Ismael Valenzuela
Encyclopedia
Ismael "Milo" Valenzuela (born December 25, 1934 in McNary
, Texas
; died on September 2, 2009 in Arcadia, California
) was a Thoroughbred
horse racing
Hall of Fame
jockey
. He was one of 22 children born to parents who had immigrated to the United states
. Shortly after Ismael Valenzuela's birth, the family returned to their native Mexico
. At age 14, Milo Valenzuela came back to the United States where he began working with quarter horses
then launched his career as a jockey at a racetrack in Tucson, Arizona
. He eventually began riding in California
and would come to national prominence as a jockey competing for the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
.
Leading up to the 1958 Kentucky Derby
, the California horse Silky Sullivan
received much publicity for his habit of coming from very far behind to win races. It was the first time television played a major role in the publicizing of a racehorse and after Valenzuela won the Derby on board Tim Tam
, the next day he was flown to New York City
to make a guest appearance on CBS Television's
Ed Sullivan Show. Two weeks later, Valenzuela and Tim Tam won the Preakness Stakes
but in the final leg of the Triple Crown they finished second at the Belmont Stakes after the horse fractured a sesamoid bone
near the end of the race.
For over three years in the early 1960s Valenzuela was the regular rider of superhorse Kelso
. On Kelso, Valenzuela won twenty-two important graded stakes race
s, passed Round Table
to become the No. 1 money winner in thoroughbred racing history, and earned the most prestigious Horse of the Year
award every year. In 1963, Milo Valenzuela was the recipient of the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
given to a top thoroughbred jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack. In 1966 Valenzuela won the Canadian International Stakes
and in 1968 history repeated itself when he again won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes with Forward Pass
but fell short of winning the Triple Crown when they finished second in the Belmont Stakes.
After having won 2,545 races, Milo Valenzuela retired from racing to a home near Santa Anita Park
. In December 1999 tragedy struck when his wife died suddenly of liver
failure. Rosa Delia Valenzuela had been taking the doctor-prescribed drug Rezulin
that a few months later was withdrawn from the market when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
concluded that Rezulin use had "possibly or probably" resulted in 90 liver failures, including 63 deaths and seven nonfatal organ transplants.
In 2008, Valenzuela was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
. In poor health, he was unable to travel to the annual induction ceremony on August 4 at Saratoga Springs, New York
and was inducted in a special ceremony at Santa Anita Racetrack on June 22, 2008.
Seventy-four-year-old Ismael Valenzuela died on September 2, 2009 and was buried in the Live Oak Memorial Park Cemetery in Monrovia, California
.
Milo Valenzuela had three brothers who also became jockeys as did his nephew, Pat Valenzuela
.
McNary, Texas
McNary, Texas is a small town at the intersection of Interstate 10 and State Highway 20. It is two miles from the Rio Grande and twenty-three miles west of Sierra Blanca in southwestern Hudspeth County. The area was initially settled in 1921, and named Nulo. The town was renamed McNary, after...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
; died on September 2, 2009 in Arcadia, California
Arcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
) was a Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
. He was one of 22 children born to parents who had immigrated to the United states
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Shortly after Ismael Valenzuela's birth, the family returned to their native Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. At age 14, Milo Valenzuela came back to the United States where he began working with quarter horses
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...
then launched his career as a jockey at a racetrack in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. He eventually began riding in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and would come to national prominence as a jockey competing for the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
.
Leading up to the 1958 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
, the California horse Silky Sullivan
Silky Sullivan
Silky Sullivan was an American thoroughbred race horse best known for his come-from-behind racing style...
received much publicity for his habit of coming from very far behind to win races. It was the first time television played a major role in the publicizing of a racehorse and after Valenzuela won the Derby on board Tim Tam
Tim Tam (horse)
Tim Tam was an American thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by Tom Fool and out of the great racing mare Two Lea , the dark bay colt was owned and bred by Calumet Farm...
, the next day he was flown to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to make a guest appearance on CBS Television's
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Ed Sullivan Show. Two weeks later, Valenzuela and Tim Tam won the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
but in the final leg of the Triple Crown they finished second at the Belmont Stakes after the horse fractured a sesamoid bone
Sesamoid bone
In anatomy, a sesamoid bone is a bone embedded within a tendon.Sesamoids are found in locations where a tendon passes over a joint, such as the hand, knee, and foot. Functionally, they act to protect the tendon and to increase its mechanical effect. The presence of the sesamoid bone holds the...
near the end of the race.
For over three years in the early 1960s Valenzuela was the regular rider of superhorse Kelso
Kelso (horse)
Kelso was an American thoroughbred race horse considered among the best racehorses of the 20th century. In the list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by The Blood-Horse magazine Kelso ranks 4th, behind only Man o' War , Secretariat and Citation...
. On Kelso, Valenzuela won twenty-two important graded stakes race
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
s, passed Round Table
Round Table (horse)
Round Table was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He is considered the greatest turf horse in American racing history. He was foaled at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, on the night of April 6, 1954...
to become the No. 1 money winner in thoroughbred racing history, and earned the most prestigious Horse of the Year
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....
award every year. In 1963, Milo Valenzuela was the recipient of the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.The award was created...
given to a top thoroughbred jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack. In 1966 Valenzuela won the Canadian International Stakes
Canadian International Stakes
The Canadian International Stakes is a $2 million Grade I Canadian stakes race on Turf for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario....
and in 1968 history repeated itself when he again won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes with Forward Pass
Forward Pass (horse)
Forward Pass was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who is the only horse in the history of the Kentucky Derby to have been declared the winner as the result of a disqualification....
but fell short of winning the Triple Crown when they finished second in the Belmont Stakes.
After having won 2,545 races, Milo Valenzuela retired from racing to a home near Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
. In December 1999 tragedy struck when his wife died suddenly of liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
failure. Rosa Delia Valenzuela had been taking the doctor-prescribed drug Rezulin
Troglitazone
Troglitazone is an anti-diabetic and antiinflammatory drug, and a member of the drug class of the thiazolidinediones. It was developed by Daiichi Sankyo Co.. In the United States, it was introduced and manufactured by Parke-Davis in the late 1990s, but turned out to be associated with an...
that a few months later was withdrawn from the market when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
concluded that Rezulin use had "possibly or probably" resulted in 90 liver failures, including 63 deaths and seven nonfatal organ transplants.
In 2008, Valenzuela was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
. In poor health, he was unable to travel to the annual induction ceremony on August 4 at Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
and was inducted in a special ceremony at Santa Anita Racetrack on June 22, 2008.
Seventy-four-year-old Ismael Valenzuela died on September 2, 2009 and was buried in the Live Oak Memorial Park Cemetery in Monrovia, California
Monrovia, California
Monrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 36,590 at the 2010 census, down from 36,929 at the 2000 census...
.
Milo Valenzuela had three brothers who also became jockeys as did his nephew, Pat Valenzuela
Pat Valenzuela
Patrick Angel Valenzuela is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born into a racing family, his father plus three of his uncles, including Ismael Valenzuela, were jockeys. He rode his first career winner on November 10, 1978, at Sunland Park Racetrack in Sunland Park, New Mexico...
.