Tag: jason beem

Beem Talks Racecalling, Anxiety, on Writers’ Room

Jason Beem was just 23 years old when he had his first panic attack, but remembers it in excruciating detail to this day. “I was in law school at Gonzaga University. I was in constitutional law class and I didn't know what it was and walked out of class and freaked out in the hallway.” That episode was the beginning of over a decade-and-a-half struggle with anxiety and depression that caused him to leave racing for a period, and be hospitalized several times. The popular racecaller and podcast host talks openly about mental health on the TDN Writers' Room podcast, presented by Keeneland, with hosts Joe Bianca, Bill Finley and Jon Green, as the Green Group Guest of the Week.

He said that at times, the depression was so bad that he would have to lie down on an air mattress in the announcer's booth at River Downs because the effort to stay upright was too overwhelming. “My second year at River Downs, I really struggled,” he said. “And that was like the first time I had ever had a real depression and I didn't know what it was. I was in line at Chipotle one day, just crying and I didn't know why. And so I hadn't done a lot of therapy up until then, and so I started doing that and kind of learned what I was dealing with and also that it wasn't uncommon. I think that for me was one of the biggest helps early on was realizing that mental health issues are things that a lot of people struggle with.”

Currently the announcer at Tampa Bay Downs, he talks about being out of racing for a year and half and working as an Uber driver when BetAmerica saw his “Beemie Awards” on Twitter and reached out to see if he was interested in doing something with them. “I said I would love to do a daily podcast,” he recalled. “And that was that was literally like Christmas and we were up and going two weeks later. It really kind of came together pretty fast and, you know, just kind of took the model from what a lot of podcasts were doing; 20 minutes of chat, 25 minutes of interview and then you were out. And we've been really fortunate.”

In other segments on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horse Breeders, West Point Thoroughbreds, Legacy Bloodstock and XBTV, the writers discuss the news of the week, including: the ongoing story of California veterinarian Jeff Blea, the 2021 handle figures and how much of that could be from computer bettors, and the continuing legal battles between Bob Baffert and Churchill Downs.

Watch the video version of the podcast here.

Listen to the audio version here, or on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

The post Beem Talks Racecalling, Anxiety, on Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Lights Out at Grants Pass, Injuring Two Jockeys

Grants Pass Downs was plunged into complete darkness eight seconds into the running of the final race of the meet Tuesday evening when the half-mile track's lights cut out unexpectedly, leaving the field of six sprinters barreling blindly into the first bend of a three-turn race.

Two jockeys were unseated from their mounts before the field hit the finish wire the first time, and both were subsequently treated for foot injuries at a local hospital. No horses were injured during the blackout, Grants Pass Downs president Randy Evers told TDN via phone Wednesday.

“Alex Anaya has a little body soreness and a possible broken toe. And Patrick Henry Jr. also had a couple broken bones in a foot,” Evers said. “Mr. Henry was released at 1 a.m. and Mr. Anaya was released [Wednesday] morning. In light of everything, they're actually doing pretty doggone well. We got all the horses into the paddock, and all of the horses returned to their barns safe.”

Speculation on social media about the lights being on a timer that was not properly set after the daylight savings time switch this past weekend could not be confirmed. TDN placed calls and left emails for Jack McGrail, the Oregon Racing Commission's executive director, and Mike Twiggs, the presiding state steward, but neither called back prior to deadline for this story.

Evers did not want to comment on the cause of the lights going out, citing advice from the track's attorneys. He said a statement about the incident was being drafted and was subject to vetting by lawyers. That press release was also not available in time for deadline for this story.

Race 11 on Nov. 9 at the small southern Oregon oval carried outsized implications for bettors. It was the culminating race in a jackpot Pick 5 that had carried over with $51,211 in the pool, and the bet was expected to attract several hundred thousand additional dollars in new wagers. When the race ended up being declared a “no contest,” that bet was calculated as an “all” payout for the final leg, substantially reducing the pari-mutuel winnings.

The race was a 6 1/2 -furlong sprint for fillies and mares that went off at 10:28 p.m. Pacific time, according to the stamp on the video replay. Just as the tightly packed field approached the first turn, the video feed abruptly went black.

“The lights just went off!” announcer Jason Beem exclaimed in his race call. “Somebody just turned the lights off. All the lights went off. I've got no clue what's going on, and hopefully everybody's staying safe out there because we can't see a thing.

“Unbelievable,” Beem added after a pause.

The photo-finish line lights were still functioning and so was the infield video board, allowing Beem to see and announce that two horses had lost their jockeys. He asked the riders to pull up if they could hear him, then later instructed anyone on the track in the aftermath of the blackout to bring their horses into the paddock, which was lit.

TDN reached Beem for a follow-up Wednesday afternoon while he was driving from Oregon to his next race calling gig at Tampa Bay Downs in Florida.

“It was terrifying,” Beem recalled. “They went into the turn, and I was on my binoculars, and everything just went to black. It took two or three seconds to realize what happened because our lights in the booth, the press box, and in the grandstand were still on. It was completely pitch black out over the course. The leader came running [through the homestretch] with the rider, and then the next two horses were riderless, and that was when it kind of got really scary.”

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VIDEO: ‘Somebody Just Turned The Lights Off’: Two Jockeys Injured in Bizarre Grants Pass Finale

Jockeys Patrick Henry Jr. and Alex Anaya were taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries on Tuesday night after the lights at Grants Pass Downs turned off shortly after the start of the 11th and final race of the closing night program at the Grants Pass, Ore., track.

The race was declared a “no contest” by officials.

The six horses were just starting to make their way down the backstretch for the first time in the 6 1/2-furlong claiming race on the Josephine County Fairgrounds oval when the lights went out.

“The lights just went off,” track announcer Jason Beem said when the track went dark. “Somebody just turned the lights off. All the lights went off. I've got no clue what's going on and hopefully everybody is staying safe out there, because we can't see a thing. Unbelievable.”

Two horses, Lead Actress and Don't Rub It, could be seen without their riders passing under the wire in the light of the photo finish camera. Henry had been aboard Lead Actress with Anaya on Don't Rub It. Both were racing just behind the early leader along the inside when the lights went off.

According to Beem's Twitter feed, all horses were caught and not injured.

There was a lot at stake in the race for horseplayers, including a mandatory payout in the Pick 5 that included a $51,112 jackpot going in and took in over $300,000 in new money. The payoffs leading into the 11th race, the final leg of the sequence, were $3 in the seventh race, $38.60 in the eighth, $5.60 in the ninth, and $8.20 in the 10th. The Equibase chart did not show how the multi-race wagers were resolved, but track publicist Vince Bruun said the race was considered an “all” under Oregon racing rules, meaning every selection was credited with being a winner. The bet, which effectively became a pick 4, paid $357.75, according to Bruun.

How and why the lights went off isn't clear, but the speculation is they were set on a timer to go off at approximately 10:30 p.m. and were not adjusted after the switch from daylight savings to standard time on the morning of Nov. 7.

The nine-race program on Monday, Nov. 8, ended with the final event going at 9:21 p.m. Tuesday's finale was off at 10:28 p.m.

Randy Evers, general manager at Grants Pass Downs, could not be reached for comment or additional information.

The post VIDEO: ‘Somebody Just Turned The Lights Off’: Two Jockeys Injured in Bizarre Grants Pass Finale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Dinerman to Announce at Grants Pass

Matt Dinerman will announce the races at Grants Pass Downs for the final five days of the track's 2021 spring/summer meet. Dinerman, the voice of Golden Gate Fields, is filling in for Jason Beem, who begins his term as track announcer at Tampa Bay Downs this week.

“I'm really excited to pinch-hit for Jason Beem at Grants Pass Downs,” Dinerman said. “It's fun to call races at a new venue and equally enjoyable to meet new people who share the same passion in horse racing.”

One of the races Dinerman will call is the $90,000 Firecracker Futurity July 4. The Futurity is the richest race in the history of Grants Pass Downs. The track's closing day is July 6.

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