Tyler Baze & Riley Shapiro © Benoit Photo
The legends of Native Diver, the Shapiro family, and the Baze family have all been a part of the tapestry that is California racing throughout the generations.
In the 1960s, a brilliant, headstrong gelding named Native Diver was the first California-bred horse to reach $1 million in earnings. He captured Californians’ imaginations, carrying Louis and Ida Shapiro’s white and royal blue polka-dot silks to three Hollywood Gold Cups. Proving that championship talent could be bred, trained, and celebrated on the West Coast. His rise marked a turning point, elevating California from a regional circuit to a force with its own identity and pride.
Decades later, that same spirit was carried forward by the Baze family, whose relentless work ethic and record-shattering consistency kept California racing vibrant through changing eras.
Native Diver at Del Mar
The names had never intersected directly, until now. Jockey agent Riley Shipiro, 24, having deep roots in California racing is the son of former California Horse Racing Board Chairman and owner Richard Shiprio, his great-grandfather was Louis K. Shapiro. This summer Riley was looking for his place in the racing industry and found himself working at long-time trainer Ryan Hanson’s barn.
“I didn’t have a specific job title,” Riley said, “I wasn’t a groomer, hotwalker or assistant, but I kind of did all those things. Learned to hot walk, learned to saddle horses, learned everything. I kind of got to put my feet in the dirt a little bit and got to understand sort of the backside of the industry that I hadn’t really understood as a kid growing up on the frontside.”
Tyler Baze was born into a racing family, both his parents were jockeys, his uncle Gary Baze was a jockey, in addition to his second cousin Hall of Famer Russel Baze. A long time friend of Trainer Ryan Hanson, Baze would be at his Del Mar barn and see Riley in the stables and remembered him from when he was a kid.
“It was like a weird reconnection. Tyler was like, ‘Woah! What are you doing back around here?’ I just told him I was trying to figure out where I belonged in the industry and just learning from Ryan,” recalled Riley. “Honestly, all credit in my mind goes to Ryan Hanson for helping me in becoming an agent… Ryan kind of showed me the steps on how the game works. Connected me with (jockey agent) Vince DeGregory, and I would go off once a week and see how Vince interacted with all the trainers.”
After working together over the summer, Riley learned that Tyler needed an agent and he made a phone call to Baze that would lead to many other phone calls and meetups in an effort to become his agent.
“Switching agents isn’t an easy decision, it isn’t something I picked overnight. It took a while, I was my own agent for a few weeks,” said Baze. “I am grateful for my previous agent; we had a good couple of years. But it was time for me to try something new… I felt like I needed somebody who was hungry and would work as hard as me. I wanted somebody who had big dreams like me, someone I can set goals with and build a good foundation.”
Shapiro checked the boxes for Baze in what he was looking for in a new agent.
“Starting out with somebody new, you know a new face, it was a good opportunity for both of us. Riley has been in racing his whole life. I have win pictures of when he was a baby, I think.” Baze said. “It’s pretty cool. I’m excited to start something new with a new kid that is hungry and can understand where I am coming from in this point in my career. Riley has big ideas, he wants to do this. He loves the game and loves the horses, so it was a great opportunity.”
Baze, who just turned 42 in October, has earned some notable career milestones at Del Mar. Named Eclipse Award Apprentice Rider in 2000, he was the top apprentice at Del Mar and throughout the Southern California circuit. In August of 2014, he earned his 2,000th victory at the seaside oval. Today, Tyler is 18 victories away from yet another milestone of 3,000 North American victories.
“If somebody would have told me when I started you are going to win 3,000 races I would have laughed at them. You know, seeing my family do it, my cousins, my uncles, it seemed out of reach,” Baze noted. “I first started, 25 to 26 years ago, it was a long time ago and I’ve had my struggles throughout the years. 3,000 wins, it doesn’t seem like it is within reach as a kid and right now that it is here it’s like, Wow! That’s a lot of times around the racetrack. It is a pretty big accomplishment, and I am proud of it.”
One of the struggles Baze attributed is a near-death experience in 2023 after being diagnosed with a bowel obstruction that caused him to miss five months of racing. He was told if he did not have surgery he would die. He returned to racing at the end of the Del Mar summer meet. Another accomplishment that Baze is proud of is becoming sober.
“My biggest accomplishment in my whole career was getting sober a couple of years ago. It took me a lot of years. It is the biggest battle anyone can go through.” Baze stated. “I almost died a couple of years ago. I give thanks to God that I almost died, because that totally changed my life. Besides my kids and my family, that is my biggest accomplishment.”
Out of the many goals that Baze is setting out to accomplish with his new agent is adding a Classic win to the family’s legacy.
“We are going to win a Classic.” Baze stated. “I want a Classic win. I want a Classic win for my family the Bazes. Everything Russel has done in his career, my aunts and uncles, I mean our family deserves a Classic win. I really explained that to Riley and put it in his head that that is my goal.”