Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem Oct. 29, 2026

A good Thursday morning to you all! Writing from Lexington as Breeders’ Cup is getting closer and so far it’s been an unbelievable weather week here in the Bluegrass. Each day since I got here Sunday has been sunny and in the low 70s. Each morning has brought an amazing sunrise for the horses coming out after the 7:30 a.m. ET break to train. Monday there was a smattering of people on the apron when I went out in the morning for training. Tuesday a few more. Wednesday there was probably triple the amount of people from Tuesday. So things are picking up as people arrive. 

I’m not going to pretend to be a great historian on the event or share a ton of experiences from it over the years. I’ve been to one Breeders’ Cup before this and it was 2017 at Del Mar. I basically spent those two sunny days just staying near the top of the stretch and away from the crowds. I will say when you’re there the races come and go pretty fast. I don’t actually have a lot of memories from that day other than one very specific one. 

It was the Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) and Unique Bella was the heavy favorite in a big field. She had won four graded stakes coming into the event and was even-money as they opened the gates. She made the lead and I was watching from the rail at about the eighth-pole next to a couple from the East Coast I’d been talking to. As they came into the lane Unique Bella started to back up and the race started to fall apart. Horses were coming from everywhere and as they came by us Ami’s Mesa and Carina Mia had grabbed the lead. We could hear Trevor Denman on the speakers at the wire mention that Bar of Gold had also got up to get into the photo and indeed did win the race. I was shocked and for some reason I have this strong memory of the guy from that couple looking at his program and looking at me and saying, “Who the heck is Bar of Gold?” A $135 winner, that’s who!  

That Breeders’ Cup had lots of tough horses to catch. In fact the Bar of Gold race was the end of a Pick 3 that paid more than $29,000! But I had to go back and look at the charts for most of those races to kind of jog my memory of the day back. 

I’ve been trying to savor these mornings out watching training. One, because it’s so beautiful at Keeneland and just a great way to spend the start of the day. Two, because it’s fun seeing a lot of people from the racing world that I don’t get to see very often or am meeting for the first time. The third reason is a bit more depressing though. We’ve had so much turnover in racing and tracks closing and tough news, it’s hard not to worry about what the event and sport might be over the next several years. I don’t think the Breeders’ Cup is going anywhere, but there are many tracks that are enduring tough times or closing altogether, so it’s hard not to worry what’s next. 

But I also can’t control things like that. So I’ve just been focusing on the beautiful sunrises. The incredible horses. All the people it takes to run these operations. And looking forward to the races themselves and getting to see them up close and in person. It’s really a thrill as someone who grew up around a smaller circuit of racing. 

So best of luck everyone, my two opinions on the weekend are Foxiest in the Juvenile Fillies (G1) on Friday and after seeing him all this week and how incredible he’s been looking during training, Knightsbridge in the Classic (G1). Good luck everyone!