Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem April 4, 2024

A good Thursday morning to you all! I was trying to figure out where in the racing pantheon this upcoming weekend of preps ranks on the calendar of racing weekends, and I think it’s probably around the 10th best weekend of the year. So top 20% weekend! Well, in my opinion, at least. I think the bigger Derby stars are more likely to come from the Blue Grass (G1), but I find the Wood Memorial (G2) to be a bit more interesting race as a whole

I wanted to write today’s column on second chances. This week, we had Anthony Stabile on the show to talk about his new gig calling races at Finger Lakes, and he openly talked about how last year he was, in his words, a “hot potato.” You could hear how thankful and excited he was to get this chance to call races at Finger Lakes after what had been a pretty public breakup with NYRA. I was very happy for Anthony, and I hope that the new job is a great new start for him and for Finger Lakes.

The older I get the more I think I value and appreciate second chances. When I was younger, I’d see someone do something dumb or make a mistake and I think I’d hold that against them and think they should be held liable for that mistake for all of eternity. At some point in my 30s, though, I think I realized that making mistakes is just part of being human. Sure there are levels to mistakes, and some probably do come with punishments that will last a long time. But at some level, we will all make mistakes.

I left two jobs earlier in my career because of my anxiety issues. In 2006, I left River Downs because I was depressed and having panic attacks regularly. Fortunately, Portland Meadows gave me the opportunity to work year-round and be closer to home. But in 2015, I left Portland Meadows to go to Louisiana Downs and my mental health once again had me leaving a job. At that point, I figured I’d never get another shot in announcing and maybe in racing. Now, my issues were certainly not anything malicious that I was doing. I was sick. But I was also proving to be unreliable because of those issues. But I got more chances. Monmouth let me fill in in 2019 and Colonial hired me in 2019. Then two years, later Tampa hired me. These last few years have been the most rewarding of my career and my life, and all of that good fortune came about because of getting second (or third) chances.

The thing about second chances is that it takes two sides to happen. You have to have someone who believes in you and sees your capabilities. But you also have to show up each day and show that their belief in you was warranted. But when it does work out, I think it reinforces that second chances can be a great thing for everyone.

We’ve seen so many jockeys and trainers over the years have great second acts of their careers after many people thought they might be done, or at least past their prime. Our sport is completely full of second-chance success stories. And, of course, there are also stories of second-, third-, and fourth-chance failures. We’re so imperfect as human beings. We’re going to mess up. I think how we react and respond and learn from those mistakes is where our real growth can come from. 

So here’s to second chances, and here’s to a great weekend of racing.