Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem for Nov. 17, 2025

Jason discusses Claiming Crown Day and his couple of times claiming a racehorse. 

A good Monday morning to you all! Opening week here at Tampa is finally here, and the weather looks like it’s supposed to be fantastic for Wednesday’s big card. Field sizes are full, and I’m really getting excited for the first couple of days as we kick off our 89-day winter meeting here in Florida. I know the weather got to a couple of Northeastern tracks this weekend, and while we get our fair share of not ideal weather here, the wintertime tends to be pretty darn nice. So hopefully you’ll join us. 

Saturday at Churchill was Claiming Crown Day, and I think in theory it’s one of the cooler days on the calendar. A chance for claimers to get a chance running at a big track for big purses. 

I feel like for years barns like Mike Maker, Saffie Joseph, and others were so adept at getting horses specifically for this day. It’s tough to beat the big barns any day, and ironically, both of those trainers had wins on Saturday at Churchill in the Claiming Crown. 

However, we did see winners from “smaller” barns like Sal Santoro, Robert Bailes, and Benjamin Dunn on Claiming Crown Day, which was very cool to see. Stakes horses are fun and grab all the headlines, but for those of us who watch and work in the game all year, the claimers are what keep the industry alive. That point can’t be overlooked. They’re that important. So it’s very cool to see them get a bigger day in the sun. 

Have you ever claimed a horse? I’ve been in on three claims in my life, and let me tell you, it’s almost more nerve-wracking than when the horse runs in your name. 

I remember going in on a $3,200 claimer named Global Arena at Portland Meadows in late 2004. He was the heavy favorite in a maiden race there, and he had actually been competitive against much better in the Bay Area and even down at Calder earlier in his career. I was set to go in for 10% of the horse, which would have cost me a cool $320. I think my net worth was probably about $2,000 at the time, so this was significant! Well, wouldn’t you know it, Global Arena won with ease, and I felt so good watching him that I upped my percentage to 20% and cut a check for $640.  

It was so thrilling and exciting, and over the next few weeks, my trainer would give me updates on how he was doing. I drove down to Portland to visit him before his first start for us, and even had some friends from college drive down with me to watch. He was taking on winners for the first time and was the third choice in the race. We sat on the apron as he raced in midpack and just kind of stayed there the whole time. I think he ran seventh, but was only beaten a handful of lengths. He never did much running while we had him, and we sold him at the end of the Portland meet to a trainer who was going to run him on the Oregon fairs. All told, I probably lost about $1,200 on the deal. 

But my next claim was profitable! He was a horse at Emerald Downs named Bay Wide Total, who was as honest as they come, and we had him for just a handful of starts, but he hit the board each time before getting claimed for the same amount we paid, which I considered to be a win! 

The claiming game is hard, and while we hear so often about the claims that go on to make a bunch of money, most of course won’t yield a profit. It’s just a tough game. But it’s such a fun game. The horses are incredible, and you instantly feel such a bond with them when they race in your name. I keep telling myself I should jump in on a claim at some point again, but I just haven’t found the right opportunity. Someday soon, though, I hope. 

Have a great week, everyone!