After taking over the title of world's winningest rider from Laffit Pincay, Jr. in December 2006, Russell Baze did not slow down. He continued to win scores of races through the 2007 season, and kept that up at the start of the 2008 campaign.

When February 1 rolled around, Baze found himself at 9,999 wins as that day's Golden Gate Fields card began. He reached that number the day before, and Northern California's most dominant rider had a busy day ahead of him as he sought that next trip to the winners' circle. On that day, he was booked to ride in a half-dozen events.

Baze's first assignment came in the opener, a six furlong sprint for claimers on the main track. Aboard the Washington-bred Brass Tacks for trainer Frank Lucarelli, Baze and his mount drew the rail and got out front. They led for much of the way, and as they went down the stretch, no one was in front. But Baze would have to wait for at least one more race, as the favored Owen Roe O'Neill came from off the pace and took over in the last couple of jumps to get the win.

The next chance came in the second race, another claiming contest at three-quarters of a mile on the main track. Baze was aboard the favorite Flirting for Love, a Maryland-bred conditioned by Steve Miyadi. Beginning from post three, Baze and Flirting for Love stayed within striking distance of race leader Bradford Falls for a while. They got to the inside to save ground, but they could not make up the gap in the stretch and held on for third as Bayngen Bartok got the better of Bradford Falls just before they reached the wire.

Still chasing that big win, Baze did not have to wait long for another opportunity. Booked to ride in the third race, he piloted a California-bred named Two Step Cat from the Armando Lage barn. Two Step Cat drew post four with Baze in the saddle, and the duo turned out to be the chalk at 7-5. After two minor placings to start the day, many believed they were about to see Baze make history on his home circuit.

The third race on the Golden Gate Fields program was again for claming horses, but this one was to be contested at a mile. Coyote Moon and Luis Martinez went to the lead while Baze and Two Step Cat were in the middle of two rivals going into the first turn. They got out of that battle and moved on the inside as they got to within a length of Coyote Moon as they reached the backstretch. On the outside of Coyote Moon was Brite Oakie, who found himself taking on Two Step Cat for second.

The first split was 24.51. Two Step Cat settled into third, still tracking on the inside. He had a gap of a couple lengths on the rest of the field. Brite Oakie was sticking right with Coyote Moon as they moved down the straight. The top three were joined by everyone else as the far turn neared, the half-mile being run in 48.31. Coyote Moon continued to be pursued by Brite Oakie. Two Step Cat now battled for third with a couple of rivals along the turn. As that happened, Brite Oakie caught up to Coyote Moon, taking over the lead a moment prior to the stretch run. Three-quarters of a mile were run in 1:13.15.

Two Step Cat emerged in third with Unusual Men to his outside. There was an opening between Brite Oakie and Coyote Moon right in front of the post time favorite. By this time, Baze had already been urging Two Step Cat, and that continued with the opening right in front of them. Suddenly, Two Step Cat showed up in the middle of the top two as seven-eighths of a mile finished up in 1:26.07. Unusual Men got involved on the extreme outside. Coyote Moon could not keep up as his three rivals started to move away at the sixteenth pole. Brite Oakie continued to hold on by a scant marging while Two Step Cat fought on the inside. Unusual Men stayed on the outside of Brite Oakie, a head behind. The battle was thrilling. Two Step Cat and Brite Oakie matched each other's tenacity, and they found the wire together in a photo finish with Unusual Men a close third.

The race was run in 1:39.26, but everyone had to wait a couple more minutes as the stewards reviewed the film. Finally, the number four flashed in the first place box on the tote board and the third time was the charm for Russell Baze as he became the first jockey to clear the 10,000 win barrier in Thoroughbred racing history. In the winners' circle, a sign paying tribute to the staggering achievement was displayed. The extra couple of minutes immediately following the race were worth the wait for the legendary rider, and he added another milestone to his amazing career.

That was of course the biggest story on the day, but Baze was not done. He would add a third and two more wins to his historic day. One of those winners, Royal Wager, was also trained by Lage.

As he had following his leapfrogging of Pincay, Baze did not slow down after that unprecedented score. More than 2,800 victories awaited the Hall of Fame rider before his retirement in 2016. Whether anyone approaches Baze's overall total won't be known for a long time, but it is a fact that no other jockey shall experience the feeling of being the first to reach the amazing territory of 10,000 career wins.