Family brings Baze back to California
The first weekend of October was a true homecoming for jockey Tyler Baze. Baze rode three winners at Santa Anita on his second weekend of riding in California after spending most of the year based in the Midwest.
More importantly, his wife and three children returned to their home near the racetrack after spending nearly a month with family in Southern California because of a massive wildfire in the mountains near Santa Anita. The children range in age from 3 to 6.
It was family that lured Baze back to California last month.
“I’m home,” Baze said Thursday. “I spent too much time away from them. They’re growing up, and I can’t miss them.”
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A winner of 2,721 Thoroughbred races, Baze, 37, left California in January and rode 29 winners at Oaklawn Park in the winter and spring, two winners at the Churchill Downs spring meeting, six at Ellis Park in the summer, and won the Kentucky Downs Juvenile last month on Barrister Tom.
“Arkansas is probably my favorite place,” he said of his travels. “It’s quiet. A lot of fishing and hunting.”
When Baze began planning a return to California, he spoke in advance with trainer Jack Carava, for whom he had ridden for decades. Carava was in the midst of disbanding his stable to become a jockey’s agent, and the two quickly finalized an arrangement.
“He surprised me when he called and said he was going to make a career change,” Baze said. “I said, ‘Do you want a job?’
“This could be a huge opportunity for both of us.”
The jockey roster in Southern California has changed noticeably since Baze’s departure last winter. Umberto Rispoli, who began riding in California last December, and Northern California transplants Juan Hernandez and Ricardo Gonzalez have all gained spots among the leading riders.
“It’s a whole new group of jockeys,” Baze said.
Baze, who won the Eclipse Award as the nation’s leading apprentice in 2000, was tied for sixth in the standings at the Santa Anita meeting through Sunday. Baze has four mounts on Saturday’s nine-race program.