Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem Aug. 15, 2024

A good Thursday morning to you all! Hope everyone’s week is going swimmingly. Things here in Virginia have been busy, but Million Day is in the rearview mirror, and I wanted to share some final thoughts on that day and the races at Colonial Downs. 

First of all, it was such a long day. We had a satellite issue that got the races about an hour behind, followed up by a presentation that pushed us another 30 minutes off schedule. So by the time the Arlington Million (G1) rolled around, the lights were on and darkness was mostly settling in. 

The Million itself took on a bit of a funny race shape as Sugoi opened up down the backstretch and really opened up going to the turn. There was a point going into the second turn where I thought he was traveling OK and might actually have a chance to steal it. But by the time they got around to the top of the lane, his lead was gone and the real race began. Nations Pride got the jump and for a horse like him that’s often going to be enough. Ancient Rome I thought was a bit sneaky with his third-place effort as he was really wound up before the race and as they loaded into the gate. Yet he still ran pretty darn well. 

The Beverly D. (G2) ended up being the most exciting finish of the big three stakes. Just like when she won in 2023, Fev Rover was able to get away with pretty soft fractions. She really slowed them down in the middle stages. Moira cruised up to her so easily at the quarter pole that I thought she was going to go by and win going away. But Fev Rover still had a lot left after those early fractions and really fought to the end. Moira didn’t stick her nose in front till maybe the last three jumps. Moira was honestly the horse I was most excited to see and call on the big day. I just think she’s such a cool horse and the fact she came down from Woodbine added a lot to the day. 

Moira isn’t necessarily an “international” horse, but there certainly was a little more “international” flavor this year. I think one of the great traditions of Million Day at Arlington was that it so often brought horses from all over the globe. Unfortunately what we didn’t really get this year was field size. Between us having to move the card back a day and Saratoga moving their races around, they just didn’t draw as well. While it’s always fun to see stars of the game, to me, it’s very difficult for any race to be super-exciting with less than eight horses. And that’s at any level, not just for stakes. 

It truly is an honor to get to call those races, and even though it wasn’t the smoothest of days, it’ll certainly be one to remember. I’ve said many times before that big days are not my favorites. Give me a quiet Thursday any day of the week. On big days, inevitably so much of your focus ends up on stuff that’s not calling the races. For me, calling races will always be my favorite thing I get to do in the sport. So I just try to remember to enjoy it as much as I can for as long as I get to do it. 

Everyone have a great weekend!