His father was a jockey who rode primarily at tracks in the Pacific Northwest and his uncle Gary Baze is a member of the Washington Racing Hall of Fame.

[3] Baze obtained his jockey's license in 2003 and began riding in California before heading to the east coast of the United States later that year where he met with success at Monmouth Park Racetrack in New Jersey.

On May 10, 2011, Baze's body was found inside his Cadillac Escalade in the stable area of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

On June 3, 2011, deputy Jefferson County coroner Jim Wesley reported that Michael Baze died of an accidental overdose.

Toxicology results in the autopsy found cocaine and the prescription painkiller oxymorphone, also known as opana, in the rider's system.