A TOP 10 LIST FOR ALL-TIME.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI HORSES

ARCADIA - If the record book told the whole story, Russell Baze would be a month or two away from the title of greatest jockey of all time, and Todd Pletcher would have just crowned himself the finest trainer ever. Of course, Bill Shoemaker and Charlie Whittingham might have had something to say about that. Records are made not only to be broken but also to be scrutinized for their true significance.

As Baze nears Laffit Pincay's career-wins record and Pletcher extends the season-earnings record he took from Bobby Frankel, we've been thinking about the thorough-bred-racing records that are the most meaningful, admirable and evocative.

Here's our Top 10, from No. 10 to No. 1:

13 for 13: Personal Ensign's perfect career mark, the first by an American thoroughbred since the early 1900s, makes the list for the drama of her final victory. Four lengths behind Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors at mid-stretch in the 1988Breeders' Cup Distaff, Personal Ensign surged to win in the final jump. The irony of an equine record is that the athlete has no idea what's going on. Personal Ensign's determination made you think she knew what was at stake.

137: Forego was the last great weight-carrying horse, with 21 in- the-money finishes in 24 stakes under 130 pounds or more. In 1975, he won the Suburban under 134 (the runner-up carried 118) to become the first horse in a half-century to win a 1(bul)-mile race with such a handicap. His most memorable performance came the next year when he won the Marlboro Cup at 1 1/8 miles under 137, catching Honest Pleasure (119) by a head on a sloppy track at Belmont Park.

16 in a row: Citation won 16 consecutive races in the 1940s, and Cigar matched that in 1994-96 before his loss to Dare and Go at Del Mar.

Hard to believe it's a decade since the streak made Cigar the last horse to earn a national following for longer than the five weeks of a Triple Crown bid.

1:57 4/5: Spectacular Bid victory in the 1980 Strub Stakes, during his 9-for-9 run to the Horse of the Year title, established a record for the American ``classic distance'' of 1(bul) miles on dirt that still stands. A month earlier, the Bid had set a Santa Anita 7-furlong record (1:20) that still stands.

9 years old: John Henry became the oldest Horse of the Year in 1984, capping his career with $6,591,860 in the bank. Though that earnings record has since been topped many times over, Thoroughbred Times says it remains the all-time best if you adjust for inflation. To put John Henry's longevity in perspective: Hopeful fans are comparing current California leader Lava Man to John Henry. Lava Man is 5 years old -- if he doesn't mind, we'll check how he's doing in 2010.

Horse of the Year(s): Kelso was the North American Horse of the Year every season from 1960 to `64, making him the only five-time grand champion, as well as the only four-time grand champion. For reference: Nobody has won baseball's MVP or Cy Young Award, or the NFL's or NBA's MVP, five years in a row. Wayne Gretzky won the NHL's Hart Trophy (MVP) eight years in a row.

Tiger Woods is the only golfer to be PGA Player of Year five years in a row.

1:32 1/5: A lot of sports records were set in the Olympic year of 1968. One of the few to survive is Dr. Fager's record clocking for 1mile in the Washington Park Handicap run at Arlington Park near Chicago, highlight of the season when he won championships in four divisions, the greatest single-year performance in racing history. Dr. Fager's 1:32 1/5 stood as the world record (for dirt or turf) for 29 years and remains the dirt-track record.

8,833: Even though it has been passed by Pincay and Baze, Shoemaker's career-victories record is likely to be the number people remember, like Babe Ruth's 714 home runs. The reason is that Shoemaker was the standard for so long. He broke Johnny Longden's record in 1970, retired with 8,833 in 1990, and didn't yield it to Pincay until 1999. If Baze goes by in November or December, Pincay's 9,530 will have been the target for less than four years.

5 in a row: It's usually not the big numbers (dollars, victories, track titles) that distinguish great trainers. It's their ability to hit tiny targets, aiming for particular races and winning them. Whittingham's nine victories in the Santa Anita Handicap between 1957 and '93 are the western example. Woody Stephens' five consecutive victories in the Belmont Stakes from 1982-86 are even more astonishing. Talk about records that won't be broken.

These days, try finding one 3-year-old to go 1 1/2 miles, let alone one every spring for a half-decade.

31 lengths: It's horse racing's No. 1 record because it transcends horse racing. People who can't tell you the first thing about Man o'War or Citation or Native Dancer can tell you that Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths when he completed the Triple Crown. Actually, more impressive was Secretariat's 1 1/2-mile clocking of 2:24 in the Belmont -- breaking the American dirt-track record by more than two seconds.

This will be a hard list to crack.

Pletcher, with $23.1 million in purses in 2006, has already broken the trainers' record he set in 2005 and could add millions at the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup. That figure is amazing, leading second-place Doug O'Neill by $14.4million. But earnings records are always subject to jibes about inflation. Pletcher, 39, might take his place among history's great trainers someday. But not until he wins a Triple Crown race or produces a Horse of the Year.

Baze, with 9,485 victories after riding one winner Thursday at Bay Meadows, is projected to break Pincay's record during the San Mateo track's season that opened Wednesday and runs to Dec. 18. To some, it's scandalous that the record of Longden, Shoe and Laffit will soon belong a man who has ridden almost his entire career on the Triple-A circuit in Northern California. Baze, 48, never has been considered one of the nation's best jockeys.

There are records, and then there are magical numbers. From here, 23.1 million looks tiny next to 31.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Laffit Pincay Jr. has held the career-victories record (9,530) for less than four years. It could be passed later this year.

Scott Nelson/AFP/Getty Images

(2) Jockey Bill Shoemaker's career win total of 8,833 remains a Babe Ruth-like figure.

Mike Powell/Allsport

Box:

OUT OF THE GATE

- Kevin Modesti and Associated Press