Beem named track announcer at Tampa Bay Downs
Jason Beem, the journeyman racecaller, has been hired as the new track announcer at Tampa Bay Downs, the track announced Thursday.
Beem, who has a large social-media presence, will take over the race-calling duties on June 30, the track said. He will fill the full-time role most recently held by Richard Grunder, who retired from race-calling on May 2 after 37 years as Tampa Bay’s announcer.
Beem, 41, is currently the racecaller at Grants Pass Downs in Oregon and Colonial Downs in Virginia. He began his career at River Downs in Cincinnati, and he has called the races at Portland Meadows and Monmouth Park.
Beem is active on various social-media channels and hosts his own podcast.
“Jason hit all the checkpoints we were looking for,” said Margo Flynn, Tampa’s vice president of marketing and publicity. “He sees racing through a fan’s eyes and understands the need to cultivate new fans and develop ways to target them.”