Del Mar notes: Baze notches 2,000th career win
DEL MAR, Calif. – Minutes after winning the 2,000th race of his career at Del Mar Thursday, Tyler Baze was walking from the winner’s circle to the jockeys’ room following that day’s third race when he was met by a longtime friend.
“It’s about time,” Baze’s buddy said. “What were you waiting for?”
“I wasn’t waiting,” he said, flashing a broad grin.
Baze, 31, went two weeks without a winner, a span of 46 races, before the breakthrough victory. He was as much delighted as relieved when he rode Kate’s Event in the $50,000 claimer over a mile for the milestone win.
“This horse was on his toes in the post parade, and I thought he was going to win,” Baze said.
Baze’s career has rebounded this year after he missed most of 2013 because of alcohol-related issues. He won the Gold Cup at Santa Anita on Majestic Harbor and will have the mount on that horse in the Pacific Classic.
On a personal note, his wife delivered a daughter in late July, the couple’s first child.
“It’s an amazing time in my life,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot of help from a lot of different people.”
◗ Trainer Cody Autrey has been fined $750 for failing to properly report that the first-time starter University Park was racing as a gelding July 31, according to a ruling released by Del Mar stewards. University Park finished seventh in a $62,500 claiming race for maidens over six furlongs.
◗ Jockey Kent Desormeaux, the leading rider at the current meeting, is appealing a three-day suspension for causing interference on Cozze Up Lady in the stretch of the John Mabee Stakes last Sunday, according to his agent, Mike Ciani.
The stewards conducted an inquiry into the stretch run of the Mabee Stakes but did not disqualify Cozze Up Lady, stating that the incident did not affect the order of finish. The suspension was scheduled to begin Sunday for three racing days.