About Russell Baze
Russell Avery Baze, a retired Canadian jockey who was born on August 7, 1958, is thought to be worth $100 million. Baze won the first three races on the card on January 25, 2013, to become the first jockey in North America to ride 50,000 races. He then finished third with Rich in NYC at Golden Gate. Baze has 11,839 victories in his career and has no plans to retire anytime soon. “I don’t think it’s any big thing just going out there that many times,” said the 54-year-old Baze. “Going out there and really succeeding at it, that’s what is important.”
Baze spoke on his lengthy career “I’m in good shape. I’ve traveled a lot of miles. My physical abilities haven’t seemed to have changed much at all. I occasionally experience aches and pains, but they are bearable. I suppose I still have a few years left in me. I’m having a blast right now, and I have no plans to stop. I estimate that when I turn 40 in 2016, that will be enough time. But when I get there, I’ll cross that bridge.”
Getting to the 11,000-win mark:
Russell Baze rode the Richard Mandella-trained Separate Forest in the fourth race to become the first jockey to accumulate 11,000 victories in a career on Saturday, August 14, 2010 at Santa Rosa. He stated: “Down the stretch, I made an effort to pay attention to Michael Wrona’s announcements. I only needed to chirp at her. I’ll continue to make progress. I felt really pleased about doing that in front of such a supportive audience. I don’t believe 12,000 is insurmountable. I considered all the horsemen who had helped me throughout the years. I wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t mounted me on the kind of animals they did.”
Most victories ever by a rider:
On December 1, 2006, at Bay Meadows while riding Butterfly Belle in the fourth race, Baze set the record for most lifetime victories. He commented, “I was very relieved when I reached the finish line. There was relief that everyone who had been coming out here could now go home as well as joy that I had won the race and had now become the world’s most successful rider. When I first started, I could hardly have imagined that I would be standing in this position today. I want to reach 10,000. (winds). I’m in great health right now and I truly like what I’m doing, so I don’t see it as a stretch to continue riding for another four or five years.”
Laffit Pincay on Baze:
Laffit Pincay Jr., the previous holder of the record for the most victories by a jockey, stated, “Russell excels as a jockey. He puts in a lot of effort and enjoys riding. I predicted that Russell Baze or Pat Day would eventually surpass my record because I knew that someone would sooner or later do it. Russell is still going strong and riding superbly even though Pat Day retired. He rides all horses the same, whether they are good, average, or awful. He offers everything he has to them.”
A seasoned jockey
Russell the Muscle, who was born on August 7th, 1958 in Vancouver, British Columbia, won his first race on his father’s horse at Laffit Pincay Jr. in Washington on October 28th, 1974. With more than 60 riding titles across the two venues, he has been a mainstay on the Northern California circuit for many years and is always the top rider in Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields. Baze is an American by birth even though he was born in Canada to two American citizens. His father was a horse rider at Canada’s Exhibition Park, which is now known as Hastings Racecourse, when he gave birth to him.
Born into a Racing Family:
Baze is descended from a line of horsemen. He naturally just followed in the footsteps of his father, Joe Baze, who was also a well-known rider in Northern California and Washington and had won numerous riding championships. Dale, his younger brother, was a jockey before retiring and switching to a job as an exercise rider. Two second cousins, Tyler Baze (who is well-known on the Southern California circuit) and Michael Baze, are also jockeys. One of them, Gary Baze, is a Washington Hall of Fame jockey (an up-and-coming jockey based at Monmouth Park).
Big Fish in a Small Pond:
He has ruled Northern California, and after spending three years on the Southern California circuit, he came home and resumed his dominance there. In 11 of the last 13 years, he has won at least 400 races, and in the other two, he came close but missed time due to serious injuries. He received a special Eclipse Award in 1995 in recognition of becoming the first jockey to ever win 400 or more races in a row. Baze led the country in victories 11 times as well, from 1992 to 1996, 2000 to 2002, 2005 to 2007 to 2009.
Big wins, accolades, and records:
Baze not only broke the record for most victories in a career but also holds the Northern California record for most victories on a card with seven, achieved on April 15, 1992, at Golden Gate Fields. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1999 after winning the Isaac Murphy Award, a national award given to the rider with the best victory % (minimum 500 mounts), for nine consecutive years (1995–2003). In addition, he received the Special Eclipse Award in 1995 for winning 400+ races in a year for 4 years in a row, as well as the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, given in 2002 for career achievement.
The excellent sprinter Lost in the Fog, who he rode in all but one of his 14 starts, is undoubtedly his most well-known mount. Lite Light, Event of the Year, Hawkster, Devil’s Orchic, Itsallgreektome, Soviet Problem, North Sider, Chocolate Candy, Bold Chieftain, Connemara, and Indyanne are some of the other well-known horses he rode. He has often won the majority of the important races in Northern California, but he has also triumphed in other races, including the Jim Beam Stakes, the Oak Tree Invitational, the Oak Leaf, the Del Mar Debutante, and others. He was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2012 and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1999, respectively.
Dedicated Family Man:
He resides in Woodside, California, at the moment. He and his wife Tami have one son, Gable, three daughters, Trinity, Brandi, and Cassie. He made the choice to stay in the Bay region so that his children would have a secure environment to grow up in. Baze has recovered from numerous wounds, including fractures of the neck, back, and pelvis. Six days a week, he arrives at the racetrack well before dawn to work the horses he expects to one day lead to victory.
Baze won his 12,000th race and fourth of the day on July 7, 2013, in Pleasanton, California, while riding Handful of Pearls in the last race of the Alameda County Fair. Russell Baze’s net worth is projected to be $100 million as of 2023. In the annals of horse racing in North America, Baze holds the record for most victories.
