Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem for June 1, 2026

Jason discusses a big win on Stephen Foster Preview Day for Faithful Departed and trainer Grant Forster. 

A good Monday morning to you all! Welcome to Belmont (G1) week and the return of racing at Saratoga. This is the final of the Saratoga Belmonts, and I think it’s been kind of a fun quirk in the schedule, but overall, I’m looking forward to the Belmont returning to Long Island and to its 1 1/2-mile distance. The discussion of more time between Triple Crown races has ramped up in recent years, but there really is a specialness to the Belmont when it’s run at that 12-furlong distance. 

The racing world was focused on Churchill Downs this past weekend with the Stephen Foster Preview Day highlighting the weekend of racing. Some memorable performances including on the undercard from both Battis Grove in the opener and Betty’s Pearl in the fourth race. I thought both were worth mentioning here as horses with very good futures coming off wins on Saturday. 

My strongest opinion of the day on Saturday was with Dandona in the Regret S. (G3). She was coming off a very wide trip in the Edgewood S. (G2), and my hope was she’d rebound with a big effort Saturday. She didn’t. I think she beat one horse home. But the winner, Faithful Departed, proved best with a rally up the inside to get the win for Jose Ortiz and trainer Grant Forster. The horse is also a homebred for the owners who raced the mare as well, so I’m sure a very special win for them all. 

It was the seventh career graded stakes win for Forster, who’s been based in Kentucky for almost two decades now. I tweeted shortly after the race that “it’s always a good day when Grant Forster wins a big race.” And that’s true. 

I think most folks who have had the pleasure to meet or know Grant will tell you what a kind and fun guy he is to be around. Grant lives right next to the track, and for years, he has always hosted parties and events to bring members of the racing world together outside of the track. Albeit only about one block outside of the track, but my point stands. 

I was actually at Emerald Downs on the day Grant won his first graded stakes race in 2005. He trained No Giveaway, who had won the Governor’s H. a few weeks before the Longacres Mile (G3). That was a sprint, and No Giveaway was dismissed on the board at odds of 60-1 in the Longacres Mile. He rallied from the back to get up and win Emerald Downs’ premier race in a shocking upset. Grant and his friends and family all piled into the winner’s circle and even though it wasn’t a popular win amongst a lot of bettors, it was a very popular win for the folks around Emerald Downs. 

Grant left for the Midwest not long after winning the Longacres Mile. He raced in Chicago and Kentucky and settled down on the circuit between Kentucky and Fair Grounds in New Orleans. He always has a small string of horses, wins at a solid percentage, and in 2024 cracked the $1-million earnings mark for a season. So far this year, he’s on pace to get to that million dollar mark again and doing so with fewer starters, at least pace-wise. So here’s hoping he also has a big summer. 

Fun fact about Grant and yours truly as the writer. We not only have the same birthday (May 18), but before I got my first job in the racing industry at Emerald Downs as the media assistant, he actually held that same position just a few years earlier. So shoutout to the sixth floor at Emerald Downs!  

Have a great week everyone!