Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem May 7, 2026

A good Thursday morning to you all! Hope everyone’s post Derby hangovers, both literally and figuratively, are settling down. I had to get a wisdom tooth extraction to start my post-Derby off season, so that hasn’t been the most fun. But with a full weekend of rest, I hope to be ready to go next week. 

This Kentucy Derby and the subsequent few days have certainly been the Cherie DeVaux show. Obviously, the historical ramifications are significant being the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. Cherie has done a huge press tour this week, appearing on national shows like the Today Show on NBC, The Pat McAfee Show, The Dan Patrick Show, The Rich Eisen show, and many many more. I’m sure Monday and Tuesday were just kind of a haze for her going on all these different programs. 

Cherie is no stranger to the limelight within horse racing as she’s always done lots of media, including being on my podcast several times over the years. We’ll link to those episodes down below if you haven’t had your fill of DeVaux mania! But racing does kind of operate in a smaller bubble with the exception of the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown. It’s rare to see someone from racing make a jump into media appearances on major networks and outlets like this unless they win a race like the Kentucky Derby. Cherie is a wonderful ambassador for our game and continues to prove her acumen and abilities as a trainer with each passing season.  

One interview I did with her that I couldn’t find was the first time I interviewed her back when we were still the BetAmerica Radio Network. She had just gone out on her own and I always think that’s such a neat time to interview a trainer because it’s such a new and exciting and I’m sure scary time of their life. But taking risks is where greatness starts for almost everyone who has success. Somehow in the process of switching computers over the last several years, I can’t seem to find that interview which I’m bummed about. But we have a few others listed below including one from just last year. 

Horse racing seems to always be looking for people to “save” it and I think that’s such a terrible way to look at it. Often people just point to wealthy people within the sport and figure “well they’ve had success in other areas, why not here?” There is no one person or solution that will drive effective change. It will come from lots of good people doing lots of good work and making decisions that are in the best interest of our customers and partners in the game. Without that change, you’re just throwing money at your problems. But having good representatives out in the masses showcasing the hard work and beauty of our sport, is certainly a good step in the right direction.  

So below are three recent Cherie DeVaux interviews and episodes. I’ve put the more recent one on my podcast for today as I’m out sick, but you can directly listen or download to all of them below.  

They are from 2021, 2024, and 2025.