Breeding & Racing Magazine

Baze 2nd Jockey In History To Reach 10,000 Wins

Also in the US, Russell Baze became only the 2nd jockey in history to ride 10,000 winners when Two Step Cat prevailed by a nose in a photo finish at Golden Gate Fields in California. Canadian-born Baze, 49, previously overtook Laffit Pincay as North America's all-time leading rider with his 9,531st career victory in December 2006. Just 3 weeks ago, Brazilian jockey Jorge Ricardo became the 1st jockey in history to reach 10,000 wins on January 9 in Argentina. Baze (inducted into the US National Museum Of Racing & Hall-Of-Fame in 1999) has finished with the most North American winners in a season 9 times in his 34-year career & ended 2007 with a North American-best 399 victories. In 1995, Baze was presented with a special Eclipse Award for being the 1st jockey to win 400 or more races in a year for 4 consecutive years; he has subsequently won at least 400 races in 12 of the past 15 years. He is also "an 11-time recipient of the Isaac Murphy Award, awarded each year by the US National Turf Writers Association to the rider with the highest winning percentage in North America," noted thoroughbredtimes.com.