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Marin-Baeza
After his new agent Camilo Marin arranged for a tryout for prominent owner-breeder Fred W.Hooper, and subsequently awarded a riding contract, Brauilo Baeza arrived in the United States, midway through 1960. The sphinx like native of Panama couldn't speak a word of English, and it was up to his agent to translate the riding instructions of the various trainers that he rode for. His success came almost immeadiately. Don Fair, the veteran chart caller for the Daily Racing Form said that "Baeza did more for a horse than any rider he had seen in a decade." He won on his very first U.S. mount, the meeting opener at Keenland. He also won another one later on the card. The year 1961 saw Baeza begin to establish himself as a top rider, with regular calls on some of the best horses owned by Fred Hooper, John Galbreath, C.V. Whitney, and the Greentree Stable. He was the regular rider for Crozier, and the duels of Carry Back and Crozier during the first part of the year, were the talk of the country. Crozier and Carry Back met in three $100,000 races, with Carry Back winning the Flamingo and the Florida Derby each by a head, and in the Kentucky Derby by three-quarters of a length. A victory in the Belmont Stakes on the long-shot Sherluck provided bettors with a $132.10 payoff, a record which stood until the 2002 running.
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1960 Stakes Victories
1961 Stakes Victories
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