Memorial Tribute: Mike Beal (Oldmoonfarms)

I would like to start this memorial tribute with the assets to Derbyville/Derbyfever that Mike Beal (Oldmoonfarms) brought to the game for a period of just over five years starting on October 10, 2014 according to the membership page.  His impact and friendship in the game seemed much longer.  He was a very good person and player that was always willing to help and encourage others.  When getting his start a story came to me by Spinround that they became friends and she helped him in getting his start in the sim.  Having much more experience and time in the game, Spinround and Olmoonfarms (Mike Beal) came to an agreement for him to breed some of her mares that she was not using.  In return for her assistance he gave her some of the foals that he had bred from her stables and other foals from his stables in the future. I hope I repeated that story correctly.  Mike Beal had a great eye and a wonderful knack of breeding mares with underutilized or obscure sires and getting a gem of a foal.  I would like to direct you to a couple of the most recent horses he bred in this manner prior to his passing.  The first horse would be Associate Minister (Ranked 59).  He sniffed out the sire, Valiant Minister to breed with his mare.  Valiant Minister is a sire you can pick up for 10 credits/BP’s in the sim.  Mike did not live to see the accomplishments of this horse that is still racing.  He was second in the G3, Risen Star Stakes and the G1, Take Your Final Shot.  He went on to race in the Equinics.  This is a pretty nice record that he missed out on seeing for his breeding with a 10 point sire that is the top running horse out of the sire Valiant Minister.  Another horse that he did get to see was a G2 win prior to his death with Oldmoon’s Mine (Ranked 19).  Just prior to Mike Beal’s passing he got to see this horse get a win in the G2, The Future Stakes.  Oldmoon’s Mine went on to run second in the G1, Arkansas Juvenile Derby Lock Prep and the G1, Middle Jewel Stakes after his passing.  This horse was sired by another little known and underutilized sire, Mean Season who is a 20 credit/BP sire in the game.  Oldmoon’s Mine is the top runner for the sire Mean Season.  Oldmoon’s Mine also ran in the G1, Breeders’ Bowl Dirt Mile.

Mike Beal and I became friends when he asked me to join with the Only Stayers residency.  Mike was a wonderful mentor that went on to become my friend.  Sometimes he was hard on me, but only for my own good and to improve my stable management in the game.  Unfortunately he passed before I could get all his secrets out of him.  Prior to his passing it became obvious that Mike Beal was in some kind of health crisis.  He knew his time was being cut short and he asked me to take over his stables when he passed.  He gave me his passwords and login information of which I wrote down and tucked away in my safe.  I was not aware until Bizalls (Only Stayers) was able to find his obituary online that he had passed.  I just knew all of Mike’s stables were closing down in the residency and for what reason I was unsure.  Mike never explained or disclosed his health issues, only giving small clues that he was in poor health.  Bizalls and I were among his closest friends and it was a very sad and hard day when we discovered that on November 29, 2019 we lost our long time friend and mentor.  Mike was very kind to many people in Derbyville/Derbyfever.  He gave out wonderful advice to new members and gave away a vast number of horses to older and newer players alike.  He had his opinions and shared them.  But he loved horse racing and spent many days and hours at the local tracks in his area surrounding Calgary, Alberta Canada as well as many hours managing his stables and helping others in the sim.

In the future so long as I am around and able to do so, for my friend Mike Beal I will sponsor a memorial race in his honor as close to the date of his passing as is possible.  Such races will change from year to year in distance and age group and perhaps surface.  But these races will always be held at one of the Canadian tracks in the sim.  Mike Beal had many friends in Only Stayers, Hoosier Racing and many other residencies as well.   Mike Beal loved his turf runners, especially those running less than 8 furlong distances.  But he had many other interests in his stables outside that niche.  This year the first Mike Beal Memorial race is a G1 event that will be hosted on the Ontario, Canada track on November, 28 2020 on the turf at the distance of 9 furlongs for Fillies and Mares that are 4 years old and older.  Why this race as Mike Beal’s first Memorial race?  Well I guess it was the first thing that popped into my mind.  I really do not have a good possible entry.  But this race is not about me.  It is about him and bringing joy to the sim with a G1 race in his honor.  I wish all entries the best of luck and I will be doing the preview for this race on BTB. 

My greatest of fond memories and prayers to my friend and mentor, Oldmoonfarms, Mike Beal.