Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem Feb. 12, 2026

A good Thursday morning to you all! Happy Valentine’s Day weekend to those who celebrate. We’ll be celebrating Tampa Bay Downs’ 100th Anniversary on Saturday (Valentine's Day) which should be a lot of fun. Crazy to think they’ve been racing horses on the same spot for a century.  Fun fact, Babe Ruth was at Tampa's opening day in 1926 as the Yankees had spring training nearby.

I had a funny experience the other day that triggered today’s column idea about meeting racetrackers out in the world. I went to get a service on my car and started talking with the kid at the dealership and he asked where I work. I told him at the horse track and he was like “no way, my family works there.” Turns out his mom is a trainer and his sister is a jockey. Small world huh? I mean I live 20 miles from the track so we weren't in Oldsmar. Ok, so fun little coincidence. I had an hour wait until the car was done so I took a walk on a trail that runs behind the dealership. There was a group of walkers coming the opposite direction and a I saw a gentleman with a Breeders’ Cup shirt on. I smiled and after he passed me I heard him say “And the race is on!” I turned around and we had a nice chat and took a photo and it was very cool. 

Seeing people who are into horse racing out in the world is one of the great little joys of the game. If I wear a Tampa Rays ballcap around town, I don’t think anyone is going to stop me and want to talk baseball. But if someone sees me wearing a shirt from Aqueduct and they’re a horseplayer, they’re at least saying hello or mentioning the shirt. I don’t know if it’s the niche nature of our game or the passion that people who love it have, but there’s something about it that makes someone instantly feel like a friend when you know they’re into racing. 

For years whenever I’d see someone with past performances in their hand in a movie or television show, I’d always perk up and try and see what track they were looking at Silvio from The Sopranos always had a form in hand when they were sitting around the pork store. Gotta assume Sil was an Aqueduct guy as that’s where Pie Oh My ran. 

I’m not exactly one to talk to strangers out in the world. I just feel in general people want to be left alone. But I can remember a bunch of times since moving to Florida where I’d see someone at a restaurant/bar looking at past performances and I’d ask them who they liked? They didn’t know I worked in horse racing, but they were excited to have a chat about the races. Florida obviously has a good number of racing fans still, so there’s no shortage of people out here who follow the races on a regular basis. 

Back when I worked and lived in Portland, there were very few on-track players still around. We ran during the week, during the cold of winter, it was a quiet there. I still remember running into a guy named Maurice who played out at the track every day. I saw him at the library, we had a chat, but it was like seeing your teacher out in the real world. It's just strange seeing them outside of the context in which you know them. 

If you see someone with racing gear or a program out there, say hello, it’s always a fun chat. 

Have a good week!