Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem for Jan. 8, 2026

Jason looks back on this date in 2006, when he announced his first-ever race at Portland Meadows. 

A good Thursday morning to you all! Hope the new year is off to a good start for you.

Today I wanted to share the story of a special anniversary for me: 20 years ago today, I announced my first horse race. It was Jan. 8, 2006, at Portland Meadows in Portland, Oregon. I have so many vivid memories of that day that it’s hard to believe it’s been two decades since it happened. So I wanted to share some of those memories from what was a pivotal day in my life. 

It was the sixth race of the card that I got to call, but I didn’t know I was calling it until 15 minutes before the race. I had started practicing racecalling the summer before, and throughout the fall of 2005, I would drive down to Portland Meadows, and they were nice enough to let me practice out on the roof. Of course, the weather in Portland in the fall isn't very conducive to being outside, so the Equibase guys would let me crash in their room between races. Mike O’Brien was the racecaller there, and his booth was attached to the Equibase room. 

So on that Sunday in 2006, after the fifth race was done, I headed back into the Equibase room. Well, Mike looked at me and said, “All right, you’re doing the next race.” My heart and stomach both sank. I was immediately nervous as Mike showed me how to operate the mic and the volume control (there was no on/off switch, just a volume dial). I sat there and memorized the names over and over. It was only a seven-horse field, and honestly, probably a good way to start as opposed to a big field. 

The horses stepped onto the track, and I opened the window and began the post parade. I had zero training in broadcasting or in using a microphone, and I also didn’t realize that I’d hear the echo from the speakers up in the booth. Hearing myself project made this even more terrifying. 

Finally, they headed back towards the starting gate, and maybe my most vivid memory of this entire experience happened. This was before I knew a tripod or monopod was an option to help with shaky hands holding the binoculars. They were going into the gate, and my hands were trembling badly! So I quickly glanced around and decided to pin my arm up against the windowsill in order to stop the shaking, and it kind of worked. The gates popped, and I gave maybe the most frightened, unpassionate, “And the race is on” of my career. 

The call was robotic, but pretty fast through the field, as I’ve always done. I remember running low on air from a mixture of nerves and not breathing right, and my voice started to crack on the far turn. They came into the stretch, and the winner, A Colt Named Sue, trained by my good buddy Ben Root, drew off to win. It was over in just over a minute and 10 seconds. 

I turned down the volume, and I remember the initial feeling afterwards was one of defeat. My voice had never seized up on me while practicing, so I didn’t expect it or know how to deal with it. Everyone told me I did fine, but I knew it wasn't a very strong first performance. 

But 20 years on, I look back and feel very proud that I even tried it. I’ve always been a nervous sort, and speaking in public has never been easy for me, especially back then. I’m very proud of my younger self for giving it a go, and also for coming back to try it again in a couple of weeks when Mike was sick. It was those calls that I made a demo tape from, and I got the job at River Downs that spring. 

I think my overarching thought about this anniversary is gratitude for taking the chance to do it, but also gratitude for all the people who have given me opportunities in my time calling races. The list is way too long to share here, but so many people have given me chances (and second chances) that it just fills me with gratitude that they saw something in me worth helping. So, big thank you to anyone who’s ever listened to or enjoyed a race call over these 20 years. 

Two decades on, it remains an adrenaline rush and so much fun. I thought it would get boring at some point, and it never has. What a blessing.