Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem for Jan. 19, 2026

Jason discusses some of the weekend races including the Lecomte S. (G3) on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. 

A good Monday morning to you all! I hope the weekend treated you well and that you’re enjoying the Dr. Martin Luther King Day holiday at home, or better yet, at the races. I know Fair Grounds and Santa Anita have both added cards for the holiday to go along with the regular Monday fare out there. We’re supposed to have a really chilly day here in the Tampa area, so I’m going to be bundled up and watching on TwinSpires. 

My favorite story of the weekend involved a cool story about owners here at Tampa Bay Downs, but I’m going to hold off on that here since I’m having one of the owners on my podcast for Tuesday’s episode. I will say that seeing friends get into horse ownership and experience not only the thrill of racing, but of winning, was really incredible to see in person out at the track. 

One buddy said, “I was more nervous and excited for that race than I was when I was live for a whole pool last year for a near six-figure score.”

It’s true also. I’ve owned horses (well, 20% of a few), and I can say without hesitation that I was more nervous for those than I was calling my first Tampa Bay Derby (G3) or first Arlington Million (G1). It’s such a unique mix of rush and nerves, and I was experiencing those while owning a $3,200 claimer at Portland Meadows! 

Obviously, the big story of the weekend was Golden Tempo’s win at the Fair Grounds in the Lecomte S. (G3). As I said recently, the Lecomte is always the unofficial start of the Road to the Kentucky Derby for me, even though I know many horses have already earned points. 

It just feels like not only the first big prep of the new year, but it also starts this string of the next three months, which features prep races every single weekend. This coming week, it’s Dubai for the UAE 2000 Guineas (G3), and then one of my favorite preps of the entire series, the Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream Park. 

As far as the Lecomte, the bettors seemed to value the Gun Runner S. in the exact same way I did, in terms of being very much against those runners. Chip Honcho floated up to almost 9-1, while Crown the Buckeye at 7-1 was the lowest of the trio coming out of that local prep race. 

I think most players were looking for a fresh face, and Golden Tempo took the most money as he was sent off as the 5-2 favorite. He rallied from last to win and came up the inside, although everyone else was a few paths out, so it wasn’t like he had to squeeze through a tight gap. But he did split horses before the stretch drive, and I always think rallying up the fence on dirt is not where most horses prefer to close in. 

His final time and Speed figures were not all that impressive, but I’m trying to be forgiving with him and remember this was just career start number two, his first try at two turns, and his first time against winners. His entire career is only four weeks old, as he debuted back in mid-to-late December at Fair Grounds. He very well might be able to improve his early foot in the race as well. 

Winning rider Jose Ortiz talked after the race about the horse not necessarily having much interest and early speed, and he found himself quite a way back. Against better horses up front in the future, he might need to be a little more tactical. The horses he was chasing on Saturday to me looked like they were all begging for the wire. 

Mesquite, the runner-up, also finished nicely in what was just his third career start. He’s been very good twice now at two turns and maybe he’s one that will improve as the distances get longer? We shall see. 

Hope everyone has a good week and a great holiday today!