Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem Jan. 12, 2026

Jason looks back at a rider's first career win and other riders' celebration of the achievement. 

A good Monday morning to you all! Hope the weekend went well for you, as we had a beautiful weekend down here in Tampa for our Skyway Festival Day which featured a pair of stakes. Drexel Hill won for the first time since she finished second in last year’s Kentucky Oaks (G1), and hopefully she can take some steps forward towards a good four-year-old campaign off of that win. 

I wanted to write about one of my favorite traditions in racing that I saw play out this weekend at Tampa. On Saturday, apprentice Johanis Aranguren guided Bourbon Street to an upset win in our first race, scoring from off the pace at odds of 38-1. I believe this is the third rider we’ve had win his or her first career race so far this meet, and we’ve only been going for a month and a half. She got up in just the last couple of jumps and won the photo and came back to the winner’s circle to a nice round of applause from connections and fans around the circle. 

Of course, afterward, she had to walk back to the jocks’ room, and that’s where the fun commenced. When a jockey wins his or her first race, they’re often soaked with water, shaving cream, baby powder, eggs, or any combination of random stuff from around the jocks’ room. It’s the “initiation” of sorts that all riders here in the States get after that first win. Our social media folks were able to capture the moment on video, and it was a pretty standard dousing by her fellow riders. 

I’ve seen this a bunch over the years, and it’s always neat to see, because sure it’s a silly little tradition and fun and all. But it’s also such a cool moment in their lives. I’ve interviewed countless jockeys on my podcast and have asked many about their first wins, and almost all of them can share many details from the race and the day itself. Johanis will remember that race and that day forever, and it’s very cool to be able to witness, in person, that kind of moment in a person’s life. 

Another great part of this story was that her father was videotaped watching the race on television. The eruption from the family as they celebrated was truly awesome to see – that great mix of pride and probably some relief that she got that first win under her belt. One thing that should also be noted was that her ride was very good. She saved some ground coming into the lane and was able to navigate between horses and ended up nosing out our leading rider Samuel Marin’s horse in the process.  

Just a very cool thing to see in person, and a big congrats to Johanis!