Jockey Valenzuela Breaks Leg

Jockey Pat Valenzuela suffered a broken bone in his lower right leg Tuesday after his mount reared in the starting gate before a race at the Hawthorne race track in suburban Chicago.

Doctors said that Valenzuela suffered a hairline fracture to his right shin bone. Valenzuela, 25, was fitted with a walking cast from just below the knee to the ankle and there is a good chance that he will resume riding in three weeks.

Valenzuela has been the leading rider at Hawthorne, with 46 wins through 38 days.

Valenzuela said that he would return to his home in Arcadia, where his wife is expecting a baby.

Valenzuela, who has admitted to having drug and alcohol problems since the early 1980s, was riding at Hawthorne during a two-month probationary period that was scheduled to end early this month.

According to Bill Hartack, a Hawthorne steward, Valenzuela had agreed to be tested for drugs twice a week during the probation and had not tested positive.