Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem June 15, 2026

A good Monday morning to you all! Just got into my hotel here in Richmond, Virginia, and move into my rental on Tuesday for the Colonial Downs meet. We’ll preview that more on here next week, but certainly excited for the June 25 opener. In typical Richmond style, I was greeted with 97-degree heat upon arrival and then the most biblical 10-minute rainstorm imaginable an hour later. It’s good to be back. 

Saturday was one of my sentimental favorite races of the year, the Salvator Mile (G3). It was the first graded stakes race I ever called, and mostly for that reason, I always watch it each year and always enjoy it. This year’s edition was a thriller as East Avenue was able to lunge right at the wire to beat Bishop’s Bay by a nose. For East Avenue it represents a turnaround in form and the first time he’s ever done much of anything coming from off of the pace. Maybe it’ll prove a big turning point for him. 

In previewing the race on last Thursday’s podcast I realized that I probably have an inherent bias towards two-turn dirt races. I just love them. I feel like they can often have dramatic finishes because of their unique place in the world. When a mile race is run at one turn, you often hear people refer to it as an elongated sprint. Yet throw that second turn in and it’s a route race. So the two-turn mile has that kind of weird situation where it’s not a sprint and really not much of a route. 

A big part of my enjoyment of these races is because my favorite race ever is the Longacres Mile, a two-turn mile race that has often produced very exciting finishes, some big upsets, and it was the big local race I grew up going to. I’m sure part of growing up with a two-turn dirt mile as our biggest race makes me naturally inclined to like them. One of my favorite editions of the Longacres Mile was 2005, when No Giveaway stormed from the back to win at 60-1! I had the trifecta and it paid just under $5,000, and for those of you who remember the days of the old tax laws, that was just under the withholding line! 

As far as the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) goes, it’s hard not to think about Cody’s Wish scoring back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Both were thrilling finishes and obviously the story with Cody and the horse made those two races big highlights on the biggest of days. I’m actually having author Paul Halloran on the podcast on Tuesday to discuss his new book about Cody’s Wish and Cody Dorman and their amazing story and connection. So I'm looking forward to that. 

I feel like the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile has kind of gotten lost in the shuffle a bit in recent years when it was moved behind the Classic (G1) in the Breeders' Cup lineup. I know it’s often not a popular race as some people think it takes away contenders from the Classic and even the Sprint (G1) each year. And I get where they’re coming from. There will always be something a bit more special about the original Breeders’ Cup races, in part because they were the obvious divisions, but also just because of the history. But I do love me some dirt miles and I’m glad milers have a place in the Breeders’ Cup. 

Have a good week everyone!