phoenix, Arizona
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE: “I got my license at 16 with father’s consent so I have been riding since then, about 12 years’ experience.” ASSOCIATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS: I’ve won some Grade 1 races, but I think
the most meaningful race was the Champion of Champions.”
So many people in the sport of horse racing can attribute their participation to family ties. Raul Valenzuela is no different. The son of trainer Raul Valenzuela Sr., the younger Valenzuela started accompanying his father to tracks as far back as he can remember.
“[It] didn’t matter the time or where he was going, I always wanted to go and would tag along,” Valenzuela said. “I was into baseball for the most part, but I was always involved with the horses so as I grew, I would talk to the jockeys who rode for my father. It came along that one of the riders we had at the time took me under his wing and really showed me the things I needed to know and basically set me up for the next level as I took it step by step in becoming a jockey.”
Valenzuela debuted as a teenager and made an immediate splash, quickly amassing 40 Quarter Horse wins on the circuit in his home state of Arizona. He’s scored 10 graded stakes wins in his career and through August 8, had tallied 197 wins in 1,308 Quarter Horse starts while capturing nearly $3.75 million in earnings.
Half of those graded stakes wins, by the way, came after Valenzuela had to step away from the track for nearly six years due to legal troubles.
“Being away from the sport made me appreciate my job 10 times more and also made me strive to do the best I could because time
is something I can never get back,” Valenzuela said. “It made me go 10 times harder with the grind to do everything in my ability to succeed.”
Since returning, Valenzuela has experienced plenty of success. In 2020, his first full campaign back, he captured $1.191 million in earnings—a personal best from every year riding.
“To come back was a dream,” he said. “I worked and worked, day in, day out, dedicating myself to improving and progressing to get where I want to be.”
And five of his 10 career graded stakes wins have come since the beginning of the 2020 campaign, including last year’s version of the Champion of Champions-G1, a longtime goal of the rider.
“To get that done is really meaningful to me,” he said. “But now that I am no longer residing just in California and riding at different tracks, the All American is the target and something that I cannot even put into words.”
Valenzuela was able to put plenty of other matters into words, as the latest participant in our Backside feature.
YOU DEBUTED AS A PRO JOCKEY WHEN YOU WERE 17. HOW DIFFERENT WERE YOUR TEEN YEARS FROM OTHER KIDS?
“It was surely different being a jockey at such a young age because I was still in high school. I remember going to gallop and work out horses with my dad before I went into school and before he would go into work. I thank my father for showing me that work ethic, it has definitely gotten me to where I am. As far as compared to other teens my age, I was basically all about work and starting my career while other kids were into video games, etc.”
WHAT CAREER DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE ENDED UP WITH HAD YOU NOT BECOME A JOCKEY?
“That’s a tough question, I really don’t know what career I would have jumped into if I wasn’t a jockey. I went to college for a semester, I found out it wasn’t for me. I was beginning to ride more at the time, so the horses were what I really was into.”
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR FAVORITE MOUNT TO RIDE, AND WHY?
“I’d say I have multiple due to the fact that each horse was different in their own ways apart from being fast. A true blessing being able to ride the caliber of these horses: Apollitical Blood, Nellie Delaney, Bon Accord, Apollitical Pence, Kiss Thru Fire.”
WHAT TRACK IS YOUR FAVORITE TO RIDE AT, AND WHY?
“I’d say my favorite track to ride at is Los Alamitos mainly because I grew up watching them on TVG and I would dream about one day riding there amongst the top jockeys at the time. Thank God, I was able to make that possible.”
Raul with Garvan Kelly after Nellie Delaney deadheated for the win in the Southern California Derby-G1 at Los Alamitos.
Raul won the 2020 Champion of Champions-G1 aboard Apollitical Pence.
168 SPEEDHORSE September 2021
Los Alamitos
Los Alamitos