Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem for Aug. 4, 2025

A good Monday morning to you all! Writing today from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at my hotel after just returning from a very fun visit to Mountaineer Racetrack to watch this year’s West Virginia Derby (G3). It was my first time back to Mountaineer since 2007 and my first time going to their big event, so I wanted to share some thoughts on the experience and the race. 

First of all, the weather could not have been better. It was in the upper 70s when I arrived at 5 p.m. and cooled down a bit as the sun went low. Just ideal, especially given the warm temps in this area the last week or so. The track and facility were exactly as I remember them. It was almost as if I stepped back in time to 2007. The inside area was still the stained-wood look, and it all just looked the same. The speaker system is definitely still the same, although if you weren’t right in the mix of the big crowd, you could hear the track announcer, Peter Berry, quite well. 

Mountaineer is in a lovely setting, and as you’d assume from the name, is surrounded by hills on all sides. The Ohio River runs right behind it, and it’s a very nice, rural drive coming in. You go through small, old towns like New Cumberland that look like sets from an old movie. There’s a main street and not much else. I feel like a lot of these tracks we watch from home, we see the track, the paddock, and the infield, but that’s about it. Mountaineer’s visual strength, in my opinion, is the surrounding hills and their natural beauty. 

One really cool aspect of the West Virginia Derby night is that there were people tailgating and setting up tents all along the far turn and onto the back stretch. Admission prices were a little spendy ($18.50 for my GA wristband), so I think a lot of people get their group a tent, bring their own food and drinks, and tailgate out at the three-eighths pole. If I ever came with a group, I’d certainly entertain doing just that. But I’m glad I went to the frontside and walked around. I saw a few horse people I’ve met from tracks I’ve worked at, and ran into the new racing secretary, Doug. I chatted with him for 30 seconds before a trainer came up to him asking for an extra for the next week. That job never ends! 

It’s always so neat to get to visit a track’s big race and see the community turn out for it. So many people brought their own chairs to sit in, which made me realize they knew the drill and this was an annual pilgrimage for them. I will say two of the most fun nights I’ve spent at a racetrack the last few years have both been in West Virginia. Last night at Mountaineer and Charles Town Classic (G2) night a few years ago. Both are just super fun, casual, and great environments. Personally, I prefer that kind of scene to the whole dress-up big days that a lot of tracks do. To each their own, I suppose. 

I watched the West Virginia Derby from down at the sixteenth pole and from that ground-level view, couldn’t exactly figure out how and why East Avenue came away so poorly. But it was clear after they passed us that he wasn’t winning. Big congrats to Chunk of Gold, who has been one of the real cool three-year-old stories this season for trainer Ethan West and jockey Jareth Loveberry. Jareth used to ride regularly at "The Mountain" and even tweeted about what a special win it was for him. 

It was a fun night of racing, and I’m so glad that I was able to attend. Thanks, Mountaineer!