Arizona Department of Gaming

The Arizona Department of Gaming has issued a license to  63-year-old jockey Patrick Valenzuela. He last rode professionally in 2016. Valenzuela has long struggled with substance abuse problems, as a result of which, the jockey has seen his license repeatedly suspended during a career that started in 1978. In 2018, Valenzuela pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic abuse charges after slapping his girlfriend at a Carlsbad, California, restaurant. He was arrested again in 2019 on spousal abuse charges, according to a 2025 California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) hearing document. After repeatedly...

After a nine-day delay to fix safety concerns that pushed back the opening of the 2024-25 racing season at Turf Paradise from Nov. 2 to Nov. 11, horsemen, jockeys, regulators and track management were all largely in concurrence Friday that the first four days of racing at the Arizona track this past Monday through Thursday were conducted in safe and sustainable fashion. The largely positive reviews and glowing articulations of cooperation at the Nov. 15 Arizona Racing Commission (AZRC) meeting stood out in contrast to the contention and infighting that...

Back in March, a pre-race exam at Turf Paradise led to Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bernie "Chip" Woolley accusing a regulatory veterinarian who had scratched his 10-year-old mare of furnishing him with the name of a horse trader who he suspected of being a "kill-buyer." This is someone who purchases horses for export into the slaughter pipeline. The incident triggered formal investigations by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG). HISA shared its findings with the ADG, which ultimately cleared the state veterinarian, Victoria...

In mid-April, trainer Bernie "Chip" Woolley, best known for winning the 2009 GI Kentucky Derby with Mine That Bird, issued a formal complaint with the Turf Paradise stewards, claiming that Victoria Lowe, an official veterinarian employed by the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG), had furnished him with the name of a potential kill buyer after scratching his 10-year-old race mare, Piper Rose (Whiskey Wisdom). And while an official ADG investigation absolved Lowe of any wrongdoing, the fallout from the incident highlights glaring holes that still exist in the industry's network...