Benoit & Associates
Going into Friday night's Bay Meadows card, Russell Baze was only three wins short of 8,000.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Russell Baze won two races Thursday at Bay Meadows and went into the weekend on the threshold of a racing milestone.
Going into Friday night's card, he was just three wins short of joining Laffit Pincay Jr., Bill Shoemaker, and Pat Day as the only jockeys with 8,000 victories.
At age 44, Baze is poised to become the youngest rider to reach the 8,000 mark. Pincay, now 55, was 46 when he reached 8,000, and Day, now 49, was 47 when he accomplished the feat. Shoemaker, who retired in 1990 at age 58 with 8,833 victories, was 49 when he won his 8,000th race.