Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem Oct. 3, 2024

A good Friday to you all! Normally this column will run on Thursdays but had a little snafu on my end, so apologies. Keeneland kicks off today and obviously a monster weekend looms as many of the final Breeders’ Cup prep races will be run. It seems like in the last couple of years these big prep weekends aren’t as big or preppy as they used to be as so many trainers seemingly love to now train up to the Breeders' Cup. This year’s slate looks pretty solid though and it does seem as though many of the best two year olds are going to use these races as potential preps, so that should make for a fun afternoon. 

I wanted to write today’s column about the value of a break from racing. I’m paid to promote racing but for those of us who live and breathe it most of the year, taking some time away is really important. I admittedly was feeling some burnout after the summer at Colonial and was very much ready for my two week vacation. I did go to Emerald Downs for a day but other than that, I deleted twitter from my phone and purposefully didn’t watch any racing for two weeks. 

Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day of the game. For people who work with horses, they work seven days a week and I honestly don’t know how they do it. I don’t think there’s anything I want to be around seven days a week. Except chocolate maybe. Someone sent me a video on twitter the other day of jockey Perry Ouzts and the first thing he says is all the things he doesn’t do. 

“I don’t hunt, I don’t fish, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I just ride racehorses everyday and I’ll get up and do it again tomorrow,” Ouzts said.

It’s an insane commitment and something a lot of horse racing people have. I remember a 90-year-old trainer at Portland Meadows once telling me he’d never stop getting on his pony because the day he doesn’t will be the day he dies. I’m sure he was being a bit hyperbolic, but I got his point. 

I’m never going to be like those folks. I think I’m just as passionate about racing as the next person, but man, oh man, do I need other interests, hobbies, and some time away. Many of the people I know who work at year round tracks seem to be the ones least excited about racing. It becomes a job instead of being something fun. Now granted, for lots of us, it is a job. But I still try and walk into the track each day of “work” like it’s just a fun visit to the track. I never want to think of calling races as a job. I think having some breaks in my schedule really does keep it from ever feeling that way. 

The weird part about taking a break from racing is that it goes on without you. There really is no off season for the horseplayer unless they choose to take one. So you miss a couple of weeks and you miss a whole lot. Even looking at past performances for this upcoming weekend at Keeneland and Aqueduct there were a couple stakes races I’d completely missed and didn’t know anything about. And maybe the fall before Breeders’ Cup isn’t the best time for a break, but for my schedule, it’s when I can do it. 

For me, taking a break is important for me to maintain a high level of excitement about something that I’m fully invested in 50 weeks a year. I still love racing and most days I’m excited to talk about it. But I think breaks are healthy. Clearly Perry Ouzts and a lot of other folks disagree. I think for you it’s about finding your best way for success and good work to follow. 

Everyone have a great weekend!