NOW HE'S WORTH A PAT ON BACK.

Byline: Kevin Modesti Horse Racing 

Pat Valenzuela and Laffit Pincay could be described as opposites.

Pincay has become thoroughbred racing's all-time leading jockey by showing up every day thanks to his superhuman devotion to physical fitness.

Valenzuela has squandered his Pincay-like talent in a series of suspensions for absences related to his drug addiction.

So why were people rooting for Valenzuela as well as Pincay during the recent Hollywood Park season, in which Pincay won the riding title with 32 victories and Valenzuela was second with 28? Because weeks into a comeback from a nearly two-year suspension - his eighth since his 1989 Kentucky Derby victory aboard Sunday Silence - Valenzuela is convincing people that this time will be different.

``There's a sincerity I haven't seen in the past,'' said Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, who has been critical of racing officials for giving Valenzuela too many chances. ``That's a welcome change for everybody. In the past, he'd come back sounding remorseful, and after winning for two weeks, there'd be a cockiness. He seems to be appreciative of the opportunity he's gotten.''

Valenzuela, 37, spent 25 days of his latest suspension in the Los Angeles men's jail on an armed-robbery charge that proved groundless. In September, shortly before the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita, he was granted an unusual, one-year, ``conditional'' license by the California Horse Racing Board, and he had to sign an agreement to submit to random drug and alcohol testing and continue substance-abuse treatment.

He finished out of the top 10 with nine wins (7 percent) at Oak Tree before getting back in form at the Hollywood Park meet that ended Monday.

``I didn't think he'd make it when I first saw him,'' said leading trainer Bob Baffert. ``He looked terrible on a horse. I wasn't going to use him.''

Baffert wound up teaming with Valenzuela for three victories at Hollywood Park, and will entrust the rider with the appropriately named Straight Man in the Malibu Stakes as Santa Anita opens an 87-day season Sunday. Valenzuela will seek his first stakes victory since 1997.

``P. Val's showing you can never lose your talent,'' Baffert said.

Valenzuela knows this is his last chance. People see it in his manner. Valenzuela has drawn a comparison between himself and Pat Day, the Hall of Fame jockey who cleaned up his life after embracing Christianity in the 1980s. The question is whether Valenzuela can stay straight as long as Day has.

``There's a peace within him, it seems,'' said Bob Meldahl, one of Valenzuela's ex-agents, who books mounts for Pincay these days. ``If that's true, he's going to make it.''

``He's a different guy right now, a lot more humble,'' said Jim Pegram, who was Valenzuela's agent in 1994-95. ``Before, you always wondered how long it's going to last. I personally think he's got a shot this time.''

The opener: Breeders' Cup Classic winner Cat Thief, with Day riding, drew the outside post against six other 3-year-olds for the 7-furlong Malibu.

It's the sixth race on a noon program Sunday. The Malibu field, from the rail out: Prime Timber, Painter, Five Star Day, Straight Man, Love That Red, Desert Hero and Cat Thief.

One-horse races: The year isn't over, and we already have a 1999 Eclipse Award winner. It's Silverbulletday, who received all the votes in the 3-year-old fillies division. ``Finalists'' - the top three vote-getters in each division - were revealed this week.

Champions will be announced Jan. 17 at a dinner at the Beverly Hilton. Voters faced a difficult decision on Horse of the Year, but in most of the divisional Eclipse Awards it's easy to figure out who'll be honored. I voted for Chilukki (2-year-old filly), Charismatic (3-year-old), Beautiful Pleasure (older female), Daylami (turf horse), Soaring Softly (turf female) and Artax (sprint), and expect them to win.

Only two categories inspired much debate. I went for Anees (2-year-olds) and Victory Gallop (older male). A case can be made for Greenwood Lake, winner of the Champagne and Remsen in New York, over Anees, who made the Breeders' Cup Juvenile his only stakes victory.

But Greenwood Lake shouldn't be rewarded for skipping the Breeders' Cup while in good health. Trainer Nick Zito thinks he is enhancing his colt's Kentucky Derby chances; fine - he'll get his prize on the first Saturday in May.

Behrens, the Gulfstream Park and Oaklawn handicap winner and a factor throughout the year, could beat out Victory Gallop, retired in the summer.

But Victory Gallop had the edge when he retired with an injury after winning the two horses' only meeting in the Whitney, and Behrens didn't win another race.

As for Horse of the Year, I'm for Daylami, the Dubai-owned horse whose only U.S. start produced the top performance of Breeders' Cup day, a 2-length victory in the Turf. The other finalists are sprinter Artax and Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner Charismatic.

My votes in the two-legged categories: Jerry Bailey (jockey), D. Wayne Lukas (trainer) and Mike Pegram (owner).

The 11-month year: The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which runs the Eclipse Awards now, required ballots to be returned Monday.

The past-performance charts for award contenders that were mailed in late November didn't include last month's classy Turf Festival at Hollywood Park -and there was nothing to remind voters that a handful of major races were to be run in December.

The early voting isn't expected to affect results. But what would have happened if Breeders' Cup Classic winner Cat Thief were a stronger candidate for outstanding 3-year-old or Horse of the Year? His scheduled start in the Malibu wouldn't count. How embarrassing would that have been for the NTRA?

The organization explains that the early voting was necessary because of the earlier-than-usual date of the awards dinner. We're past the point where the NTRA, designed to be racing's ``league office,'' is impressing people with the mere fact of its existence.

The Eclipse balloting is an example of the NTRA being more interested in running things than in running them well.

A WEEK AT THE RACES 

Final Hollywood Park leaders: Jockeys: Laffit Pincay, 32 wins; Pat Valenzuela, 28; Corey Nakatani, 27; Alex Solis, 21; David Flores, 14. Trainers: Bob Baffert, 14; Richard Mandella, 11; Jack Carava and Mike Mitchell, 9; Wesley Ward, 8.

Handicapper helper: Front-runners held on to win 41 percent of the turf-course sprints at Hollywood Park, after winning only 13 percent of those races at Santa Anita during the Oak Tree meet. That suggests horses whose rallies came up short at Hollywood Park will get better results at Santa Anita starting Sunday.

On the stakes schedule: At Santa Anita: Sunday, $200,000 Malibu Stakes, 3-year-olds, 7 furlongs; Monday, $200,000 La Brea, 3-year-old fillies, 7 furlongs; Wednesday, $150,000 California Breeders' Champion Stakes, Cal-bred 2-year-old fillies, 7 furlongs; Thursday, $150,000 California Breeders' Champion Stakes, Cal-bred 2-year-old colts and geldings. At Aqueduct: Sunday, $100,000 Gallant Fox Handicap, 3-year-olds and up, 1 5/8 miles. At Calder: Sunday, $150,000 La Prevoyante Handicap, fillies and mares 3 and up, 1 1/2 miles.

Mileposts: Alex Solis led the Hollywood Park jockeys in stakes wins (five) and turf wins (12). Pat Valenzuela led in two-turn wins on the main track (six) and front-running wins (nine). Isaias Enriquez had the most wins paying 10-1 or better(four).... Laffit Pincay, trying to add to his record 8,844 career wins, drew mounts in eight of the nine races on Sunday's opening card at Santa Anita. He doesn't ride in the Malibu but has Bobby Frankel-trained 2-year-old filly Millie's Quest in the $75,000 Blue Norther.... This is Eoin Harty's last day as valued assistant to leading trainer Bob Baffert. Harty is off to Dubai to train Kentucky Derby prospects for Godolphin Racing.... Tom Knust, who was Santa Anita's racing secretary at this time last year, has been named vice president of equine development for Stablegate.com, a search engine for racing and other horse topics on the Internet.

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BOX:A week at the races (see text)