Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem Nov. 25, 2024

A good Monday morning to you all! I think a lot of people think of the time after the Breeders’ Cup as a little bit of the “off season” for racing, but to me Thanksgiving weekend has always been a super-fun weekend on the calendar. You get some big stakes action four days in a row and at least here in Tampa, it always feels like the on-track business is a little bigger because so many people are off work or in town visiting. So it just always has a little more electricity in the building, which of course makes racing so much more fun. 

This coming week is the annual Aqueduct Fall Highweight S., and I wanted to talk a little bit about weight as it relates to horse racing and handicapping. I’ll always admit it’s something I almost never account for when I look at the races. I think in my mind I just assumed that an additional five pounds on the back of a Thoroughbred was akin to me having an additional pound on my shoulder. Like in a one-mile race, could that really make that much difference? In my mind, not at all. 

Recently I saw a story where a guy tried to see how many bicep arm curls he could do with a one-pound weight. He was a very well-built person who clearly lifted weights, and I believe he got to 25,000 curls before his arm finally gave out. So when it comes to weight, even tiny amounts, it seems eventually it really will make a difference. And in a game where races are won and lost by a head or a nose sometimes, maybe that couple of pounds can mean a difference? 

My first year taking entries at River Downs back in 2006, I was shocked at how many trainers would call to make an entry with us, and when I’d ask what jockey they’d like to ride, they’d just respond by asking “what bug (apprentice) riders you have down there?” They were so adamant about saving the five pounds, they would happily put an apprentice up who they didn’t know versus a journeyman rider who they might know. That was the first time I really ever thought maybe there was something to the weight. And of course we know how many apprentice riders get hot during that first year and then lose the bug and cool down immediately.  

One of my favorite stories of weight in a horse race was from Thistledown back in 2006. They had a race that was a $3,500 claiming event at 4 1/2 furlongs. However, there was a stipulation in the condition that you could add two pounds to the weight but have the claiming price go up $500. One of the horses, Magoo’s Magic, was entered for $12,500 and jockey Anne Sanguinetti had to tack 148 pounds! And here’s the other kicker, the horse was sent off as part of an entry at 1-2 odds!  Well Magoo’s Magic broke sharp but quickly dropped back through the pack and ran last at every call to finish seventh and beaten 11 lengths. The top three finishers in the race all tacked 116 pounds, which was the lowest weight of all the horses in the race.  

It seems as though handicap races have become less and less of a thing. I think the Fall Highweight is no longer even a “handicap” anymore. When I was at Portland Meadows, I was on the “handicap weights board” and always thought it was kind of interesting assigning the weights. One time we had a trainer of a big favorite that had just won a stakes carrying 123 pounds come up to the booth to complain that we’d put him at 125 when he was still running against the same group in the upcoming stakes. 

So maybe weight matters?  Everyone have a great week!