Baze Earns 400th Win

Jockey Russell Baze earned his 400th win on the year in Thursday's fourth race at Golden Gate Fields. With the win Baze reached the 400-win mark for the eighth time in nine years.

After finishing second on his first two mounts on the card, Baze sent Run a Copy to a one-length lead after a quarter-mile of the track's fourth race, a six-furlong maiden race for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, and drew away from that point, winning by four lengths at the wire. Run a Copy, the 7-5 favorite trained by Terry Gillihan for owner John Michael Roche, stopped the timer in 1:09.87.

"It feels real good, like it has every year," said Baze. "I really wish this could have been nine in a row, but things happen."

Baze, the only jockey to win 400 or more races in a year more than three times, earned 400 wins in seven consecutive years before winning 373 races in 1999, when he missed five weeks due to injury.

"I don't realy think about it (the 400-win mark) until I get about 30 or 40 wins away. Then I start counting them down and try to get it over as quick as possible."

Baze almost reached the 400-win plateau on Wednesday, when he won three races to move within one of 400. (Chart, Equibase)