Golden Gate: Baze closing in on 12,000 wins

Baze, the runaway leader in the Golden Gate jockey race, is now only 39 wins away from the 12,000 mark after picking up eight wins in three days last weekend.

Baze has recorded 157 victories through 93 days (1.69 wins per day) at the Golden Gate Fields meeting and is on pace to reach the 12,000 milestone at the Sacramento fair meeting, which starts July 12. Eight days remain at the Golden Gate meeting, which ends June 16. The fair season begins at Pleasanton with 12 days of racing that start June 20 and then eight at Sacramento.

Baze trails only South American jockey Jorge Ricardo in career victories. Ricardo recorded his 12,000th career victory two weeks ago in Argentina.

Reaching a milestone on the fair circuit would not be unusual for Baze. He got his 5,000th career victory at Santa Rosa, 7,000th at Pleasanton, and 11,000th at Santa Rosa.