Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem Aug. 26, 2024

A good Monday morning to you all! Hope everyone had a good weekend and got to enjoy some of the great racing around the country. 

If you’re reading this column, I think it’s safe to say that you, at a minimum, find enjoyment from the game of horse racing and betting on it. Many of you are probably very involved in the game at some level. 

I don’t want to speak for you, but sometimes being around something like racing that provokes such a wide array of emotions, you can get a little spent. A little burned out. It happens to all of us. When I take my yearly vacation, I do my best not to watch a single horse race. 

Saturday’s Travers S. (G1) to me was what I like to call a restorative race. It was filled with hype going in, and by the time they completed the mile and a quarter, I was a blissful mix of exhilarated, excited, and drained in the best way. But it was one of those great reminders of why so many of us do love the game. Great horses lining up at a great venue and throwing it down to the wire. 

The beaten Kentucky Derby (G1) favorite Fierceness continued his redemption tour as he’s now won three Grade 1 races and for the first time put together two wins in a row. Yet after the race, it seemed like most of the conversation was about the runner-up. 

I used to say that Zenyatta proved as much in her defeat to Blame in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) as she did in so many of her victories. I don’t think it’s just the validation of running against the boys; she’d already beaten them in the previous Classic. But she was just left with so much to do, an impossible margin to try and make up. And she almost did it on a surface that many argued wasn’t her best. On Saturday, Thorpedo Anna took on the best boys of her age group and beat all but one of them. It was an incredible effort. 

One thing that gets racing fans excited is when horses step out of their comfort zone. Or what we label as their comfort zone. While I understand keeping a horse who is having success at a certain level, surface, or distance, I also think people get excited when there’s a new challenge. 

There’s been a lot of debate about Next, and people arguing that he should take on the more traditional Grade 1 handicap division races at a mile and a quarter. His connections seem perfectly happy to stick with the marathons and cashing checks in those. I can’t blame them. But like anything, eventually doing the same thing over and over does lose its excitement and luster. If Tiger Woods would have won every weekend, it would have gotten old for most people, except for his most die-hard supporters. I think a little of that applies in racing. We like the uncertainty. Especially when we’re trying to bet on the race. Nobody likes a 1-9 shot.  

I woke up on Sunday so excited to do my podcast for Monday strictly because Saturday was so much fun. It was a restorative race. One that made me want to crack open the past performances and watch the races even though it was my day off. One that had me excited to talk about the game. Just a good old-fashioned horse race. 

Have a great week everyone!