Russell Baze
Encyclopedia
Russell Avery Baze is a horse racing
jockey
. He holds the record for the most race wins in North American horse racing history, and is a member of the United States Racing Hall of Fame
.
Born to an American
family, Baze's father, Joe Baze, is a former jockey and trainer
who was competing at Exhibition Park
in Vancouver at the time of his birth giving him dual Canadian/American citizenship.
Baze began his racing career in Walla Walla, Washington
in 1974 and won his first race that fall at the Yakima
racetrack. By the early 1980s he was making a name for himself, winning racing titles at northern California
racetracks including a victory in the 1981 California Derby
. Baze went on to lead United States thoroughbred horse racing in victories ten times. He has won 36 riding titles at Bay Meadows
racetrack in San Mateo, California
and 27 titles at Golden Gate Fields
in Albany, California
.
After winning 400 or more races in a year for four consecutive years, Baze got his big break by being honored with a special Eclipse Award
in 1995. Since then he has won 400 or more races in a year seven additional times; no other jockey has accomplished that feat more than three times.
In 1999, Baze was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
and in 2002, he was voted the recipient of the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
by his peers. Since the inauguration of the Isaac Murphy Award
in 1995, presented annually by the National Turf Writers Association
to the jockey with the highest winning percentage in North America, Baze has won it 13 of 14 years, coming in second in 2004. http://www.turfwriters.org/news/
Baze holds the Santa Anita Park
track record for 1 miles on turf
set on October 14, 1989, aboard the 3-year-old colt, Hawkster.
In the fourth race at Bay Meadows on December 1, 2006, Baze gained a lot more fame by setting the world's all-time record for most career victories, passing jockey Laffit Pincay Jr., by winning race 9,531 aboard Butterfly Belle, owned by Jim Pitzer Sr. of Washington
After briefly losing the all time lead for career wins to South American jockey Jorge Ricardo
(who was diagnosed with cancer) Baze reclaimed the title on May 16, 2009 http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/r-baze-j-ricardo-usa-baze-regains-world-record-for-career-victories/187136/latest/ and continues to hold the record for the most wins by any jockey.
Among other noteworthy accomplishments, during the two days of October 17 and 18, 2007, Baze won eleven races. http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=41441
Although he'd won every other stakes race at Golden Gate Fields
, Russell had never won the track's most prestigious race: the San Francisco Breeders' Cup Mile
. That changed on April 24, 2010 when he took the race on Bold Chieftain from the pacesetter, Monterey Jazz.
, Baze rode Two Step Cat to a photo finish victory in the third race to become the first North American rider to win 10,000 races.
at age 16.
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
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 holds the record for the most race wins in North American horse racing history, and is a member of the United States Racing 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...
.
Born to an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
family, Baze's father, Joe Baze, is a former jockey and trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
who was competing at Exhibition Park
Hastings Racecourse
Hastings Racecourse is a horse racing facility at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Originally called East Park, it opened for business in 1889...
in Vancouver at the time of his birth giving him dual Canadian/American citizenship.
Baze began his racing career in Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
in 1974 and won his first race that fall at the Yakima
Yakima, Washington
Yakima is an American city southeast of Mount Rainier National Park and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the eighth largest city by population in the state itself. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,196 and a metropolitan population of...
racetrack. By the early 1980s he was making a name for himself, winning racing titles at northern 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...
racetracks including a victory in the 1981 California Derby
California Derby
The California Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses held early in the year at Golden Gate Fields. An ungraded stakes, it's open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt...
. Baze went on to lead United States thoroughbred horse racing in victories ten times. He has won 36 riding titles at Bay Meadows
Bay Meadows
Bay Meadows was a horse racing track in San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States.-History:Built on the site of an old airfield, Bay Meadows Racecourse was the longest continually operating thoroughbred racetrack in California, having been founded on November 13,...
racetrack in San Mateo, California
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
and 27 titles at Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...
in Albany, California
Albany, California
Albany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 18,539 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community...
.
After winning 400 or more races in a year for four consecutive years, Baze got his big break by being honored with a special Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
in 1995. Since then he has won 400 or more races in a year seven additional times; no other jockey has accomplished that feat more than three times.
In 1999, Baze was inducted into 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...
and in 2002, he was voted the recipient of the prestigious 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...
by his peers. Since the inauguration of the Isaac Murphy Award
Isaac Murphy Award
The Isaac Murphy Award is an American honor presented annually since 1995 by the National Turf Writers Association of the United States to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey with the highest winning percentage who has ridden in a minimum of 500 races during the year...
in 1995, presented annually by the National Turf Writers Association
National Turf Writers Association
The National Turf Writers Association is an American association of journalists, columnists and other writers involved with reporting on the horse racing industry...
to the jockey with the highest winning percentage in North America, Baze has won it 13 of 14 years, coming in second in 2004. http://www.turfwriters.org/news/
Baze holds the 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...
track record for 1 miles on turf
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
set on October 14, 1989, aboard the 3-year-old colt, Hawkster.
In the fourth race at Bay Meadows on December 1, 2006, Baze gained a lot more fame by setting the world's all-time record for most career victories, passing jockey Laffit Pincay Jr., by winning race 9,531 aboard Butterfly Belle, owned by Jim Pitzer Sr. of Washington
After briefly losing the all time lead for career wins to South American jockey Jorge Ricardo
Jorge Ricardo
Jorge Ricardo is a jockey in South American Thoroughbred horse racing who became the all-time winningest rider in history on February 5, 2007. He has since been passed by Canadian-born, California-based rider Russell Baze.- Biography :Born into a horse racing family, Jorge Ricardo's father and two...
(who was diagnosed with cancer) Baze reclaimed the title on May 16, 2009 http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/r-baze-j-ricardo-usa-baze-regains-world-record-for-career-victories/187136/latest/ and continues to hold the record for the most wins by any jockey.
Among other noteworthy accomplishments, during the two days of October 17 and 18, 2007, Baze won eleven races. http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=41441
Although he'd won every other stakes race at Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, Russell had never won the track's most prestigious race: the San Francisco Breeders' Cup Mile
San Francisco Breeders' Cup Mile
The San Francisco Mile Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the third week of April at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley, California...
. That changed on April 24, 2010 when he took the race on Bold Chieftain from the pacesetter, Monterey Jazz.
Ten thousand wins
On February 1, 2008, at Golden Gate FieldsGolden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, Baze rode Two Step Cat to a photo finish victory in the third race to become the first North American rider to win 10,000 races.
Eleven thousand wins
On August 14, 2010, in the fourth race at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, California, Baze rode Separate Forest, a first-time starter, to his 11,000th win.Personal info
Baze and his wife Tami have three daughters, Trinity, Brandi, and Cassie, and one son, Gable. Trinity is married to TVG race Analyst Kyle Kaenel, whose father, Jack Kaenel, won the Preakness StakesPreakness 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...
at age 16.
Year-end charts
| Chart (2000–present) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2000 | 28 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001 | 20 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2002 | 22 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003 | 24 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2004 | 33 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2005 | 21 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006 | 23 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007 | 27 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008 | 26 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009 | 32 |