Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem Sept. 9, 2024

A good Monday morning to you all. Writing to you today from a hotel somewhere in the Central time zone and just found out about the passing of longtime trainer and racing guy Chuck Simon. I want to write about Chuck and tell some stories of our times together, but I think I’m going to wait until Thursday’s column before doing those. It just feels very fresh right now and I just feel so bad for his family and all his many friends. He was a great and unique guy. 

I left Richmond bright and early on Sunday morning to head back home. I usually get to Colonial Downs a week before the meet starts, but I always leave the next morning. I jokingly refer to Colonial Downs as “summer camp” as for 10 weeks each summer I get to go to Richmond and call these wonderful races and work with some good people.

Colonial Downs is not Saratoga and it’s not Del Mar. I took the job before I even had visited the track. People who first visit often mention how in the “middle of nowhere” it is. I get what they’re saying, but it’s literally a 30-minute drive from the Richmond area, so it’s not like it’s completely in the boonies. But I think its rural feel adds to its charm. You take this exit from the freeway and don’t see anything remotely looking like a business when you do. Then up the road there’s a gas station, a Dairy Queen, and Antonio’s Pizza. Then take a left and all of a sudden a big huge racetrack pops up. 

We’re known for the turf course and for good reason. I remember seeing it the first time from up in the announcer’s booth and was shocked at its expanse and vibrant color. We just finished 27 days of racing on it and it still looks like it’s in midseason form. I think Colonial has a great niche with big turf cards despite the occasional drawbacks. Obviously we’re more susceptible to weather than dirt tracks or tracks that have the option of a synthetic course. It makes for some potentially frustrating situations, especially given how in Virginia, storms sometimes pop up pretty quickly and with very little warning. But these last three weeks our weather was just perfect and it made the racing so much fun. 

Calling races at Colonial Downs is a really fun challenge. We often have big full fields and turf races usually produce flows and results that sometimes test your mettle as a race caller. But I feel very proud of the work I’ve done there over the years and this year is no exception to that. I’d rather have the challenge of 12 horse fields than the ease of six horse fields all day any day. One thing I’ve realized in recent years, though, as I get older, calling races at night becomes so much harder. My eyesight just isn’t as good at night as it used to be. But the fun of Friday night racing this year was certainly worth the difficulty calling those last couple races after the sun went down. 

I really do think Colonial has a tremendous opportunity to grow and expand. We’re going to add dates next year and hopefully we can do more things to draw gamblers into our races that often offer intriguing puzzles and some chances for good scores. I really appreciate everyone who reads this column who tuned in or bet on our races this summer. Our team at Colonial is a good group of people and we work hard to try and put out a good product. So it means a lot to us when you do choose to play the races with us.  

Hope to see you back in Virginia in 2025!