A new racing record will be established soon. Move over Lafit Pincay, the new winningest rider will be Russell Baze....AN MATEO, Calif. -- Jockey Russell Baze tied Laffit Pincay Jr. as the world's winningest jockey on Thursday, scoring his 9,530th victory aboard Christie's Fame in the sixth race at Bay Meadows. Baze is scheduled to ride seven mounts on Friday.
Russell Baze
AP Photo
Jockey Russell Baze, second from right, celebrates with his daughters Cassie and Trinity, from left, and wife Tammy.
"That's Russell Baze riding into the record book," said track announcer Michael Wrona as Baze pulled clear in the stretch.
Christie's Fame, a 3-year-old filly, went wire to wire in a $6,250 claimer at one mile and won by 4 1/2 lengths.
Baze was not originally scheduled to ride Christie's Fame but picked up the mount when Ricky Frazier took off his mounts because of illness after riding the first two races Thursday.
Baze, 48, had come within one of Pincay with a photo-finish victory aboard Sylvan Hill in Wednesday's final race.
Baze finished second aboard Sky Harbor in Thursday's third race, second aboard Swiss Ladybug in the fourth, and third aboard Stealth Attack in the fifth before tying Pincay. He was scheduled to ride morning-line favorite Global Riot in the second, but Global Riot was scratched Thursday morning.
Following the record-tying victory, Baze was joined by his family and friends, including former valet Paul Frey, in the winner's circle.
Pincay has been at the track since Saturday awaiting Baze's record-setting ride. After Wednesday's races, Pincay joked that he would go out and celebrate for perhaps the last time as the world's winningest rider.
As gracious as Pincay has been about losing the title as world's winningest rider, Baze has been equally gracious about surpassing him.
All-Time Winningest Jockeys
(Through Thursday)
Laffit Pincay Jr. 9,530
Russell Baze 9,530
Bill Shoemaker 8,833
Pat Day 8,803
David Gall 7,396
"If I won 20,000 races, it wouldn't eclipse anything Laffit or [Bill Shoemaker] did," he said. "I think this is a tribute to your desire to compete. I do everything I can to help a horse to win."
"I'm very excited," said Jeanne Shand, Dennis Ward's assistant, in the winner's circle. "It's wonderful. You never know how luck comes around in this game."
This wasn't Baze's first milestone with a pickup mount. He scored his 5,000th victory aboard Cyrus Says at Santa Rosa, picking up the mount that morning.
Lawrence Zimmerman, Christie's Fame's 81-year-old co-owner, was initially more excited about the paycheck he was about to receive than being part of an historic moment. He said that he only had $157 in his bank account when he checked in the morning before coming to the race.
