Russell Baze

Russell Baze is a retired Canadian-American Thoroughbred jockey who holds the record for the most race wins in North American horse racing history. His father Joe Baze was a jockey and trainer who was riding at Exhibition Park in Vancouver when Russell was born, which gave him dual Canadian and American citizenship. He began riding in Walla Walla, Washington, in 1974 and won his first race that fall at Yakima. He led United States Thoroughbred racing in victories ten times and won 36 riding titles at Bay Meadows and 27 at Golden Gate Fields. On December 1, 2006, he passed Laffit Pincay Jr. for the world record with his 9,531st win, aboard Butterfly Belle at Bay Meadows. He entered the Racing Hall of Fame in 1999 and received the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 2002.