Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem June 29, 2026

A good Monday morning to you all! While it was opening weekend here in Virginia at Colonial Downs, it seems as though there were lots of endings this weekend in horse racing. Between the final race at Aqueduct being conducted on Sunday along with the final studio broadcasts from TVG/FD, there were a lot of goodbyes being said. We’ll talk about both of those two on the podcast this week. 

Another goodbye was happening at Churchill Downs where jockey Corey Lanerie was riding in his final race in the Hanshin S. (G3) on Sunday. Guiding Coal Battle to a fourth-place finish in the race, Lanerie put a bow on a career that dated back to 1991, and in those 35 years, he amassed 5,152 wins and over $170 million in purse earnings by his mounts. It’s been a fantastic career, and I’m sure so many of us are thrilled for him to have achieved all he did, and to be retiring on his own terms at the age of 51. 

One thing that was really cool about that last race was how well Lanerie rode the horse, in his patented style. When I first really started to notice Lanerie in the 2000s at Churchill, one of his signature moves was sticking to the fence. Well, he gave Coal Battle every chance in his final race, saving ground, finding an opening, the horse just wasn’t quite good enough on this day in a tough race. So often jockeys are judged purely by winning and losing, and I understand that in sports that’s often the case. I try to always gauge whether or not they helped give their horse an opportunity to put forth their best effort and earn their best placing. I thought Lanerie did that in career mount 35,861 with Coal Battle. 

Lanerie was a top 15 rider in the country for a few years in terms of purse earnings, and he retires as the second winningest jockey at Churchill Downs, a track which obviously has been home to many great riders over the years. I’m guessing that his lack of a win in the classics or the Breeders’ Cup races probably doesn’t give him Hall of Fame credentials, but regardless of that, he’s had a career to be proud of and to be celebrated. I think sometimes in sports we’re guilty of only celebrating the top 1% of people involved. And while those people should be celebrated, there’s a ton of work, talent, and good fortune that go into a career like Corey Lanerie had, and that is awesome. 

Lanerie’s top earner was Bell’s the One, who was such a nice horse in her day for trainer Neil Pessin. Of the $2 million she earned on the track, more than $1.8 million came with Lanerie aboard. He rode in six runnings of the Kentucky Derby (G1) and finished second aboard Lookin at Lee in 2017. The comment for Lookin at Lee in the chart said, “Dream inside trip to 1/8th pole.” Lanerie up the rail. Congratulations on a wonderful career, Corey!