Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem for June 19, 2025

A good Thursday morning to you all. All eyes, well many eyes, look to Ohio this weekend as Thistledown will card their annual big event, THE Ohio Derby. A field of 10 is assembled, with Preakness (G1) pacesetter Clever Again, Kentucky Derby (G1) Cinderella story Chunk of Gold, and McAfee the headliners of the Grade 3 event. It’s a race with some pretty cool history and the biggest event each year in the Buckeye State. 

I had the good fortune of working two full summers in Ohio at River Downs and when I went there, I really had no idea about the racing or the people there. What I found were people who had been involved and racing for generations. And some of the biggest characters and wonderful friends I’d ever meet. 

Many of the stakes on Saturday's card are for the Ohio-bred runners, and there have been some amazing ones over the years. Harlan’s Holiday and King of the Roxy are two of the more recent to make runs in Triple Crown races, and when I was at River in 2006 and 2007, we had some tremendous Ohio-bred runners. Pyrite Personal, Catlaunch, Mini Mom, Acts Like a King and so many others racked up wins and big purses while having long careers. If you get a second, go look up Catlaunch’s career past performances. Forty wins from 108 starts and more $1.1 million in the bank. Just a tremendous Ohio-bred. 

The sad thing for me about remembering the people and friends from Ohio are how many are now gone. Racing continues in Cincinnati at Belterra Park and many of my old coworkers are still there. But I wanted to share some stories about some of my favorites who are no longer with us. 

John McDulin was an entry clerk in the morning and chart caller in the afternoons. I first met him in the race office and surly seemed to be his general disposition. But as I got to know him more, his sense of humor would start to show and he was hilarious. One day, a trainer making entries was completely disheveled. I think he’d been up all night having a few pints or something, and he struggled to remember any of his horses as he gave John his entries. I went up and asked John, “who was that guy?” He told me the name and I was surprised because this trainer ran a fair bit there. John looked at me dead serious and said, “makes you think twice about betting on his horses doesn’t it?” I couldn’t stop laughing. 

Humie Johnson was our stallman at River Downs and a trainer way back in the day. My first day he called me to his office, “Hey Mr. Announcer, come here.” I walked in and he said “Where you come from again?” I told him that I’d just moved there from Portland Meadows where I was practicing announcing. He looked puzzled and replied to me “Portland, that’s in Seattle right?” Close enough Humie! Humie was probably 70 years old when I knew him and he had a million stories and was always creating or looking for a laugh. He passed in 2016 and I think about him quite often. 

Jeff Reidel was one of our entry clerks and a placing judge at both River and Turfway. He had a beautiful young family and his kids would come out to the races a couple times each season. Before my first race at River, Jeff barged in with a minute to post and I was pacing with nerves. He said “are you nervous?” I nodded yes and he just said “don’t worry, nobody is listening,” and shut the door, with his smile getting bigger the more the door closed. Another Ohio friend who we shared a lot of laughs together. 

We pay so much attention to the big tracks and the big races and of course we want to celebrate our biggest stars. But these smaller tracks are filled with great stories and great people, and Ohio has so many of them as well. Hope it’s a great Ohio Derby weekend!