"I always wondered if that was a tiny payback," Beem said of the Gulfstream Park West opportunity. It was Aiello who replaced Beem at River Downs upon his exit there in 2008. Peter Aiello, the track announcer at Gulfstream Park, called him in search of an announcer to call that fall's short Gulfstream Park West meet. Eventually, he became more at ease around people. Uncomfortable around crowds, he began exposure therapy, going to the mall for five minutes one day, 10 minutes the next. In early 2018 after remaining at home during many of his days, Beem said he reached a turning point, vowing to force himself to confront his fears. Last year, the podcast shifted over to Churchill Downs Incorporated's, a couple of years after CDI bought. I've got people that are battling, too.'"Īfter an executive at became acquainted with Beem through the Beemie Awards, Beem reached an agreement to launch a podcast for that company in 2015, keeping him in racing. When you find a sense of community in that, it does help alleviate some of the negativity surrounding it and also your own feelings about yourself. What's the matter with me and all that kind of stuff, and you come to realize that there are so many people that are battling with mental health issues.
I thought for years I was, like, the only person. "There are a lot of people dealing with anxiety. "I've had people write emails that listen to the show or they read about it," he said. He speaks openly about his mental health challenges, sharing his journey with others while also taking comfort in the responses and encouragement he has received. These days, with therapy and commitment, Beem is coping. "I was so bitter for a few years there because I torpedoed my own career because of my own issues," Beem said. Feeling unable to complete the day's final call, he asked for the backup announcer to replace him and went to a hospital for treatment.Īnxiety and depression again proved too much for him in 2014, prompting his exit from Louisiana Downs and leaving him to wonder whether he would ever be given another chance to announce. The condition grew so debilitating that while at River Downs, Beem had to lie down on an air mattress in the booth between races, and he broke down in sobs during the Kentucky Derby Day card at River Downs in May 2008. Crippled with anxiety and depression, he abruptly quit as the announcer at Louisiana Downs in 2014, as he had done at River Downs in 2008.īeem experienced full-scale panic attacks, triggered, he said, by his personal life and exacerbated by the challenges of announcing-being on the road, away from home, and in an enclosed booth in an elevated position. Who Beem was, just five or six years ago, was a man on the brink of withdrawing from the racing industry and, somewhat, from society. At the end of the day, you have to be serious about calling at a certain level.
"I think when it comes to his race-calling, you don't hear any of that stuff, and that's a good thing. "With Jason, he has a tremendous sense of humor, but the thing he is able to do is balance his skill set with the understanding of what the fan wants," Mirahmadi said. Mirahmadi's impersonations of other race announcers and celebrities brought him initial attention, though he has moved away from comedy in the announcer's booth, as Mirahmadi believes Beem is doing. He has enjoyed a career rebirth as a track announcer, working at Colonial Downs and Gulfstream Park West in 2019 and filling in for Frank Mirahmadi at Monmouth Park for several months while Mirahmadi called races at Santa Anita Park, whose meet overlapped with Monmouth.īeem is a kindred spirit with Mirahmadi, who also is quick to make people laugh with his antics. Awards for "Best Mic Drop" and "Best Humblebrag" are two regular favorites with fans, as is "Best Photo to Photoshop," a prize previously awarded to pictures that captured Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen's gray locks flowing in the Pacific Ocean breeze and horse owner/breeder Ken Ramsey shown bare-chested on horseback in Barbados. With the help of three unidentified friends, his snarky Beemie Awards program, which issues social media awards to individuals in the racing industry, has become so popular within racing circles that it trends each year on Twitter. "'We had really hoped to get Nick Luck since he hosts everything else,' said Billy Koch of Little Red Feather Racing, who will once again sponsor the event. 'But Nick couldn't do it, so we decided to just have Jason do it again.'"īeem, 39, who quips that he "hosts the 17th-highest-rated horse racing podcast in the United States" for, may not be the most recognizable name in racing, but he is humorous, which has earned him an avid following, particularly on social media.
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