Racing Richer for Beasley

Editor's Note: After 34 years at Keeneland as Vice President of Racing, W.B. Rogers Beasley will officially retire June 30. Beasley started at Keeneland as an entry clerk in 1982 and became Director of Sales in May of that year. He led several initiatives, including adding a preferred session to the September yearling sale, and in 2001 moved into the newly created position of Director of Racing, where he helped build the track's lucrative stakes program and was responsible for converting the track back to traditional dirt.

By Chauncey Morris

Today is Rogers Beasley's last day at Keeneland. His 34-year career spanned decades of legendary eight-figure sales horses by stallions whose progeny dominated racing globally, the evolution of modern bloodstock sales and improvements in Keeneland's racing program, and is capped off by their first Breeders' Cup won by the first American Triple Crown winner in a generation. Rare is the individual in racing responsible for creating and enforcing rules, collecting accounts, and awarding stalls who is lionized by the media and by his peers for contributions to the industry; rarer still for someone known for a unique brand of candor.

Much has been made of his work ethic and humility. Since 2000, I have observed three additional qualities which define him to friends and colleagues: cleverness, being thoughtful of others, and boundlessness. To say Rogers is well-read is an understatement; his knowledge of racing, business and culture via books and experience mix with an uncanny ability to identify trends from afar and cleverly shaping the September sale to include standards which are employed throughout the world.

There is a humanist streak in Rogers which is not immediately apparent, and he keeps private. Whether it was pleading the case for staff battling personal demons, taking care of backside workers, or striking the right note of humor in a touching eulogy for Kathleen Torok, he cares deeply about his fellow man.

Lastly, Rogers is truly boundless, with an energy and wide-eyed curiosity usually associated with the very young. His annual treks in Spain staying at hostels, the bullfights, odd phone calls received when one realizes it's the middle of the night for wherever he is, he is quick to point out that one sleeps when they're gone. I will never forget his grin when we were together on a 2004 business trip in the Republic of Georgia, and in the middle of meetings and severe jet lag, visited the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. The cathedral was built in the 4th century, and was ordered to be destroyed by Tamerlane in his race across Central Asia. That it survived is only due to Tamerlane's army moving too fast, something Rogers enjoyed immensely and understood quite well.

Rogers has been a great mentor to me, and to others. Getting to learn from him meant also having the opportunity to know men like Ted Bassett, Bill Greely and Buddy Bishop. No one was more supportive than Rogers once we'd made a decision to accept my position in Australia. Besides David Switzer, no one else is more responsible for our return to Kentucky. It was during our time in Australia did I begin to appreciate the esteem in which W.B. Rogers Beasley is held, either within the trainers' colony in Hong Kong, sales chiefs in Europe, to racing executives in Singapore, Japan or the Middle East.

American Thoroughbred breeding and racing is richer for him.

Chauncey Morris is the Executive Director of the KTA/KTOB staff

By Vin Cox

After 34 years at Keeneland, Rogers brings a wonderful career at Keeneland to a close.

Rogers challenged the traditional, whether it was in sales or racing, “status quo” was not in his vocabulary.

In his early years at Keeneland, Rogers changed the format to allow a fairer and more transparent cataloguing criteria. It seems like a small thing now, however at the time it was a momentous shift in thinking, particularly for consignors and now we see the September and November sales catalogue in excess of 4,000 horses at time.

During his tenure in racing, an extraordinary Breeders' Cup was run at Keeneland as first time hosts of the event. In the years prior, Polytrack was introduced and repealed, which lead to safer racing on the synthetic and ultimately on the upgraded dirt track.

While Rogers has connections and associations at the highest level in the Thoroughbred world, he always had a genuine interest for the less applauded. There are many that would say their careers exploded on the back of Rogers' guidance and support.

Those that have worked for Rogers' would go to war for him, he is a great leader, teacher, confidant, and above all a great friend.

Good luck Rogers.

Vin Cox is the managing director of the Magic Millions Sales.

By Bertrand Le Metayer

As a 20-year-old freshly out the army, I was very fortunate to have been accepted into an internship at Keeneland and learn from a man who said on my first day, “be the first in office, open your eyes and listen.”

It wasn't until later that I realized the influence he had on me, and the career I was about to embrace.

Going around with him was brilliant. Anywhere we went, I had an introduction. We shared views on horses, views on breeding and even shared some Southern Kentucky squirrel stew.

I recall how much respect he had from buyers and vendors from East to West. All of this was from a man who worked in a bank and decided as a young man to take a turn in his life starting as a hot walker in the training barns of Versailles Road.

Lucky for me, he loves life, and in a very unique way, was as happy to discuss bull fighting, sales agenda or history. He spoke of each with the same level of importance.

When you arrive from the old Europe, Keeneland seems like a ridiculously massive market, but Rogers and his team made it run small; from the yards to the top-end buyers, things where made dead simple, down to earth, and pragmatic. If they were not so, you had better have a good story to tell when walking in the back office….As we say in Normandy, Rogers is like a good Camembert, strong on the outside but good on the inside.

Luckily, when the migratory bird season started, he said, “Frenchman, if you pluck my birds and clean my gun, I will take you everywhere.” He did as he said, and it was a treat to walk in those amazing farms as WBRB's new loader.

I am sorry for Keeneland that he is leaving, but on a personal note, I am thrilled that he and Jaqueline will now have more time to come and visit.

Bertrand Le Metayer is a bloodstock agent based in France.