Braulio Baeza

Last updated
Braulio Baeza
Occupation Jockey
Born (1940-03-26) March 26, 1940 (age 84)
Panama City, Panama
Career wins4,013
Major racing wins
Kentucky Oaks (1961, 1976)
Blue Grass Stakes
(1961, 1963, 1976)
Fashion Stakes
(1962, 1964, 1971, 1972)
Gardenia Stakes (1962, 1971)
Juvenile Stakes (1962, 1968, 1972)
National Stallion Stakes (filly division)
(1962, 1964)
Wood Memorial Stakes (1962)
Stymie Handicap (1963)
National Stallion Stakes (1964, 1965, 1966)
Jockey Club Gold Cup
(1965, 1966, 1969)
Travers Stakes
(1966, 1969, 1972, 1975)
Whitney Handicap (1968, 1972)
Washington, D.C. International (1972)
Canadian International Stakes (1972)
Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap (1967, 1973)

U.S. Triple Crown wins
Kentucky Derby (1963)
Belmont Stakes (1961, 1963, 1969)

Contents

International race wins:
Benson & Hedges Gold Cup (1972)

Racing awards
George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
(1968)
U.S. Champion Jockey in earnings
(1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969)
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey
(1972, 1975)
Honours
United States Racing Hall of Fame (1976)
Significant horses
Buckpasser, Graustark, Dr. Fager, Ack Ack
Chateaugay, Arts and Letters, Droll Role
Roberto, Foolish Pleasure

Braulio Baeza (born March 26, 1940) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey and one of the master Thoroughbred jockeys of our time. In 1963, he was the first Latin American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. Baeza began his racing career in 1955 in Panama at Hipodromo Juan Franco, and in March 1960, was invited to Miami, Florida to ride under contract for Owner/Trainer, Fred Hooper. He rode his first race in the US in the first race on Keeneland's opening day, 1960, and won it on Foolish Youth. [1]

Braulio Baeza's success in America was instantaneous. He was the leading money winner in American racing from 1965 to 1969, [2] the 1968 winner of the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, and the 1972 and 1975 winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey. During his career, he rode a number of Thoroughbred greats, including Buckpasser, Graustark, Dr. Fager, and Ack Ack. In 1961, he won his first Belmont Stakes. [3] Two years later, he rode to his first Kentucky Derby victory on Chateaugay, as well as for his second Belmont Stakes win. [4] In 1969, he won the Belmont for the third time, denying Majestic Prince the Triple Crown, on board Paul Mellon's future Hall of Famer, Arts and Letters.

In 1972, Baeza travelled to York Racecourse in England, where he rode John Galbraith's Roberto to victory over the previously unbeaten Brigadier Gerard in the inaugural Benson & Hedges Gold Cup. That same year, he went to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he won the prestigious Canadian International Stakes on Droll Role for Trainer T. J.Kelly. Baeza was the jockey aboard Foolish Pleasure in the tragic 1975 match race against the great 3-year-old filly Ruffian, who had to be euthanized after she pulled up during the race with a broken front ankle.

Braulio Baeza retired in 1976 after having won 3140 races in the United States. He was inducted that same year into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Triple Crown record

YearKentucky DerbyFinishPreaknessFinishBelmontFinish
1961Crozier2ndCrozier3rd Sherluck 1st
1962 Admiral's Voyage 9th-- Admiral's Voyage 2nd
1963 Chateaugay 1st Chateaugay 2nd Chateaugay 1st
1964--Quadrangle4th--
1964----Orientalist6th
1965----Bold Bidder8th
1966Stupendous4thStupendous2ndStupendous7th
1967Successor6th----
1967--Great Power10th--
1967---- Proud Clarion 4th
1968Iron Ruler11th----
1968----Ardoise5th
1969 Arts and Letters 2nd Arts and Letters 2nd Arts and Letters 1st
1970Naskra4th----
1970----Aggressively6th
1972--Key to the Mint3rdKey to the Mint4th
1973My Gallant9th----
1973----Twice A Prince2nd
1974Triple Crown17th----
1974--Rube the Great9thRube the Great4th
1975Prince Thou Art6thPrince Thou Art4thPrince Thou Art5th
1976 Honest Pleasure 2nd Honest Pleasure 5th--

Kentucky Derby: 12-1-3-0

Preakness Stakes: 10-0-3-2

Belmont Stakes: 14-3-2-0

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References

  1. "Braulio Baeza". Racingmuseum.org. 1976-01-01. Archived from the original on 2006-10-08. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  2. "Annual Leading Jockeys" (PDF). Churchill Downs Incorporated. 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  3. "Carry Back Was Way Back At Belmont". Sports Illustrated. 1961-06-12. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  4. "1963 - Chateaugay". Churchill Downs Incorporated. 1963-05-04. Retrieved 2018-12-11.