The Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem

Greetings!

I'm so happy to be doing some writing for TwinSpires here at the TwinSpires Edge. In addition to my podcast airing here Monday through Thursday, my plan is to write a couple pieces each week. 

Mondays I'll generally be looking back at something I liked from the previous weekend. Thursdays my plan is to do some general blogging about my life in racing, racecalling, maybe tell some old stories, and also do some interviews/features on people in the sport that I think are interesting.

One thing I've loved about working with TwinSpires is they kind of allow me to talk about and be creative about what I find interesting within the sport.  So that's something I hope to build on doing these written pieces.  

So to start out, since it's a new year, I wanted to write down my 2022 Racing Resolutions.  I’m truly not a big “New Years Resolutions” type person because I generally believe that any day, heck any moment, is a good time to start over or anew on most everything.  But in the spirit of the new year, I thought I’d look at some things I’d really like to see and do in racing in 2022. 

The Beem List of 2022

1. See a Jockey and Trainer win their First Kentucky Derby

We spend so much time talking about the Kentucky Derby throughout the year.  Whether it’s the Road to the Kentucky Derby, looking back at past Derbies, or handicapping the race itself, it’s omnipresent in racing conversations year round. 

Getting the chance to interview so many people in the sport, I also understand how important it is to them as jockeys, owners, and trainers.  So while every year I handicap the race as normal, I'm always secretly rooting for someone to win their first Derby.  To me it's just not as exciting when someone who’s already won racing’s grail gets another day in the winner’s circle.  But seeing someone who’s put years into training or riding finally getting that big win, that moment they’ll talk about for the rest of their lives, it’s just a beautiful thing. 

2. Visit Remington Park

My list of tracks I’ve visited has ballooned to 66 in total now.  All of them are in North America and several have closed.  But one right smack in the middle of the country that I’ve somehow missed is Remington Park. 

I remember the first time I saw video of the grandstand and for some reason I was surprised how big and nice it looked.  Plus I think they offer really good racing with some good full fields.  I have several friends online who call OKC home so I think it would be a fun track to visit and hopefully meet up with some of those folks.  

I have to criss-cross America four times this year, so I think my best chances of hitting Remington are in May when I go from Tampa back to Grants Pass during their Quarter Horse season.  Or September when I come back from Colonial to Grants Pass during their Thoroughbred meet.  Here’s hoping! 

3.  Write More

Since my jobs of announcing and podcasting have me constantly talking about racing,  I haven’t written about racing in a long time.  That’s part of why I’m going to start doing more written pieces for TwinSpires this year. I used to keep a pretty regular blog back in the day of my comings and goings as a fledgling announcer when I was at Portland Meadows. 

For me, writing is very therapeutic. It’s a somewhat selfish exercise in that sense, but the emotional benefits of it are great. Plus at the end you have something kinda tangible for others to read. Win/win right? 

So I hope to write more this year about my experiences in racing, about stories that I think are interesting in the sport, and about some of the wonderful people involved in the sport.  

4.  Learn More

Racing is really an every day, year round thing for so many of its participants. I think we all have stretches where we might get burnt out or need a break from the daily grind of handicapping, betting, training, whatever your involvement is.

For me the last couple of years, talking to betting experts and really trying to learn the math and discipline of good betting has really ignited my interest in that area of racing. It’s just been a really fun thing to study and try to better understand how the top players can really make a go of it at the windows.I certainly hope to continue to learn more about that.

I’d also love to learn more about the breeding and history side of things as well. Breeding is not a part of my handicapping or analysis at all, and I don’t think it will ever become such. However I do think just from a learning perspective it would be great to be better informed on it and why it does matter for some horses.

Along those same lines, I’d really like to improve my knowledge of the history of racing. As a kid, I was OBSESSED with the history of baseball. I knew more about the players and teams from the 1910s and 1920s than I did the modern players. Well with racing it’s the exact opposite. Sure I know Sir Barton won the Triple Crown in 1919 and that Citation was really good, but I couldn’t tell you anything about either horse other than that. Who trained them, who rode them, where they were bred. So I really hope to dedicate some time this year into becoming a more well rounded racing mind and learning some of the history of a very history rich game. 

Those are just a few things I'm hoping to do more of in 2022.  I hope the new year is a great one for you at the track and in life! 

See you guys on Thursday!