Hall of Fame jockey Braulio Baeza used this saddle at the end of his 22-year career, and it was the last last one he used on his work-a-day horses. He was the winner of 3,140 races in the United States and 873 in his native Panama for a lifetime total of 4,013. Baeza retired during the Saratoga meet in 1976 because making weight became too difficult. Standing at 5'5" - a relative giant in the jockey world - it is no secret he had to reduce hard in order to ride races at all, as most jockeys stand anywhere from 4'10" to 5'2". This saddle helped him make weight on those horses who were not entered in Stakes, but in the lesser races. Stakes horses usually carry above 120 pounds, whereas claiming horses, at that time, could carry as light as 105-110 pounds. This saddle, which he boldly signed, was very important to Mr. Baeza in that it allowed him to stay competitive in the claiming races while keeping his strength up.