A somber mood enveloped the Hollywood Park
stable area Thursday morning as horsemen tried to come to grips with the death
of jockey Michael Baze.
Baze, 24, was found dead in his SUV near the stable
entrance gate at Churchill Downs Tuesday afternoon in Kentucky.
He won his first race at Hollywood Park
eight years and eight days earlier, soon after taking out his license at 16. He
went on to win the Hollywood Park Spring/Summer Meet title in 2007, his best
year.
Jockey agent Ron Ebanks, who handled Baze’s book in Southern California for two years, was devastated by the
news. “Heart-breaking,” said Ebanks. “And very surprising. He was such a
beautiful kid. I never saw that in him when he was here. Depression can be a
nasty thing. Twenty-four is so young when you don’t have a big brother to put
his arm around you. He was so talented. I told him the best thing to do was to
leave here and go to Chicago
and win every day. He looked me in the eye and said that was what he wanted to
do, win every day. He executed the plan perfectly and became a star. Through Chicago I thought that would lead him to New
York or Kentucky
in a couple of years. I don’t know how the plan got foiled.”
Jockey agent Brian Beach, who handled Baze’s book for
a couple of months on this circuit, was also in a state of disbelief. “He was
an A-1 perfect jockey when I had him,” said Beach. “He showed up at 5:30 every
morning when he had workers and rode them perfectly in the afternoon. He was a
good kid. I liked him a lot.”
Veteran jockey Octavio Vergara became close to Baze
last year. “I knew him well when I rode with him in Chicago last year,” said Vergara. “I can’t
believe it happened to that boy. He was such a good rider with such a bright
future. I knew he had a little bit of a drinking problem but would never expect
anything like this. You need a good companion to make the right moves.”
Jockey Martin Pedroza added, “Shocking…unbelievable.”
Trainer Vladimir Cerin said, “I just feel so bad
because he was such a kind person and a good rider. He worked so hard. You
don’t get to be leading rider at Hollywood
Park unless you’re really
good. It’s really a tragedy.”
Trainer Humberto Ascanio shook his head, knowing he
has sons in Baze’s age range. “I was shocked,” said Ascanio. “He was a nice
kid, 24 years old.”
Trainer Barry Abrams echoed the sentiment of the
backside, saying “How can you not be shocked?”