Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem Aug. 5, 2024

A good Monday morning to you all! The theme of the weekend for me seemed to be rain. Between Saratoga having to postpone some of their Saturday stakes, having to cancel a few races at Colonial, and the Hambletonian run through a driving storm, it seemed everywhere I looked it was raining. 

I suppose I’ll always consider myself a West Coaster despite my current living situation, so I’m just never going to be used to rain in the summer. It befuddles me. You watch Emerald, you watch Del Mar, you watch the Cal fairs; it hardly ever rains. Out here it’s a minefield and if you’re a player, especially someone who plays horizontal bets like Pick 4s and Pick 5s, you have to pay attention to the weather. 

Arthur’s Ride probably stamped himself as the biggest star of the weekend with his huge win in the Whitney (G1). Both he and Skippylongstalking got the trips they seem to like most. Arthur’s Ride on the lead and Skippy sitting in second. But turning for home it became quickly apparent that Arthur’s trip was the winning one. While Crupi and Post Time both put in nice runs to get up for their minor awards, nobody was beating Arthur’s Ride on this day. They certainly took their time with him leading up to this race as it was his first try against stakes company. But he delivered and then some. 

Once again Next was victorious in another marathon event, taking the Birdstone S. for the second consecutive year. He beat only three rivals and really had to beat only one as one horse was pulled up and another was eased out of the race. It seems like the post-race dialogue on my social feeds have started to morph from people hoping that Next might soon take on tougher company at 10 furlongs, to people demanding it and also seeming kind of annoyed that the connections haven’t yet. We had Doug Cowans on my podcast not long ago and he said, “It’s kind of tough to not let the horse keep doing what he so loves to do.” Also, being 1-9 for a $200,000 or more pot isn’t a situation an owner or trainer often finds themselves in. I have to think it’s tough to turn down what increasingly seems like free money. 

Surely someday Next will come back to the field in these marathon races. Time always eventually catches up to every athlete. But it could be a while before someone catches up to him. Selfishly, I’d love to see him in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) or something like that, but I’ve also spent so much time myself as well as watching others complain about how seemingly rare it is for our game's stars to stay in training or just run ambitious campaigns. We’ve gotten to see Next what seems pretty regularly for a while now, and if his connections want to just stay focused on the marathon races, then so be it. I’m just happy to watch. 

Last thought is on Saturday’s Hambletonian. What I know about harness racing can fit into a thimble but I thought this year’s race was exciting despite the weather and despite the big favorite winning. Karl had to overcome some things to get this win and I thought Yannick Gingras not panicking early helped later on as he rallied late to get up. I laughed as he started his whip celebration about two nanoseconds after hitting the lead, but I suppose he knew what he had underneath him. 

Hope everyone has a great week. See you back here on Thursday to discuss the Arlington Million (G1)!